Renewable electricity generation bounces back

The latest New Zealand Energy Quarterly covers July-September 2021, and provides quarterly data and analysis on energy supply, demand, prices and associated greenhouse gas emissions.

“The share of electricity from hydro generation jumped more than 8% on a year earlier as hydro storage levels rebounded from a prolonged dry spell. Hydro storage levels are usually at their lowest in the September quarter, but strong inflows led to storage being almost 40% above the historical average for the quarter,” says Daniel Griffiths, MBIE Manager of Markets, Evidence and Insights.

“Wind generation hit a record high with the new Waipipi and Turitea wind farms making their presence felt which led to an almost 19% increase compared to last year. It meant there was less reliance on fossil fuels, with gas and coal-fired generation falling by 27% and 31%, respectively, on September 2020.

“Overall, the share of electricity generated from renewable sources was nearly 84% – up from 77% a year earlier.

“Nationally, demand for electricity fell slightly with Norske Skog’s Tasman mill closure a key factor behind a 3% fall in industrial and commercial sector demand while residential demand rose almost 5% due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“Fuel costs continued to climb in the quarter with higher international crude oil prices driving up prices at the pump. Regular 91 prices were up 7% and diesel was 9% higher than the June quarter.

“However fuel use for domestic transport was down by 23% (for 91 petrol) and 11% (for diesel) as the emergence of the Delta variant of COVID-19 in the community prompted movement restrictions from mid-August,” said Griffiths.

To coincide with the publication of this edition of Energy Quarterly, MBIE has also added quarterly data into the New Zealand Energy Dashboard which offers a host of energy-related data insights:

Energy dashboard(external link)

New Zealand Energy Quarterly

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