20 June 2026
LETS Newsletter No 26
Newsletter No.26 June 2026
Committee News
Tony Ussher and Margarita Parra at Lyttelton Farmers Market LETS Stall Photo Credit Margarita Parra
Hi Everyone,
Margarita and Tony spent last Saturday at the Farmers Market connecting with locals about community energy. They had a great morning and had loads of interesting conversations. Thanks Project Lyttelton for offering this great space for the community to connect easily to locals.
There is so much happening in the next month. Our biggest event will be our AGM on July 1st. We really encourage you to attend and we have spread the word far and wide because we really want other communities to get involved actively in the community energy transition. As a result we have booked a bigger venue for our AGM and will be heading to Naval Point Club at Magazine Bay.
Our guest speaker is Sam Elder. She describes herself as a systems thinker and problem solver who thrives with others to address the major challenges and opportunities that we face as a society. Her career started as an engineer in rocket science and she has had various roles in a very interesting career. She’s now known as a Climate Navigator focusing on Energy Transitions for all sectors of society.
Here is the link to our latest minutes from our May meeting.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FxwfTvzQx3l53imZp1DOzL2EaRJa8a0K/view?usp=sharing
Two significant things happened this month. Our Licence to Occupy Project Lyttelton’s roof space was approved and the Christchurch City Council obtained some funding from EECA for solar powered resilience hubs and we understand the Lyttelton Recreation Centre has been successful.
With such a busy month we hope to see you at some of these events.
June 16 ReEnergising 5.30pm TSB Space Tūranga
June 21 Electric Drop In at Spooky Boogie 2-3pm
June 22 Committee Meeting 7pm at Project Lyttelton
July 1**AGM and Guest Speaker Sam Elder 7pm**at NAVAL POINT CLUB
Wendy, Sam, Greg, Juliet, Tony, Margarita, Raymond and Dana.
We encourage LETS members and supporters to come along to this interesting evening to boost local action to tackle energy affordability and accelerate energy transitions across our region.
An opening address will be presented by Dr Rod Carr followed by an expert panel of local leaders from within our community, academia and government. You will find out about immediate actions you can take and what is emerging now and where collective action could be focused. Come along to connect with other people in your local energy ecosystem, share ideas and get inspired to make a real difference.
If you would like to car pool from Lyttelton please contact communityenergylytt@gmail.com
Got questions about Solar, EVs, Electric Appliances?
Come and join some LETS committee members over a coffee/tea at Spooky Boogie on Sunday June 21st between 2-3pm. We’ll be located in the back room. This is your chance to ask all those questions that you have been saving up about electrification with trusted locals who should be able to point you in the right direction. As a bonus incentive to visit, have a cup of delicious Spooky Boogie coffee on LETS. Please invite your neighbours and friends who are also interested in this issue.
Energy Resources (Oil and Gas) - Decline from 2025
Why an Energy Strategy is Essential
I have seen this graph several times recently.The first was at a presentation at Lincoln University, Running on Empty - The Devil is in the Diesel by Dr Craig Anderson and the second in a Youtube - Lunch and Learn Webinar: Oil and Gas Refining and our Supply Chains in 2026 - Larry Blair.
This is my understanding of this graph. The age of abundant oil from the early 50’s into the 60’s was a time when field oil was really easy to extract and the cost to produce it was really low. Basically to get 10 barrels of oil you didn’t have to use hardly any energy to extract it.
As we move to 2026, the types of oil available are much harder to extract and the quality of the oils are declining. The cost to get this oil is increasing, see the pale yellow block increasing on the graph.Oil is coming from great depths, or shale, or sands. Now for 10 barrels you need to consume at least 2 or 3 barrels during extraction. As a society we reached peak oil in 2018. The International Energy Agency predicts that oil and gas will deplete quickly from now on. (See the graph below).
Oil is still the key energy source to transition our society off fossil fuels. Will there be enough oil to achieve our aims if the fields are depleted by 80% by 2050?
An Energy Strategy/Plan for New Zealand is required to map the path forward because from now on these graphs indicate there is no more surplus energy to grow economies. Higher quality oils, in particular diesel, the back bone of the economy will shrink in supply. Our current growth model can not succeed because we won’t have the resources to make this happen any more. We need to start asking ourselves, how are we going to prioritise the precious oil and gas supplies that remain to achieve our energy transition goals? In 2026 whilst electricity is approximately 85% renewable in New Zealand, the physical economy is still around 80% dependent on fossil fuels according to Dr Craig Anderson.
A DATE FOR YOUR DIARY - Sunday October 11th
Rewiring Aotearoa is sponsoring Electrify Expos throughout New Zealand. For Christchurch this involves all three affiliated Rewiring Aotearoa groups working collectively to produce this event. The Expo is in the planning stages now and the event organiser has been appointed,none other than LETS member Cathy Lum-Webb’s husband Jeremy Webb. The event will take place at the Wigram Airforce Base. It’s anticipated to be a day where you can find everything under one roof about electrification. You can expect information and displays on EVs, solar systems, hot water systems, community energy organisations and government bodies who deal with energy.The expo will be a fun one stop shop for the public featuring talks, demonstrations, product information and family friendly activities.
HOW CAN YOU HELP NOW?
If you would like to be a sponsor or an exhibitor Dr Jeremy Webb would like to hear from you now. He can be contacted on**ElectrifyChristchurchExpo@gmail.com**or 020 408 64 253
If you would like information on how to be a sponsor or exhibitor just click on the links below.
Ara Ake
Some of the events Ara Ake participated in during 24/25 - Photo Credit Impact Report 2025.
Ara Ake has been New Zealand’s Energy Innovation Centre. It was this organisation that helped support the first Community Energy Activator that LETS participated in. Since their inception in 2020 they have supported many innovative energy trials. It was disappointing to read this organisation will be disestablished in the government’s last budget. Some of their work will transfer to EECA and the bulk of their funding is being shifted to fund solar and batteries on 500 schools throughout the country.
Final Membership Reminder
Photo Credit: rawpixel.com on Freepik
At our AGM last year we resolved that the membership fee would increase to $20 per member with the option of $5 according to your means. To vote or be elected to the committee at our July 1st 2026 AGM you need to be a member.
To renew your membership please send your membership renewal and any donations to our Kiwibank account
Lyttelton Energy Transition Society 38-9025-0680672-00 Reference Membership LETS and your name.
Your membership fees and your generous donations help support our administrative overheads and community education campaigns. All of your donations are tax deductible and will be receipted. Thank you all.
Dates for your Diary
June 16 ReEnergising 5.30pm
June 21 Drop In at Spooky Boogie 2-3pm
June 22 Committee Meeting 7pm
July 1 AGM and Guest Speaker Sam Elder 7pm
Oct 11 Electrify Expo
Membership
If you would like to join LETS and haven’t yet, here is a link to our membership application It’s very affordable, only $20 or $5 unwaged and you’ll be helping to shape the future of Community Energy in Aotearoa. Donations are also gratefully accepted and are tax deductible. Thank you.
All members are welcome to sign up to our LETS Whats App Group. In this group we share networking opportunities and informative articles/podcasts. If you are interested please text Wendy 021 0476144.
Facebook Lyttelton Energy Transition Society -LETS
For links to our web page and email please click on the links at the bottom of the newsletter.
Do you have any news or events energy related that you’d like included in this monthly broadcast? Please email Wendy communityenergylytt@gmail.com
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