ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) Renewable Energy Standards Workshop

Malcolm MacMillan, National Manager Standards New Zealand, represented Standards New Zealand at the AANZFTA Regional Workshop on International Standards Cooperation in Renewable, Green and Clean Energy, held in Singapore on 10–11 June 2026. The workshop, delivered by Standards Australia, formed part of the wider AANZFTA Harmonisation in Renewable Energy, which is designed to promote the adoption and harmonisation of international standards across Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand in order to support trade, investment and the uptake of renewable, green and clean energy goods and services.

For Standards New Zealand, the workshop provided an important opportunity to engage directly with regional counterparts on how standards can support the energy transition, reduce technical barriers to trade, and strengthen cooperation across the AANZFTA region. It’s also important to bring a New Zealand perspective to the regional conversation. The initiative itself is focused on helping member economies explore the benefits of harmonised international standards in sectors such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydro and battery storage, while also building practical recommendations for future cooperation.

The two-day programme was strongly focused on practical participation. It included opening remarks from leaders from Standards Australia, the Australian High Commission and Enterprise Singapore; a keynote on sustainable energy deployment through standards, certification and conformity assessment; a presentation on the Clean, Green, Renewable Energy and the Standards Landscape across the AANZFTA research report; a panel discussion on the role of standards in international trade for renewables; group activities on regional net benefit, harmonising international standards, and national priorities for clean energy harmonisation; a keynote on future energy trends in ASEAN; and a site visit to the Sembcorp Tengeh Floating Solar Farm.

Workshop highlights

A highlight of the workshop was the emphasis on standards as a practical enabler of renewable energy deployment. Sessions examined how standards, certification and conformity assessment can help deliver safe, reliable and scalable renewable energy systems, while also supporting regulatory confidence and market uptake. 

A second key theme was standards harmonisation as a driver of regional trade and investment. The AANZFTA initiative explicitly aims to show how adopting and harmonising international standards can help create a more predictable and transparent environment for investors, lower cross-border friction, and support broader uptake of renewable technologies across the region.

For Standards New Zealand, this is highly relevant work. Participation helps ensure New Zealand stays connected to emerging regional approaches to standards in renewable energy, contributes to conversations on international alignment, and remains well placed to support New Zealand businesses, regulators and policymakers as technologies and markets evolve. This is particularly important in an AANZFTA context, where collaboration and interoperability, free trade, investment facilitation and sustainable development are explicit objectives.

Key findings from the 'Clean, Green, Renewable Energy and the Standards Landscape across the AANZFTA' report

The workshop built on the January 2026 research report, by Standards Australia, titled Clean, Green, Renewable Energy and the Standards Landscape across the ASEAN‑Australia‑New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), which was presented during the programme. The report and the wider project identify several important findings for the region.

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• The regional market is already substantial and growing. Standards Australia reported that in 2024 AANZFTA countries traded more than USD 61.4 billion in clean, green and renewable energy-related products, with battery energy storage systems and solar technologies leading both imports and exports, and the region recording a USD 5.6 billion trade surplus in this sector.
• International standards are seen as a practical mechanism to accelerate uptake. The AANZFTA project is explicitly focused on promoting the benefits of adopting and harmonising international standards to increase trade, investment and implementation of renewable technologies across the region.
• The standards landscape is uneven and implementation challenges remain. The workshop and supporting project materials point to ongoing barriers including limited standards adoption, economic policy settings and technological challenges, all of which can slow deployment and create friction across markets.
• Regional cooperation is needed to move from discussion to implementation. The in-person workshop was designed to allow AANZFTA economies to examine the current standards landscape, identify implementation challenges, share national experiences and contribute recommendations for future harmonisation.
• The report’s broader significance is strategic as well as technical. It sits within a regional effort to support a cleaner, more connected and more resilient energy future by using standards to lower risk, improve transparency and make investment decisions easier.

Why outcomes matter for New Zealand

The workshop outcomes are particularly relevant to New Zealand as the country increases renewable generation and electrification. MBIE reported that renewables generated 94.5% of New Zealand’s electricity in the March 2026 quarter, with higher hydro, wind and solar output driving the result, while the Government’s emissions reduction planning highlights the importance of abundant renewable energy, greater electrification and ongoing investment in generation, transmission and local networks.

Solar and wind - For these the relevance is immediate. New Zealand’s March 2026 quarter saw record solar generation of 373 GWh, while wind generation also increased strongly; at the same time, MBIE and other government sources continue to point to wind and solar as major contributors to future generation growth. Participation in regional standards discussions helps support quality, safety, interoperability and investor confidence as these technologies scale.

Hydro - here the value lies in system resilience and integration. New Zealand’s electricity system remains strongly influenced by hydro conditions, and MBIE’s latest data shows that high hydro inflows were a major reason renewable generation was so strong in early 2026. Regional work on standards and cooperation is therefore relevant not only to new technologies, but also to the way renewable assets and systems work together reliably across increasingly complex grids.

Hydrogen - this is also an important emerging area. The Government is taking action to unlock private investment in hydrogen, including support for internationally aligned certification schemes, and adoption of international standards, while also noting that hydrogen could play a key role in hard-to-electrify sectors (e.g. heavy transport) and depends on strong renewable electricity supply. That makes standards and certification especially important for hydrogen production, safety, market access and future trade opportunities.

It is key that New Zealand stays actively engaged in regional standards cooperation at a time of rapid energy transition. Standards are not just technical documents; they are practical tools that help economies scale renewable energy safely, support investment, strengthen interoperability and open pathways for trade. For New Zealand, that is directly relevant to the continued adoption of solar, wind, hydrogen, geothermal and hydro as part of a more resilient, lower-emissions energy future.