Energy End Use Database Insights

Publication date: May 2025

About the database

The Energy End Use Database (EEUD) was developed by EECA and provides the latest data on energy use in New Zealand homes and businesses, use of fossil fuel and low-carbon energy, and how the transition to low-carbon energy is tracking between January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2023.

The dataset is available as an online data visualisation application showcasing the results with a user-friendly interactive interface. The data is also available as a downloadable spreadsheet of the entire dataset.

The tool uses annual energy demand data from MBIE and delivered energy estimates are provided for fuel types, sectors, end uses and technologies.

The ‘end use’ values expressed in the EEUD represent how delivered energy is split between its uses in given sectors. The delivered energy end use values are different to the ‘actual’ end use energy volumes when efficiencies and losses are accounted for.

Insights summary from the latest data

Manufacturing in the dairy, petrochemicals, metals, and wood sectors remains the main driver of stationary energy consumption in New Zealand, with high and intermediate temperature process heat and boiler systems as the primary end uses and technologies.

The top insights include:

  • The overall fuel mix has remained steady over the past seven years, with consistent proportions of electricity, fossil fuels, and renewables. 
  • The industrial sector saw a promising shift from fossil fuels to electricity between 2021 and 2022, but this trend reversed in 2023. 
  • The dairy sector has shown a clear decline in coal use, consistent with conversions away from coal in 2022 and 2023. 
  • The meat and seafood sector has not yet shown any national-level fuel switching impact. 
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Sector insights

Dairy product manufacturing

The dairy sector accounted for 18% of New Zealand’s industrial stationary energy use in 2023.

Coal use has been decreasing year on year since 2018, while electricity use has gradually increased over the same period. Open Country Dairy’s Waharoa site went operational in March 2023 with its new biomass boiler – displacing coal. This change would have contributed to the reduction in coal use. Meanwhile, several industrial fuel switching projects across the sector became operational across 2023 and there was increased used of electrode boilers at Synlait’s Dunsandel site and Open Country Dairy’s Awarua site. However, the use of fossil gas increased significantly in 2023. Fonterra has announced its intention to convert two gas boilers to electricity which should impact gas use across the sector.

Dairy product manufacturing – Stationary energy consumption.
Dairy product manufacturing – stationary energy consumption (primary fuel types only)

Meat and seafood product manufacturing

Several industrial co-fuel-switching projects across the meat products sector became operational across 2024 and more are expected to become operational across 2025 and 2026 (e.g. fuel switching projects at sites for Alliance, AFFCO, ANZCO), the data does not show the impact of these fuel switching impacts projects.  These projects are expected to impact consumption data in the long term.

Meat and seafood product manufacturing - Stationery energy consumption.
Meat and seafood product manufacturing - Stationery energy consumption (primary fuel types only)

While the commercial sector mainly uses electricity, it also continues to use fossil fuels, mainly fossil gas and diesel.  These fuels make up around 40% and 44% of all the sector’s fossil usage respectively.  Diesel usage has increased over the past four years.  The exact drivers are unclear.  Renewable fuel usage is mainly geothermal with a small amount of biogas used.  Renewable volumes have remained constant however, rather than increasing its share.

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The commercial sector - stationary energy consumption

About the data

The EEUD was initially created by EECA in 2007.  EECA revised and improved the quality of the database in 2018.  An improved dataset was released publicly in 2020 and was available as open data.

Open data website(external link)

In November 2021 the updated dataset was released as an online data visualisation application showcasing the results with a user-friendly interactive interface.  The data is also available as a downloadable spreadsheet of the entire dataset.  Energy use estimates are derived using a ‘top down’ approach based on MBIE’s annual high-level sector/fuel energy demand data and proportioned into further disaggregated sectors, end use applications and technology values using ‘bottom up’ data held by EECA. 

In April 2022, the transport data methodology was updated and now expresses an enhanced breakdown of technologies and transport modes. This update was based upon Waka Kotahi, Ministry of Transport and EECA data. The data provides insights into battery electric vehicles, passenger and freight rail, and heavy trucks. 

In April 2025, EECA released a new version of the online data visualisation tool. The new version has enhanced functionality including filters with multi-selection ability. 

For more information about the EEUD, please email info@eeca.govt.nz

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