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Offshore Renewable Energy Bill

Decommissioning of ORE infrastructure - Obligation to provide Crown with financial security - Obligation to ensure that acceptable financial security arrangement is put in place and maintained

79: Obligation to ensure that acceptable financial security arrangement is put in place and maintained

You could also call this:

"Ensure you have enough money set aside to clean up after your offshore energy project."

Illustration for Offshore Renewable Energy Bill

If you have a decommissioning obligation for offshore renewable energy infrastructure, you must ensure you have an acceptable financial security arrangement in place and maintained as security for the Crown. You can find more information about this in sections 80 to 83. You must put this arrangement in place by the time specified by the Minister under section 83(1)(a)(iv).

If you are a permit holder, you must maintain this arrangement at all times while your permit is in force and while your financial security obligation continues. If you are the owner of offshore renewable energy transmission infrastructure, you must also maintain this arrangement at all times while you own the infrastructure and while your financial security obligation continues.

Your financial security obligation will continue even if your permit ceases to be current or you cease to be a commercial permit holder, or if you cease to own the infrastructure. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, which you can find in subsections 3 to 5, and the Minister may give consent for the security to be released or used in certain circumstances, as outlined in sections 43(2) and 72.

If you are the State enterprise known as Transpower New Zealand Limited, this section does not apply to you to the extent that the decommissioning obligation is in respect of any offshore renewable energy transmission infrastructure.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS992239.

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"Ensuring money is set aside to clean up old offshore energy equipment if something goes wrong."

Part 3Decommissioning of ORE infrastructure
Obligation to provide Crown with financial security: Obligation to ensure that acceptable financial security arrangement is put in place and maintained

79Obligation to ensure that acceptable financial security arrangement is put in place and maintained

  1. A person who has a decommissioning obligation in respect of any ORE infrastructure (person A) must ensure that an acceptable financial security arrangement is put in place and maintained as security for the Crown for the performance of that decommissioning obligation (see sections 80 to 83).

  2. Person A must put in place the acceptable financial security arrangement by the time specified by the Minister under section 83(1)(a)(iv).

  3. Person A, if they are a permit holder, must maintain the acceptable financial security arrangement—

  4. at all times while that permit is in force; and
    1. at all times while their financial security obligation continues in force under subsection (5).

      1. Person A, if they are owner of ORE transmission infrastructure, must maintain the acceptable financial security arrangement—

      2. at all times while they are the owner of that infrastructure; and
        1. at all times while their financial security obligation continues in force under subsection (5).

          1. Person A’s financial security obligation continues in force, and the financial security continues to be available to the Crown, even if,—

          2. in the case of ORE generation infrastructure, the relevant permit ceases to be current or person A ceases to be a commercial permit holder; and
            1. in the case of ORE transmission infrastructure, person A ceases to own the infrastructure.

              1. However,—

              2. subsections (3) to (5) are subject to the provisions of this Act that provide for the release or other ending of person A’s decommissioning or financial security obligations (see, for example, sections 43(2) and 72); and
                1. despite subsections (3) to (5), the Minister may give consent,—
                  1. in the case of a bond or cash or a cash deposit, for the person to use all or part of that amount to carry out the decommissioning to which that security relates; or
                    1. for the security to be released and built up again over the life of the development under section 83(1)(a)(iv) (which allows the Minister to specify the times by which different securities that comprise the financial security arrangement must or may be put in place and maintained); or
                      1. for particular securities that comprise the financial security arrangement to be released (for example, to allow for particular securities to relate to specific pieces of infrastructure and to be released when that piece of infrastructure is decommissioned); or
                        1. for a person who is or was an owner of ORE transmission infrastructure to be released from the obligation to maintain an acceptable financial security arrangement.

                        2. This section does not apply to the State enterprise known as Transpower New Zealand Limited to the extent that the decommissioning obligation is in respect of any ORE transmission infrastructure.