Data centres aren't the problem, our electricity market is

PremiumOpinionOpinion byRod SnodgrassNZ Herald·16 Aug, 2026 12:00 AM5 mins to readRod Snodgrass is a former executive at Spark and current chair of Electric KiwiA handful of vertically integrated gentailers, such as Contact Energy, which owns and operates Clyde Dam, dominate power generation and retail. Photo / Justine TyermanLast week’s announcement of another major data centre project in New Zealand should be cause for celebration. The mooted Taranaki project, coming on the heels of the massive Datagrid project proposed for Southland, confirms that New Zealand is firmly on the radar for global technology infrastructure.

I am the last

Data centres aren't the problem, our electricity market is

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