News & blog hub

There’s been an exciting development for Aotearoa New Zealand’s energy future and for our growing renewable gas industry.

The House of Science team recently visited Firstlight Network to show our team the Electric Future science kit that Firstlight Network proudly sponsors.

Renewable gas keeps gaining momentum. Let’s take a look at some of the recent developments from around the world.

The ‘golden row’ of photovoltaic panels has now been installed at Tauhei Solar Farm — a key milestone in the construction of what is on track to become New Zealand’s largest solar farm at the time of commissioning in late 2026.

Clarus, one of New Zealand’s largest energy groups confirmed that its current shareholder, Igneo Infrastructure Partners (Igneo), has entered into agreements to sell its shareholding in Clarus, covering the Firstgas, Rockgas, and Flexgas businesses to Brookfield, one of the world’s largest infrastructure investors.

Australia has tweaked its laws to recognise the important role of renewable gas in a low-emissions future. The country’s framework for reporting on energy has been updated to provide guidance on biomethane and green hydrogen.

Light Up the Domain is a community-led initiative to make Te Aroha’s premier park more welcoming and showcase its unique features. Harmony and First Renewable, part of Clarus, who are joint venture partners in the Tauhei Solar Farm project, have donated $10,000 to support the installation of eco-friendly lights around the Gallipoli Centennial ponds and gardens.

At Clarus and Firstgas, we’re committed to supporting initiatives that have a practical and meaningful impact on our communities where we operate, through our community partnership fund.

Firstgas, part of Clarus, together with GasNet, Nova Energy, Powerco, and Vector, has reached a key milestone in New Zealand’s first hydrogen blending pilot. Fourteen households in Te Horo, on the Kāpiti Coast, are now receiving a gas blend containing 10% hydrogen by volume, delivered through the existing gas distribution network.

In Fife, Scotland, a pioneering initiative in home energy is taking place, and it’s something we here at Clarus, through our Firstgas team, are watching closely.

Clarus is one of New Zealand’s largest energy groups, powering nearly half a million homes and businesses nationwide. The companies within the Clarus group play a crucial role across the energy spectrum, covering transmission, distribution, supply, and storage, to keep energy flowing to communities across Aotearoa.

We’re excited to share some fantastic news – our very own James Irvine, General Manager – Future Fuels, has been named a finalist for the 2025 Young Energy Professional of the Year at the prestigious New Zealand Energy Excellence Awards!

This year, Rockgas, part of Clarus, celebrates its fifth Bottled Gas Award win and back-to-back titles, taking home Canstar’s award on the back of a very impressive set of ratings from its many happy customers.

Here at Clarus, we are committed to emissions reduction. While we have some projects underway that will help reduce New Zealand’s energy emissions in the future, such as the Tauhei solar farm project, flowing biomethane, a form of renewable gas, to the Firstgas pipeline and piloting hydrogen blending.

Following the rapid decline in the availability of gas for electricity generation, a group of major New Zealand energy companies have collaborated to explore the option to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) and assessed the role LNG could play to meet New Zealand’s future gas demand.

Clarus is a company that is focused on doing right by our environment, our people and our communities. You can read about our hard work to improve our tiaki taiao or care for the environment in our newly published 2024 Sustainability Report.