News & blog hub

Every year, as part of our Clarus community partnership fund and ongoing mahi to give back, we donate $5,000 to one incredible charity, as voted on by our people at Clarus. This year’s winner was Ronald McDonald House (RMHC).

What’s the future for gas in New Zealand? We’ve all come to rely on it for cooking, heating and processing, in our homes, restaurants and industries – but recently there have been concerns there is a shortage of natural gas.

There have been some fantastic developments in the world of renewable energy during 2024 and renewable gas is an important part of the renewable energy future. Here are some of the biggest milestones in local and international renewable energy over the past 12 months.

Firstlight Network is excited to be a part of bringing EnergyMate to Wairoa and helping households better understand their energy use and find ways to save.

Here at Firstgas, it’s our job to operate more than 2,500km of gas transmission pipelines and nearly 5,000km of gas distribution pipelines. Together, they provide gas to over 67,000 customers throughout the North Island.

First Renewables, is thrilled to confirm that renewable gas is now flowing through a Firstgas pipeline for the first time, marking a pivotal moment not only for the gas industry but for New Zealand’s journey towards a sustainable, low-carbon energy future.

In 2023, Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand, causing billions of dollars in damage across the country and more than 140,000 landslides.

Gas storage and flexibility is vital to support the generation of renewable electricity, particularly in the winter months, over peak demand periods, and is becoming more important with the addition of new variable wind and solar generation capacity.

How do you turn kumara peel and banana skins into renewable energy and bio fertiliser? Here’s how kerbside food waste is collected in Auckland, processed at Ecogas’ organics processing facility in Reporoa, and then turned into renewable gas once processed through First Renewables biogas upgrade facility at the same site.

Milly Marshall Kirkwood is a remarkable young woman with a burning desire to become a world champion in seated discus and shot put and compete in the 2028 Paralympics. Through the Firstgas Community Fund we are proud to support Milly to help fulfil her dream.

Firstgas, a Clarus company, is working with Omexon to better detect possible methane (natural gas) leaks early, on the Firstgas distribution network, using Street Evaluating Laser Methane Assessment (SELMA) vehicles.

When George Drysdale turned up at Firstlight Network in early 2024 to take up the role of Manager, he was immediately impressed with the unique connection the electricity distribution network had with the Gisborne, Tairawhiti and Wairoa communities. 

Firstgas is one step closer to commencing New Zealand’s first Hydrogen Blending Pilot with WorkSafe granting two exemptions to Firstgas to enable the project to move forward.

It’s a confusing time for energy consumers, especially those using gas. There are some opinions out there that New Zealand needs to go 100% electric and that for various reasons our gas supplies are dwindling. However, gas remains critical to supporting our country’s variable renewable electricity supply.

As part of Clarus' ongoing work to reduce our carbon emissions, two ZEVAC machines are used by our Firstgas transmission and distribution teams to capture gas, compress it and then recycle it back into the pipeline which is estimated to save up to 35 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.

James Irvine our GM Future Fuels explains why energy storage is the essential ingredient to electrification, and how hydrogen is the most cost-effective solution for long-term energy storage to support growing renewable generation.