Coalminer buys solar heat firm

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Solid Energy's purchase of a Nelson solar heating specialist signals a widening of the renewable energy portfolio held by the coalminer, recently under fire from environmentalists.

The purchase of the family-owned company Sensible Heat would form the basis of a new unit, Switch, to sit alongside two other renewables units, Solid Energy general manager energy developments Andy Matheson said.

The state-owned company was branching into renewables because they were profitable and New Zealanders were looking to be more sustainable in energy choices, rather than to put a positive gloss on its core coal mining business, he said.

"We see it as a growing market in that area ... we're not doing it for those reasons (to do with coal)," Matheson said.

In fact, coal had had a resurgence around the world in relation to natural gas and oil, and made up to 40 per cent of the world's power generation. "Coal is quite quite diverse and not in politically unstable areas."

Solid Energy inflamed passions amongst anti-mining activists after having been found out for paying an informant to gather information on these activists. But the miner has paid millions moving endangered snails in the way of its mining plans.

Solar power along with the other units – Biodiesel New Zealand and a wood pellet business known as Nature's Flame – formed the basis of a $20 million to $30m business for Solid Energy, Matheson said.

Solid Energy wanted to increase those sales to up to $150m in the next six or seven years.

The company has ambitions to be a big biodiesel maker through the development of canola farming.

Solid Energy had not yet made public potential sites for a biodiesel plant, Matheson said.

"We haven't concluded where that location will be but Southland is a good place for growing canola," he said.

The owners of Sensible Heat were Matt and Nadienne Cookson. Matt Cookson would be general manager of Switch.

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