As costs rise, supply tightens and demand grows, energy is becoming one of the most critical challenges facing our region. We talk to Renée Jens of Dominion Salt, a member of our Energy Leadership Group, about how the region can take a more coordinated, practical approach to transition, balancing emissions reduction with the need to remain competitive, secure and economically strong.

What do you see as the key energy challenges facing the Western Bay of Plenty?

In the Western Bay, the energy conversation is really about resilience, both now and in the future. Our region is a great economic hub that is growing, supported by strong industrial activity and a thriving export sector. While positive, this growth impacts an energy system that’s already under pressure.

We are seeing a combination of rising costs, tightening supply and uncertainty around future energy availability. Many industries in the region have historically relied on natural gas, yet domestic supply is rapidly declining. At the same time, the Western Bay has a constrained electricity grid connection, limiting capacity for additional electrification.

Reliable and affordable energy is essential for businesses to remain competitive. If energy becomes too expensive or unreliable, the impacts extend well beyond individual companies. It affects jobs, investment decisions and the wider regional economy.

Another challenge is that much of the national energy transition is being driven at pace, but without always considering the regional realities. Electrification is often seen as the default pathway for decarbonisation, but in practice the infrastructure, capacity and economics don’t always stack up for every use case, especially for industrial process heat.

The core challenge for the Western Bay is how we transition to a lower-emissions future while ensuring our region remains economically strong and energy secure.

What are our biggest opportunities?

The Western Bay is well placed to take a more proactive and collaborative approach to energy, rather than simply responding to national direction. With support from Priority One, the region has an established network that brings together industry, local government, iwi partners, and other stakeholders around shared economic and environmental goals.

This creates a unique opportunity to develop a more coordinated, regionally informed energy pathway that reflects local demand, infrastructure and regulatory constraints and growth projections. Rather than reacting to changes as they happen, we can proactively map out what our region’s energy needs will look like over the next 10, 20 or even 30 years. That includes:

• Understanding future electricity demand and grid constraints
• Identifying where electrification is feasible and where alternatives may be needed
• Exploring options like biomass, geothermal or other emerging technologies
• Improving energy efficiency across businesses and sectors

There’s also an opportunity to better align industry and supporting infrastructure. If we plan well, we can ensure energy supply keeps pace rather than becoming a bottleneck. A regional approach can also help identify regulatory or policy barriers and elevate these issues more clearly to the national level.

Ultimately, the opportunity is to be pragmatic about building a system that is not only lower-emissions, but also more resilient, more efficient and better suited to the needs of our region.

What’s the role of the Priority One Energy Leadership Group in this?

The Energy Leadership Group (ELG) was established to bring a regional lens to what is often a national conversation. Its role is to help ensure the Western Bay has a clear, coordinated pathway that supports both decarbonisation and economic development.

The ELG is focused on:

• Building a shared understanding of the region’s current and future energy needs
• Identifying risks to energy supply, reliability, and affordability
• Explore practical transition options
• Connecting businesses, local government, and energy stakeholders

A key function of the ELG is collaboration. Many organisations are working on different aspects of the energy system, but the ELG helps bring these efforts into a more cohesive picture. This is particularly important for industry, where energy risks can feel fragmented and isolating.

The group will also seek to play an important advocacy role, ensuring that the regional impacts of national policy decisions are understood and taken into account.

How do businesses like Dominion Salt connect to this regional focus?

Industry is often well positioned to understand the operational implications of national energy and regulatory decisions. Large energy users closely monitor supply risks and policy changes because of the direct impact on business continuity. However, industrial perspectives are not always well understood, partly due to the relatively small number of industrial operations in New Zealand.

Despite this, industry plays a critical role in society, not just through direct employment, but through supporting supply chains and the production of essential goods.

With a regional focus, industry can help surface practical barriers, test new ideas and provide real-world feedback on proposed policies. Energy is a significant input to our operations, and like many businesses, we are managing rising costs, supply uncertainty and the need to reduce emissions over time. Participating in the work of the ELG allows these challenges to be addressed collectively, rather than in isolation.

Industry involvement is critical to advocating for:

• Better alignment between policy ambition and on-the-ground realities
• A more coordinated and sequenced transition
• Recognition that affordability and reliability must sit alongside emissions reduction

At Dominion Salt, we’re also actively exploring ways to reduce fossil fuel use and identify practical lower-emissions alternatives for our industrial energy needs. That includes working with consultants and EECA, exploring emerging technologies, and collaborating with the Ahuora Centre for Smart Energy Systems at the University of Waikato to better understand future energy solutions and what could realistically work for our process.

How can others in the Western Bay get involved?

The most important thing is to start engaging now. Energy is no longer just an operation cost, it is a strategic issue for organisations of all sizes, as well as for communities and households.

Practical actions include:

• Understanding current energy use and associated risks
• Prioritising efficiency improvements
• Staying informed about regional energy developments
• Connecting with the ELG or other industry and community networks

Most importantly, be part of the conversation. Collaboration will be essential to navigating the transition successfully.

Final thoughts?

For the Western Bay, this is about taking control of our own future. It is likely that not all the challenges can be solved locally, but the region can do work now to ensure it is prepared, connected and resilient.

If done well, the energy transition can be an opportunity to strengthen the local economy, support innovation, help communities, and build a sustainable future that reflects the realities of our region.

Renée Jens is the Sustainability & Energy Manager at Dominion Salt. Watch her speak about our energy transition here.

To stay across the latest news and opportunities to be involved in Priority One’s energy work, see here and signup for our fortnightly updates here.