Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today about energy and how it relates to building and construction.

Today my talk will cover three areas:

• Energy supply


• Simplifying regulation and allowing informed decision making


• Homes of the future

Energy Supply

My colleague the Minister of Energy and Resources, Gerry Brownlee, recently gave his first major speech on ‘unlocking New Zealand's energy and resources potential'.

As you may well know he emphasized the importance of:

• security of supply and addressing the underinvestment in the electricity grid over the last decade


• getting headway to disentangle the regulatory overlaps between Transpower, the Electricity Commission and the Commerce Commission


• acting on the Commerce Commission's investigation into alleged breaches of market power by electricity providers


• refocusing the New Zealand Energy Strategy to set out key priorities for the medium and long-term that include security of supply, affordability and environmental responsibility with the overriding goal of maximising economic growth.

As Building and Construction Minister, I understand the relationship between energy and buildings is critical if we are to deliver greater prosperity, security and opportunities to New Zealanders.

Commercial and residential buildings are key energy users.  Buildings account for about 55% of electricity used in NZ.  Of this, approximately 58% of this use is in residential buildings. What we do in our homes matters.

Improved energy efficiency saves consumers money and reduces demand for electricity. 

From a business perspective, achieving commercial energy efficiencies without compromising production is important for our future prospects.

So the quality, design and management of all our building stock are a central building block of our future performance.

Our economy, like all economies around the world, would soon grind to a devastating halt without a reliable supply of power. As major investors in our energy infrastructure, you all play an important part in ensuring our energy system delivers.

This Government supports responsible energy use.

Along with security of supply, it's important we work together to influence energy demand. We know New Zealand's population is growing so we need to use what we produce prudently.

This government is delivering regulatory reform so we can get on with business.

Simplifying regulation and allowing informed decision making

Building Act Review

As Minister for Building and Construction, I am simplifying and streamlining building regulations wherever I can. This will help ensure we have an environment where consumers can make informed and affordable changes if they wish to improve the quality of their buildings and homes.

This will require changes to the Building Act and work has already begun identifying where improvements can be made without compromising building quality.

Reform is already underway in the shape of the Building Amendment Bill (2) and the Resource Management Amendment Bill both of which are currently before Parliament.

The Building Amendment Bill

This bill will:

• streamline the consent process for house designs to be replicated on a substantial scale and streamlines the process for making minor alterations to work already consented.


• make obtaining a Project Information Memorandum (PIM) voluntary which will save time and lower building costs.

The Bill has some useful initiatives, but it is only a start and doesn't go far enough to address compliance issues facing homeowners, developers and builders.   There's more to be done.

Resource Management (simplifying and streamlining) Amendment Bill

This bill will cut through suffocating red tape for Kiwi homeowners, businesses and of course producers and suppliers of energy, while safeguarding the environment.

These reforms address the costs, delays and uncertainties of the current Act. They will remove slow and overly bureaucratic processes that do little for growth or the environment.

Overall, what underpins the reform programme is a desire for less regulation and smarter regulation In New Zealand.  Regulations that facilitate progress for all sectors of the economy, so we can all work smarter and capture the benefits of new technologies.

Buildings consume significant amounts of energy

One way of conserving energy of course is through insulation and better quality buildings. The benefits of insulation are well-known.

We know that the ideal way to have a healthier, more cost-effective home is through insulating your ceilings, walls and floors.   

The Government will be making announcements about intentions for more home insulation investment.  The Ministry of Economic Development and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority are tasked with designing a plan to boost the number of home energy retrofits occurring.

Consumer information

But I don't believe in rules that tell people what to do.  People should be allowed to choose how they manage and conserve energy at home. It is up to Government to help them make well-informed decisions which are right for them.

For that to happen, consumers need the right information that's easily available and easily understood.

There are many organisations that provide this kind of information. The Department of Building and Housing manages its own information service - a website called Smarter Homes which gives practical information on how to save on your household energy bills. They also work with others to make sure consumers have consistent advice about energy use.   

Recent changes to insulation requirements for new homes are estimated to result in a 30% reduction in energy requirements to achieve comfortable temperatures for the average home.

Homes of the Future

The Building industry must continue to innovate if it is to take advantage of new business opportunities.

There is a lot we can do with existing building products and technologies.

I helped launch a recent example which I believe proves New Zealand is capable of innovation.

I and my colleague Phil Heatley, the Minister for Housing, recently hosted an awards ceremony at the Beehive to recognize the winners of the Starter Homes Design Competition organised by my Department.

The competition aimed to encourage architects, designers, and those in the building industry, to come up with innovative and affordable home designs.

And the results were stunning. They showed just what could be achieved with limited resources. And of course energy efficiency featured highly in many of the designs with good orientation for the sun and flexible design to allow easy reconfiguration should occupants needs change in the future.  

The supreme winner's designs will be built by Housing New Zealand Corporation in Mangere and showcased to the public.

It promotes simplification, standardisation and appropriate choice of house sizes meaning sound building practice and affordability doesn't always have to mean boring or unappealing.

Modest homes can be exciting and can capture our imagination.

In the future, there will be even more opportunity with advances in technology and decreasing costs of this technology.

Homes in the future will likely contain a mix of simple passive design, renewable energy generation and high-tech approaches to energy management.

Smart metering for example is a brilliant way of allowing householders to monitor exactly how much energy they're using.

This information could include data on how much gas and electricity being consumed, how much it is costing them and what impact their consumption is having on greenhouse gas emissions.

At its most basic, a smart meter measures electronically how much energy is used, and this information can be made available to the customer to see how much energy they are using and how much it is costing them.

Some systems can even operate appliances when energy costs are low or in off-peak periods.

And there's electronic household management systems which allow you to switch on your home's heating system remotely via a device like your iphone.

Other areas of development to watch include the application of wireless technologies in new construction and retrofit projects.  This can help to reduce hardwiring and improve flexibility when optimising building performance

These systems are all about making buildings more intelligent, efficient and responsive to users.

We also need to think about how we design and manage the supply of energy in our towns and cities. I am sure you are looking hard at opportunities for distributed generation that feeds back into the grid.

 New era of energy saving

There is an exciting array of possibilities - smart management of commercial and residential buildings are a key part of the new era for intelligent energy demand management.

Buildings are only as good as their users - we need smart users as well as smart buildings if we are to better control the energy we use.  We are seeing a new era of energy awareness and growing consumer demand for smart energy solutions.

Conclusion

Let's unlock our potential for smart energy use and a future where quality buildings are playing their part.  

I consider the building and construction sector has a part to play. I'm interested in what if anything I can do to help you achieve your goals.

As New Zealanders we are nothing if not resourceful. We should harness our creative ability and apply it to smart energy production and consumption to ensure a reliable supply now and in the future for our prosperity.

Thank you.