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Auckland, January 30, 2017
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has announced today a partnership between Auckland Council and Vector which will see a series of Vector-funded projects, with the support of Entrust, promote sustainable and renewable energy use in Auckland including solar technology.
Mr Goff said that the multimillion dollar partnership is an important step in building a more sustainable energy network for Auckland.
“One of the challenges that we face as a significantly growing region is how we safeguard our future energy needs. With about $2 billion infrastructure investment in energy solutions needed for our growth over the next 10 years, it is important that we develop innovative, cost-effective and future-proofed solutions,” he said.
Scoping initiatives
Council and Vector are currently scoping all the initiatives that will be covered by the partnership with the first stage of the partnership developing a pilot energy efficiency programme for Auckland homes followed by renewable lighting for the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
“Partnering with Vector is a great example of our Council group and Auckland business working together to achieve great outcomes for our city and residents,” Mr Goff said.
The energy efficiency project is led by Vector’s majority shareholder, Entrust with benefits at community level. The focus will be on assisting and educating residents on energy-saving solutions.
More details of the programme will be announced in March 2017.
Harbour Bridge
The Vector-funded project to develop sustainable lighting for the Auckland Harbour Bridge is still in the early stages of development, but will install and promote innovative and sustainable lighting technologies on the Harbour Bridge.
Vector Chief Executive Simon Mackenzie said that his company was thrilled to enter into a long-term partnership with the Council.
“We are excited to work together on energy innovation, efficiency and sustainability projects for Aucklanders. There is a lot of work to be done and we look forward to making further announcements once the first two projects have been fully scoped,” he said.
Timely relationship
Mr Goff said that the energy efficiency partnership comes at a time when Auckland Council is looking to demonstrate its leadership in helping New Zealand fulfil its climate change commitments made at last year’s COP21 summit in Paris.
“As New Zealand’s largest city, we must play a leading role in shifting to a low carbon economy. Vector shares our vision and we are pleased that we are able to partner with them to achieve this goal,” he said.
Mr Goff said that working collaboratively with corporate partners is an ongoing focus for the Council to achieve its objectives for the city.
Partnership with Vector is the first of many strategic partnership projects to be announced in 2017 that will make Auckland better, he said.
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Photo Caption: Phil Goff
