VZCZCXRO1767
RR RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD
DE RUEHWL #0051/01 0502102
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 192102Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5069
INFO RUEHNZ/AMCONSUL AUCKLAND 1622
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 5104
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY 0641
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
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RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 0084
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0189
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0695
RUEHSV/AMEMBASSY SUVA 0721
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 0727
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0088
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA 0551
RUEHBH/AMEMBASSY NASSAU 0001
RUEHWN/AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN 0011

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 WELLINGTON 000051 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR STATE FOR EAP/ANP 
PACOM FOR J01E/J2/J233/J5/SJFHQ 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG SENV PREL NZ
SUBJECT: DOE AND GNZ OFFICIALS DISCUSS USG-PROPOSED CLEAN ISLAND 
INITIATIVE 
 
 
WELLINGTON 00000051  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
REFTEL:  Wellington 48 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  Following a visit to Antarctica, U.S. 
Department of Energy DAS Steven Chalk met with a GNZ 
inter-ministerial group chaired by the Ministry of Research, Science 
and Technology (MORST) to discuss a proposed Clean Island 
Initiative, which was first discussed during DOE A/S Andy Karsner's 
visit to New Zealand in January 2008.  GNZ officials welcomed the 
proposal, and agreed to provide further comments to a draft DOE 
concept paper shared with the New Zealand and Iceland governments. 
Chalk and GNZ officials also agreed to meet on the margins of the 
March WIREC meetings in Washington to further discuss the 
initiative.  NZ officials urged that Clean Island meetings be 
scheduled to coincide with other major fora as it is often difficult 
for GNZ officials to travel long distances for meetings.  End 
Summary. 
 
Clean Island Initiative 
----------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  As a follow-up to DOE A/S Karsner's January 14-15 visit 
to Wellington and Auckland (reftel), DOE DAS Steven Chalk visited 
Wellington on February 12 and met with GNZ officials to further 
review the DOE-proposed Clean Island international partnership.  The 
premise of the initiative is that island nations are particularly 
vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change (e.g., sea 
level rise and extreme weather) as well as energy price shocks 
because many island nations are spending large sums for imported 
fuels.  Developing island countries, with relatively small 
populations, can benefit from technology transfer of renewable 
energy forms from developed island nations.  Developed islands such 
as Iceland, New Zealand, and the U.S. state of Hawaii have already 
made a commitment to renewable energy use and have the potential to 
export best practices to less developed countries.  The purpose of 
the international partnership proposed by DOE is to create an 
information sharing nexus of island nations using renewable energy, 
which will then be placed to assist other interested island 
countries with lessons learned. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  DOE envisions bringing together policy experts, energy 
and technical officials, as well as financial institutions for 
regular meetings to further the use of renewable energies with a 
goal of reaching 70 percent usage on these developed islands within 
a single generation.  Success will be defined and measured in a 
number of ways; chief among them will be measurable adoption and 
transition to renewables and higher energy efficiency. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Initially, DOE foresees limiting participation within the 
partnership to developed island nations that have made a significant 
commitment to renewables, have invested in research and development, 
and defined policy statements and strategies for achieving carbon 
neutral status.  Given that developed countries are still refining 
their deployment of renewables and research/development efforts are 
continuing, DOE believes that it would be premature to include 
developing island nations at the outset of the partnership. 
 
GNZ Officials React to the DOE Initiative 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  In an inter-ministerial meeting hosted for DAS Chalk by 
MORST's Director for Environmental and Social Development, Eric 
Pyle, Chalk briefed the group regarding the Major Economies meeting 
that recently had taken place in Hawaii.  The meetings had been 
productive and the USG was encouraged that post-2012 goals would be 
quantified in the near future, said the DOE official.  Chalk offered 
that the USG had worried some countries might wait out the current 
Administration, but that had not been the case. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  The DOE recently signed an MOU with the Governor of 
Hawaii that will lead to 70 percent renewable energy use within one 
generation, said Chalk.  The Hawaiian island of Lanai will be a test 
 
WELLINGTON 00000051  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
case, where DOE hopes to meet the 70 percent target in a few years 
through a mixture of addressing institutional barriers, policy 
changes, technical fixes, and private financing.  Grid integration 
will be a key element to large-scale renewable use and DOE will work 
with utilities in Hawaii, he added. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Chalk welcomed the opportunity to review the concept 
paper for the Clean Island initiative that DOE A/S Karsner had 
discussed with MORST CEO Helen Anderson during the former's 
mid-January visit to New Zealand (reftel).  He noted that the 
document remains a draft concept paper, and DOE welcomes further 
refinement from New Zealand.  DOE would like to meet on the margins 
of the March WIREC meetings in Washington to discuss the initiative 
in greater detail in preparation for holding the first meeting in 
Iceland in June.  The goal would be to bring together technology, 
policy, and financial officials for moving island nations to advance 
clean energy deployment on a large scale.  Chalk noted that DOE 
would like to foster longer term public-private partnerships - 
particularly in the area of financing biofuel development through 
venture capitalist investment - and that government-backed loans may 
play a role.  A/S Karsner, emphasized Chalk, hopes that the 
initiative will lead to executable plans for measurable results, 
e.g., 70 percent use of renewables in one generation and where 
appropriate, 100 percent use.  In addition, reduction in demand and 
increased energy efficiency are also important components.  Chalk 
said that Hawaii pays US 20 cents/kilowatt hour for electricity, 
which is five times the US mainland price - renewables are therefore 
competitive in terms of price. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  While some renewable energy sources, e.g., wind and 
geothermal, are already deployed, more work is needed to improve 
cellulosic biofuels, plug-in hybrid vehicles, wave/ocean power and 
hydrogen, Chalk mentioned.  As far as geothermal work is concerned, 
the DOE official noted the strong synergy between New Zealand, 
Iceland and the state of Hawaii.  He pointed to the international 
bank established by Iceland (with government backing) to finance 
geothermal projects as an example of the type of policy approach 
needed to advance use of renewables. 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  GNZ officials responded positively to Chalk's remarks and 
expressed strong willingness to collaborate on the Clean Island 
Initiative.  Roger Fairclough, Manager of Fuels and Crown Resources 
at the Ministry of Economic Development, said that MED would be keen 
to share paradigms and learn from other states' experiences.  He 
agreed that large-scale deployment of renewables is key to 
transformational change for islands.  Ministry of Transport 
officials Simon King and Tony Frost also welcomed the initiative, 
noting that the GNZ has targeted electric vehicles as part of New 
Zealand's sustainability plan.  Both noted that renewable energy use 
for electricity generation in New Zealand is not problematic due to 
NZ's plentiful natural resources; the transport sector - as in 
Iceland - is the biggest challenge.  Air New Zealand and Boeing are 
reviewing use of biofuels for air transport, they said, to address 
tourism concerns over the greenhouse gas emissions associated with 
long-distance air travel.  Transport officials urged that the Clean 
Island Initiative focus on a systems approach towards the demand 
side of transport needs within island communities.  They also noted 
that each participating country in the Clean Island Initiative will 
have different resource endowments and different priorities and 
strengths.  New Zealand, for example, does not have a domestic 
automobile manufacturing capability so has little relevant research 
and development to share for that sector. 
 
¶10.  (SBU)  GNS Geothermal Manager Colin Harvey and General Manager 
of Research Robin Falconer noted that New Zealand has a heavy 
research strategy focus on renewables, with geothermal work now 
pushing into non-traditional areas, i.e., low-temperature heat. 
Harvey offered that geothermal provides opportunities for small, 
isolated communities, and that New Zealand had worked with United 
Technologies from Alaska.  Oceans and tidal energy will require 
weather forecasting models, he added. 
 
WELLINGTON 00000051  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶11.  (SBU)  GNZ officials asked Chalk about the scale of renewable 
deployment in Hawaii; Chalk estimated that it would require 5-10 
gigawatts, noting moving to renewables not only entails replacing 
power but also generating capacity as well.  There are integration 
and control limitations, but these engineering issues and not 
scientific ones, he added. 
 
¶12.  (SBU)  In discussing the format for future Clean Island 
meetings, GNZ officials urged that the USG try to combine meetings 
with other established fora likely to draw the same participants to 
reduce additional travel.  Roger Fairclough noted the growing number 
of biofuel meetings and suggested that the Clean Island initiative 
might coincide with the APEC experts group meetings.  Chalk promised 
to relay the contents of his meetings to A/S Karsner and rework the 
draft concept paper accordingly for further discussion in Washington 
during the March WIREC meetings. 
 
¶13.  (U)  DAS Chalk cleared this message. 
 
KEEGAN