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Renewables continue upwards, greenhouse gases fall 35%
Hon Judith Collins
Minister of Energy and
Resources
23 March 2017
Renewables continue
upwards, greenhouse gases fall 35 per cent
The amount of electricity generated from renewables in New Zealand grew to 88 per cent in the three months to December 2016, building on increases seen in previous quarters, Energy and Resources Minister Judith Collins says.
“The result, released today in the latest New Zealand Energy Quarterly, shows the highest level of renewable electricity generation in 20 years. It demonstrates New Zealand is continuing to make the most of its ample renewable resources such as hydro.”
Ms Collins says the increase in renewable generation was party driven by high rainfall over the December 2016 quarter.
“There was a seven per cent growth in hydro generation compared to the previous December quarter, with many hydro catchment areas experiencing higher than average rainfall over the period.”
Continuing decreases in coal- and gas-fired generation also had an impact, Ms Collins says.
“The data shows that coal-fired generation declined by 64 per cent, and gas-fired generation by 21 per cent. This continued a longer-term trend that meant greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 35 per cent compared to the previous December quarter.”
The latest figures also show a fall in electricity consumption across all sectors, down three per cent compared to the same period last year.
“Most of this decrease is due to lower electricity consumption within the agriculture sector, with increased rainfall likely to have resulted in less demand for irrigation,” Ms Collins says.
The New Zealand Energy Quarterly is released by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
New Zealand Energy Quarterly:
Read about electricity cost and price monitoring:
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