Renewable energy in New Zealand
Encyclopedia
Renewable energy in New Zealand is primarily from hydropower
Hydropower
Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as...
. In 2010, 74% of the electricity generated in New Zealand came from renewable sources, a ratio that has been falling for decades while load growth has been met primarily by natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
-fired power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
s. In September 2007, former Prime Minister
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
Helen Clark
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...
announced a national target of 90 percent renewable electricity by 2025, with wind energy
Wind energy
Wind energy is the kinetic energy of air in motion; see also wind power.Total wind energy flowing through an imaginary area A during the time t is:E = ½ m v2 = ½ v 2...
to make up much of that increase.
The resource consent
Resource consent
A resource consent is the authorisation given to certain activities or uses of natural and physical resources required under the New Zealand Resource Management Act . Some activities may either be specifically authorised by the RMA or be permitted activities authorised by rules in plans...
process has favoured non-renewable energy projects. This century, thermal projects have received consents (Rodney
Rodney Power Station
The Rodney Power Station is a natural gas fired combined cycle power station proposed by Genesis Energy.The power station will be located on a 48 ha site midway between Helensville and Kaukapakapa on State Highway 16, near the Kaipara Harbour, north west of Auckland...
, Stratford
Stratford Power Station
The Stratford Power Station is a 575 MW power station located east of Stratford, Taranaki, New Zealand. It comprises one combined cycle unit and two open cycle gas turbine units and is owned and operated by Contact Energy.- History :...
) while renewable energy projects have had consent applications declined (Awhitu
Awhitu Wind Farm
The Awhitu Wind Farm is a renewable energy project in New Zealand planned by Genesis Energy. This development is proposed to be located on the Awhitu Peninsula near Waiuku on the west coast south of Auckland....
, Mokau hydro, Mount Cass
Mount Cass Wind Farm
The Mount Cass Wind Farm is/was a proposed wind farm to be located east of Waipara on Mount Cass in the Canterbury region of New Zealand.-Timeline:* 23 November 2007 - application for resource consents lodged* 1 August 2008 - submissions close...
, Project Hayes
Project Hayes
Project Hayes is a controversial wind farm proposed for the Lammermoor Range of Otago, New Zealand.It has a proposed capacity of up to 630MW, making it the largest wind farm project in the southern hemisphere. The proposed farm would cover an area of approximately 92 km², use up to 176 wind...
, Te Waka
Te Waka Wind Farm
The Titiokura/Te Waka Wind Farm is a wind farm project being developed by Unison Networks and Roaring 40s. Developed in two stages, it is located adjacent to SH5 in the Te Pohue - Titiokura area, 35 km west of Napier, New Zealand....
, Waitahora).
Geothermal power
Geothermal power is a small but significant part of the electrical energy generation capacity of the country, providing approximately 13% of the country's electricity with installed capacity of 627 MW. New Zealand, like only a small number of other countries worldwide, has numerous geothermal sites that could be developed for exploitation, and also boasts some of the earliest large-scale use of geothermal energy in the world.Wind power
As of December 2010, New Zealand had an installed wind generation capacity of 539 MW. Wind powerWind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
now provides enough electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
to meet the needs of 160,000 New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
households, or approximately 3% of the country's electricity demand. Wind farm
Wind farm
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
s with a further capacity of 80 MW are under construction, with approval granted or being sought for another 2,875 MW.
Solar hot water
Installation of solar hot waterSolar hot water
Solar water heating or solar hot water systems comprise several innovations and many mature renewable energy technologies that have been well established for many years...
heating systems is increasing in New Zealand due in part to government incentive schemes. High temperature system Solar thermal energy
Solar thermal energy
Solar thermal energy is a technology for harnessing solar energy for thermal energy . Solar thermal collectors are classified by the United States Energy Information Administration as low-, medium-, or high-temperature collectors. Low-temperature collectors are flat plates generally used to heat...
plants are not likely to be adopted due to the variable solar radiation in New Zealand. It is unlikely to be economically viable.
Ocean power
New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
has large ocean energy resources but does not yet generate any power from them. TVNZ reported in 2007 that over 20 wave
Wave power
Wave power is the transport of energy by ocean surface waves, and the capture of that energy to do useful work — for example, electricity generation, water desalination, or the pumping of water...
and tidal power
Tidal power
Tidal power, also called tidal energy, is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of tides into useful forms of power - mainly electricity....
projects are currently under development. However, not a lot of public information is available about these projects. The Aotearoa Wave and Tidal Energy Association
Aotearoa Wave and Tidal Energy Association
The Aotearoa Wave and Tidal Energy Association is a New Zealand organisation established in 2006 to promote renewable energy from marine sources. This includes energy from tides, waves and ocean currents....
was established in 2006 to "promote the uptake of marine energy in New Zealand". According to their latest newsletter, they have 59 members. However the association doesn't list these members or provide any details of projects.
From 2008 to 2011, the government Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority is a New Zealand government/crown agency responsible for promoting energy efficiency and conservation....
is allocating $2 million each year from a Marine Energy Deployment Fund, set up to encourage the utilisation of this resource.
The greater Cook Strait
Cook Strait
Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....
and Kaipara Harbour
Kaipara Harbour
Kaipara Harbour is a large enclosed harbour estuary complex on the north western side of the North Island of New Zealand. The northern part of the harbour is administered by the Kaipara District and the southern part is administered by the Rodney District...
seem to offer the most promising sites for using underwater turbines. Two resource consents have been granted for pilot projects in Cook Strait itself and in the Tory Channel
Tory Channel
Tory Channel is one of the drowned valleys that form the Marlborough Sounds in New Zealand.Tory Channel is named after the "Tory", a pioneer ship that brought British colonists to Wellington in 1840. It lies to the south of Arapawa Island, separating it from the mainland. At its western end it...
, and consent has been granted for up to 200 tidal turbines at the Kaipara Tidal Power Station
Kaipara Tidal Power Station
The Kaipara tidal power station is a proposed tidal power project to be located in the Kaipara Harbour. The project is being developed by Crest Energy, with an ultimate size of 200MW at a cost of $700 million....
. Other potential locations include the Manukau
Manukau Harbour
Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and is an arm of the Tasman Sea.-Geography:...
and Hokianga Harbours, and French Pass
French Pass
French Pass is a narrow and treacherous stretch of water that separates D'Urville Island, at the north end of the South Island of New Zealand, from the mainland coast. At one end is Tasman Bay, and at the other end the outer Pelorus Sound leads out to Cook Strait.French Pass has the fastest tidal...
. The harbours produce currents up to 6 knots with tidal flows up to 100,000 cubic metres a second. These tidal volumes are 12 times greater than the flows in the largest New Zealand rivers.
Annual electricity generation
| Year | Hydro | Thermal | Geothermal | Wind | Total | % Renewable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 16,497 | 1,931 | 1,350 | - | 20,126 | 90% |
| 1980 | 19,171 | 1,959 | 1,206 | - | 22,700 | 91% |
| 1985 | 19,511 | 6,555 | 1,165 | - | 27,673 | 76% |
| 1990 | 22,953 | 5,956 | 2,091 | - | 31,467 | 81% |
| 1995 | 27,259 | 5,426 | 2,049 | 1 | 35,244 | 85% |
| 2000 | 24,387 | 10,474 | 2,756 | 119 | 38,285 | 73% |
| 2005 | 23,094 | 14,286 | 2,981 | 608 | 41,514 | 66% |
| 2010 | 24,470 | 11,140 | 5,551 | 1,618 | 43,401 | 74% |
A glance at these figures shows that for the stated target to be attained, current thermal generation will have to be decommissioned and not replaced. Even if the annual total consumption doubles from the 2005 figure ( as it did from 1975 to 2005 ), with all additional generation met by non-thermal means, a static thermal generation of 14,305 on a total of 83,340 is still 17 percent. The most likely candidate for decommissioning would be the 1000 MW
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
Huntly power station
Huntly power station
The Huntly Power Station is the largest thermal power station in New Zealand and is located in the town of Huntly in the Waikato. It is operated by Genesis Power, a state-owned enterprise, and supplies around 17% of the country's power.-Generation:...
, a coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
and gas power station that was commissioned in 1983.
While there are some non-technical barriers to the widespread use of renewables, global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
concerns coupled with high oil prices and increasing government support are driving increasing growth in the renewable energy industries.
To boost the "renewables" ratio, geothermal power
Geothermal power
Geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter. Earth's geothermal energy originates from the original formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of minerals...
is often counted as renewable, even though the geothermal heat reservoirs are depleted (observably so at Wairakei, the longest-running), and, they are not emissions-free. For example, the Ngawha geothermal field
Ngawha geothermal field
The Ngawha geothermal field is a geothermal area in the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated approximately 5 km east of Kaikohe and is centred around the village of Ngawha Springs. The field covers an area of around 25 km² and as such, is much smaller than the only other geothermal...
emits an unusually high amount of CO2 (350 tonnes CO2 per GWh ) and the geothermal fields plus natural hot springs draining to the Waikato river
Waikato River
The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand. In the North Island, it runs for 425 kilometres from the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and emptying into Lake Taupo, New Zealand's largest lake. It drains Taupo at the lake's northeastern edge, creates the...
deliver sufficient arsenic
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
to render the water unsafe to drink without special treatment. Re-injection of the waste geothermal fluid can reduce these problems (even extending the life of the field), but involves additional expense.
See also
- Electricity sector in New ZealandElectricity sector in New ZealandThe electricity sector in New Zealand uses mainly renewable energy sources such as hydropower, geothermal power and increasingly wind energy. The 70% share of renewable energy sources makes New Zealand one of the lowest carbon dioxide emitting countries in terms of electricity generation....
- List of renewable energy topics by country
- Renewable energy commercializationRenewable energy commercializationRenewable energy commercialization involves the deployment of three generations of renewable energy technologies dating back more than 100 years. First-generation technologies, which are already mature and economically competitive, include biomass, hydroelectricity, geothermal power and heat...