EECA staff checking the tyre pressure at a service station in Auckland today found that around half the cars checked had tyres at the wrong pressure.

Just under a hundred cars were checked at the Z Greenlane service station this morning as part of an ENERGYWISE promotion to encourage drivers to keep their tyres pumped up to save fuel and be safe on the roads.  Of those, 48 needed to have their tyres inflated to the correct pressure.

Entries opened today for the 2012 EECA Awards, the biennial celebration of excellence and innovation in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Entries are invited in nine categories: Transport, Large Business, Small Business, Public Sector, Renewable Energy, Innovation, Community, Energy Management, and the Outstanding Contribution award for individuals. From these, a Supreme winner is selected.

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) today welcomed the appointment of three suppliers to carry out feasibility studies into a proposed district energy scheme in Christchurch.

EECA is supporting the Christchurch Agency for Energy (CAFÉ) with $120,000 in co-funding for the feasibility studies.

"A district energy scheme in the Christchurch CBD could potentially provide a boost for the city both economically and environmentally," said EECA chief executive Mike Underhill.

The Acting Minister of Energy and Resources, Hekia Parata, has today announced that three marine energy projects will receive funding as part of the Government's Marine Energy Deployment Fund.

 The projects include a wave energy device for Stewart Island, turbines to generate electricity for Parnell Baths in Auckland, and funding for a cable to link a wave energy device at Moa Point in Wellington.

 "New Zealand has huge potential to generate electricity from marine energy in the future," says Ms Parata.