Tina Schirr is open to new ideas and innovations, wherever they come from.
“I want to pick the brains of smaller innovative firms, along with the larger firms, about transitioning to a sustainable energy future,” says the BusinessNZ Energy Council’s new executive director.
“What smaller firms lack in investment capital, they tend to make up for in interesting ways to commercialise their ideas,” she says.
As her former boss, BEC’s founder, John Carnegie, says: “Tina is open-minded and does not shy away from a healthy and progressive debate.”
BEC is intended to provide a forum for informed and constructive disagreement; forge collaboration and new common ground; and enable New Zealand businesses to make faster progress in developing and implementing sustainable, efficient and affordable energy.
“It’s not so much about studying energy transition, nor advocating for what should happen,” Schirr says.
“Rather it’s about promoting learning-by-doing and sharing best practice to enable clean, reliable and affordable energy.”
BusinessNZ Energy Council
BEC aims to play a leading role in creating a sustainable energy future for New Zealand.
It facilitates collaboration, information-sharing and the development of solutions to help shape the nation’s energy agenda.
Its members are companies and organisations active in New Zealand’s energy sector. They include generators, distributors and major energy users, as well as government, industry, research and academic bodies.
BEC is a division of BusinessNZ, New Zealand’s largest business advocacy body, and a member of the World Energy Council, which has much the same goals as BEC, but on a global scale.
Came for the renewables, stayed for the coffee
Schirr grew up in Germany where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in management of energy utilities from the University of Applied Sciences, Zwickau and a Master of Science in value chain management from the University of Technology, Chemnitz.
She then worked at EnviaM, a subsidiary of German utility RWE, and Solar Technologie International.
But in 2015, a desire to explore new horizons drew her to New Zealand.
“I was interested in New Zealand’s use of renewables,” she says.
“I was particularly interested to learn about geothermal technology – and New Zealand is a world leader.
“New Zealand has about 85 per cent renewable electricity. Only Iceland and Norway can beat that – but neither of them have such good coffee.”
Making her mark
Other factors prompting her to stay in New Zealand included surf and the natural environment; the diversity of her work; innovation shown by the country’s energy entrepreneurs; and flat hierarchies which make senior decision-makers accessible.
Those flat hierarchies and the importance of personal relationships in a small country helped Schirr establish herself quickly in New Zealand’s business and energy communities.
She arrived in New Zealand in mid-2015. By October that year, Carnegie had recruited her to BEC as an energy policy advisor.
It’s often said overseas qualifications and expertise are undervalued in the New Zealand employment market.
But BEC is seeking the best ideas from around the world, and it prized Schirr’s European training and experience and her international connections.
In late 2015, she became a board member of BEC’s Young Energy Professionals Network and an energy analyst for BEC.
That led to more local connections and opportunities.
In 2018, Schirr became a founding member of Transpower’s consumer advisory panel,
And when Carnegie left to lead the Petroleum Exploration & Production Association of NZ, Schirr was appointed as BEC’s new executive director. She assumed the role in December.
Schirr credits Carnegie for establishing strong foundations at BEC.
But she believes she can build on those foundations, exploring new areas of operations and expertise to benefit members.
BEC always communicates closely with members to ensure the organisation is building in areas which match their interests.
Schirr says now it is time to get stronger involvement from the Young Energy Professionals Network to help shape the future energy landscape.
“Climate change is one such area – it’s a big topic,” she says.
“BEC has a definite long-term interest in climate change. All companies are affected by it, whether they have to come up with their own climate solutions or to pay someone else to provide it.”
BEC aims to work more closely with the resource and sustainability sector to unpack the business implications of climate change and options for energy policy reform.
She says this will enable it to expertly engage in “cross-cutting” policy and regulatory reform processes, those around the ETS, the Crown Minerals Act and the Resource Management Act.
Modelling
BEC and public and private partners have commissioned a comprehensive model of New Zealand’s entire energy sector.
The first fruits of this were seen in the BEC2060 Energy Scenarios released in November last year.
The TIMES model is being developed by the Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland’s largest federally-funded research institute, and modeller for the World Energy Council’s scenarios.
The Auckland University Business School’s Energy Centre will host and maintain the model, which will be accessible on commercial terms.
BEC says TIMES is used to explore possible energy futures under contrasting scenarios.
It combines a technical engineering approach and an economic approach to model energy over the medium to long-term.
National TIMES models are currently used in the US, the UK, China, Sweden, Ireland, Portugal and Norway.
National model applications of TIMES focus on energy planning and policy issues, taking into account renewable energy deployments, environment effects and national emissions reduction obligations.
BEC will continue to produce scenario models throughout the year to help government and business decision-making.
“Every six months or so we need to feed the beast with new data,” Schirr says.
“This year, we aim to produce more demand-side perspectives.”
She hopes that this year Climate Change Commission members will be able to draw on the modelling to inform their assessments and advice.
Telling stories to the world
Schirr also sits on the World Energy Council’s energy issues and innovation working group and its energy policy and risk working group.
BEC is New Zealand’s representative on the council.
Schirr says her international experience and outlook has helped inform her work, and she sees real value in pursuing BEC’s global connections in her new role.
“As the NZ Inc for the energy sector, BEC has a responsibility for putting the New Zealand energy story into the global audiences,” says Schirr.
That requires BEC cultivating a strong international presence to communicate how much New Zealand has to offer in energy transition innovation and leadership, she says.
“Not enough people overseas know about New Zealand’s energy mix.”
Schirr found it “shocking” some delegates at last year’s World Energy Congress in Abu Dhabi, which she attended with YEPN members, confused Australia’s generation mix – heavily-orientated towards coal and natural gas – with New Zealand’s, which comes mostly from renewable sources.
“New Zealand has a great narrative. It needs to be heard.”
She also says the zero carbon act is “an example of taking action on energy transition” that many people overseas are not aware of.
BEC seeks opportunities to tell these stories overseas, while leveraging international networks for its members, says Schirr.
International contacts can also help New Zealand realise the potential of its resources.
For example, green hydrogen offers potential to support decarbonisation and deliver export dollars, but costs must be managed, she says.
“Leveraging the hydrogen experience of countries like Japan, South Korea and Germany could help keep the costs down.”
Looking ahead
Schirr says the general election will inevitably be a key focus this year.
“Right now, we’re engaging on specific policy areas of immediate interest to our members.”
That includes proposed reforms around the emission trading scheme and talking to Energy and Resources Minister Woods about changes arising from the electricity price review.
BEC plans to run ‘election panels’ with relevant ministers and party spokespeople.
It will also produce pre-election briefings delivered well in-advance of polling day in September.
“This will allow us to create priority areas for incoming issues and identify what a good energy sector looks likes,” she says.
“Those briefings will be timed early enough to allow political parties to possibly develop them into their own policies.”
Schirr says BEC has real influence on energy policy.
“BEC’s opinion remains powerful because it comes from the entire supply and value chain of industry through its diverse membership.”