The Dominion Post today reports Business New Zealand executive director Phil O'Reilly as describing said the political party’s energy statement as “anti-growth dressed up as environmental”.

He said the environmental price of the Green’s energy policy would be no economic growth, given New Zealand's reliance on electricity generation for its economy. Not allowing new coal-fired power stations was anti-growth.

Key points of the party’s energy policy, released yesterday, include: capping carbon dioxide emissions from power stations and no new coal-fired stations; a Kyoto carbon tax on fossil fuels (the government earlier this month announced a NZ$15 per tonne tax from 2007); greater use of renewables; unspecified “tests” for big energy infrastructure projects; installing 500,000 solar hot water heating panels over five years; the abolition of daily fixed electricity charges; and tougher fuel efficiency standards for vehicles.

Party co-leader (and energy spokesperson) Jeanette Fitzsimons yesterday said the peak of world oil production was close. However, demand was still rising rapidly and so would prices.

“Global conflicts will intensify when the peak arrives. Oil will remain available for several decades but not in the quantities we use now. It is vital that our economy becomes less dependent on oil.”

The party wanted less dependence on motor vehicles, more use of renewable energy – including direct electric power, biofuels, and hydrogen -- and would discourage the use of large motor vehicles where smaller ones would do.

The use of new wind and solar technologies in the aviation and maritime transport industries, such as solar freighters, would be investigated.

Fitzsimons said more work needed to be done on the likely cost of the whole energy package.