Government Is Jumping The Gun Over Proposed Ban Of New Gas Connections In Homes – Master Plumbers
The Climate Change Commission’s proposal to ban new gas
connections to residential homes within five years is short
sighted and ill thought out, says Master Plumbers.
CE
Greg Wallace is warning if the Government goes ahead with
the proposed timeframe, there is a real risk that New
Zealand will lose the opportunity to use its existing gas
network when carbon-free ‘green’ hydrogen is ready to
hit the market.
The Commission released it first
official report this week proposing ways to slash emissions
and meet the target of New Zealand being carbon neutral by
2050, acknowledging current measures are falling short.
Included in the proposal is the ban on new residential gas
connections by 2025 and the phasing out of existing gas in
homes by 2050.
CE Greg Wallace says Master Plumbers
supports steps towards a sustainable New Zealand and sees a
future in green hydrogen being an alternative to gas as a
way to heat water and homes. However the proposed timeframe
does not provide enough time to make the
switch.
“Green hydrogen is being seen as the rock star
of the fuels of the future and there’s some exciting work
going on in Australia and in New Zealand looking at green
hydrogen and investigating new technologies. There are
trials in Australia looking at the use of hydrogen in new
suburbs and there is a strong focus on seeing how hydrogen
can be incorporated with the current gas network and
appliances.”
He says the fact existing infrastructure
can be used to move to green hydrogen is very appealing, but
its introduction is likely to be beyond the five-year
timeframe proposed in the report.
“The Government
would be advised to be patient to ensure the gas network is
maintained and still available when green hydrogen is ready
to hit the market. If it sticks to the proposed timeframe we
run the real risk of throwing the baby out with the
bathwater. The proposal to ban gas in domestic use is
jumping the gun without a tried and tested
alternative.”
He says current residential use accounts
for just 3% of New Zealand’s total gas use, and the
proposed changes would also have cost implications for both
current and new homeowners, with very little benefit.
“Homeowners want instant, reliable hot water and like the
space and energy savings of gas continuous flow systems,
which mean they don’t have to store large amounts of water
in cylinders.
“Surely the right order of doing this
would be providing a renewable energy source that offers
these same benefits, rather than saying you can’t use gas
but we don’t really have an alternative that offers the
same benefits.”
Master Plumbers is urging people to
have their say on the draft report at https://haveyoursay.climatecommission.govt.nz,
with submissions closing March
14.
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