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RNZ News
4 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Seven sneaky ways to save power
An energy efficiency expert reveals seven sneaky ways to save power, and just how much you could save by doing them. Photo: RNZ If you popped the heater on before you got out of bed this morning, you might have pondered what your next power bill will look like. The middle months of the year are often the most expensive for household electricity . But the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority says there are some energy-saving things that you can do that could help cut your bills , without denting your lifestyle too much. "We've really tried to focus on things which are either no cost or at least very low cost and try to quantify the benefits of each measure," said Gareth Gretton, EECA's lead adviser on energy efficient appliances. "People can think about what exactly works for them and their household and make trade-offs for themselves." These are the seven things EECA recommends doing - and how much you could save by doing them. Only heat the rooms you're using: EECA said that households using electric heating could save about $300 a year if they switched to only heating the rooms they were using. This would reduce electricity demand by about 10 or 15 percent. Keeping your house heated to 21°C rather than 23°C could also save 2 percent of your power, or about $40 a year. "There's always this tradeoff with you know 'how warm do I want my room to be' and you know 'am I kind of on the edge of my comfort level or I'm actually feeling cosy'," Gretton said. "Maybe think about just trying to heat the rooms you're actually using at a given time rather than trying to heat the whole house and not necessarily being comfortable in any one room … it's not about being uncomfortable, it's about trying to use energy wisely." He said draught stopping was also important. "This is very dependent on the house you're in but there's obviously still lots of people living in draughty houses. It's a perfect time to look at that - this is very much house by house but you could be looking at up to $100 from that one in the winter." Switching to cold water in your washing machine: Washing your clothes in cold water rather than warm will reduce consumption by 1 percent, EECA said. Gretton said based on one wash a day, a household that moved five out of seven washes to cold water would save about $50 a year. "We're sort of so used to machines defaulting to warm and just pressing the start button but all it takes is a click of the button to move down to cold," Gretton said. "If all you're doing is kind of freshening up some clothes and they don't have any really hard-to-shift stains in them, then they're going to come out clean and you're going to save yourselves [money]." Turning off appliances that you aren't using: If you can turn off things like your heated towel rail, TV or second fridge you could reduce your electricity demand by about 8 percent, or a saving of $200 a year. "I think some households do have a second fridge maybe running in the garage or something like that," Gretton said. "It's probably the number one energy vampire that's in your household because you might have chucked it in your garage and thought 'oh that'll be useful at Christmas'. Then it'll end up running all year because you forget about it. Empty it out and turn it off, then turn it back on again when you need it." Close the curtains at sunset: Closing the curtains at sunset could save you 3 percent of your power, or $80 a year, EECA says. Gretton said it was mostly "common sense" but sometimes a "little nudge" would remind people of the small changes they could be making. Reducing your hot water temperature: Limiting your hot water to 60°C could save 3 percent in power. Vacuuming your heat pump filter: Remembering to vacuum your filter could reduce your power use by 2 percent or about $50. Time your power use: If you're on a plan that gives you cheaper power off-peak, make use of it. Gretton said a number of households were on time-of-use plans, where power is cheaper at certain times of day, but were not using them to the best advantage. Shifting appliances to off-peak times, particualrly things like clothes dryers, could help save money. "Dishwashers are kind of an easy one in some ways because they often have a 'delay start' function. The saving we're modelling for that one is around $150." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Reuters
13-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US nuclear builders tight for time in race to power AI
May 13 - The selection of 16 sites located on Department of Energy (DOE) lands for the rapid construction of data centers and energy generation underlines the rising importance of AI demand for the U.S. energy sector. The sites offer "in-place energy infrastructure with the ability to fast-track permitting for new energy generation such as nuclear," the DOE said in a statement. Renewable energy can be deployed rapidly and energy storage can offer more flexible dispatch capabilities than solar and wind alone, but data center owners are keen to secure power day and night and the Trump administration has thrown its support behind fossil fuels and the burgeoning advanced nuclear sector. Join hundreds of senior executives across energy, industry and finance at Reuters Events Global Energy Transition 2025. Several of the DOE sites already host nuclear facilities and could be strong contenders for co-location of data centers and new nuclear generation. However, the exact details of land lease terms, environmental review requirements, and conditions for potential public-private partnerships (PPP) will be crucial to ensure plants can be developed cost-effectively, energy experts told Reuters Events. Importantly, the DOE has set a target of operating the data centers by the end of 2027 and it is unlikely new nuclear power plants can be built by then. The DOE held a request for information (RFI) from developers until May 7 and cited small nuclear reactors (SMRs), enhanced geothermal systems, fuel cells, energy storage and carbon capture as innovative energy approaches that could be installed at the sites. These technologies align with the administration's shift in energy policy away from a focus on renewables to prioritizing more reliable and resilient power sources, said Sidney Fowler, energy attorney at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman law firm in Washington, DC. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) believes solar farms coupled with storage can be deployed cost-effectively and more quickly than other technologies, due to a well-established supply chain and a track record in providing reliable power to big techs and data centers. Meta, Amazon, Google, and Apple are the top four corporate solar users in the U.S., according to a SEIA report released in November 2024. CHART: US planned power generation installations in 2025 The DOE is yet to determine the types and sizes of power generation at the sites as well as the details about potential PPPs. "We are eager to hear ideas from industry, academia, communities and regional consortia. This will build on the long history of partnership between DOE's National Laboratories and the private sector," a DOE spokesperson told Reuters Events. Nuclear sites Expedited permitting on the DOE sites could help developers minimize timelines, especially in areas where site characterization works have already been done, Fowler said. Shorter timelines help lower development costs. As well offering existing grid connections, some of the sites are away from highly populated areas, reducing project risks. "Some of the sites have a lot of space where a data center or a power plant could easily locate without running a risk of community opposition," said Mary Anne Sullivan, senior counsel at Hogan Lovells law firm in Washington, DC. Sites selected by the DOE include the Idaho National Laboratory, where the department has performed extensive site characterization and permitting activities for new nuclear reactors. The site is located in a region supportive of atomic energy and 'offers ample opportunity for development and scaling,' it said. Also on the list is the Pacific Northwest laboratory in Richland, Washington, located in a region with a growing presence of data centers and planned nuclear deployment. In October 2024, Amazon announced a partnership with Energy Northwest to develop an SMR project near the Columbia Generating Station nuclear power plant. Elsewhere, the DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory site in Tennessee is located five miles from Tennessee Valley Authority's proposed Clinch River Small Modular Reactor (SMR) project and has readily available water resources, which could attract more nuclear development in the future. CHART: Small modular reactor projects by country Supportive host communities with a long-standing nuclear history, along with high security standards at some of the sites, could favor nuclear power development, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). "There is already a natural inclination for data centers to seek nuclear power. Bringing, now, DOE land and encouraging that matching is going to be a catalyst to speed up (deployment) but also lead to new projects being pursued," said Marc Nichol, executive director of New Nuclear at NEI. Timing tight While the DOE is clearly keen to support new nuclear, the initial target timelines it has set out for the sites may favour gas-fired plants or combinations of renewable energy technologies. DOE wants the construction of AI and associated infrastructure to start later this year so the facilities become operational by the end of 2027. For exclusive insights on the energy transition, sign up to our newsletter. Solar and storage are the 'fastest and cheapest forms of energy to develop and deploy' and are the best way to meet the demand for colocated generation, Ben Norris, vice president of Regulatory Affairs for the SEIA, told Reuters Events. Developing a utility-scale solar project typically takes 1.4 years, and batteries take 1.7 years, SEIA said in a letter sent to the DOE in response to the RFI. In comparison, large conventional nuclear power plants take years to develop and build and many SMRs under development are based on new designs and are not expected to be approved and ready for commercial use until the end of the decade. In a bid to accelerate deployment, the DOE recently reissued a tender for $900 million of federal funding to help de-risk the construction of the first SMR reactors based on existing light water reactor (LWR) technologies and announced it would supply high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) to five companies that are developing SMRs based on a range of technologies. Even if SMRs are licensed earlier than 2030, a lack of domestic fuel enrichment capabilities will limit deployment. Nuclear is more likely to play a larger role in serving rising AI demand from the 2030s onwards, experts say. "The only bottleneck that is going to hold the U.S. back in terms of global AI leadership and dominance is speed to firm, reliable power," Hilary Lane, senior director for Strategic Partnerships at the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), said. "So given that this is the most important factor here, time and schedule, I can see them looking at gas as an option that could be coming online fairly quickly." "To roll out many reactor systems that could deliver power at that timeframe is a bit unfeasible," said James Walker, chief executive officer at Nano Nuclear Energy, a company developing microreactors. "In the future, nuclear will certainly be the bulk supplier of power for tech centers, but that will be post-2030."
