Renewable Energy Generation Hits New High, Gas At 46-Year Low

Thursday, 12 March 2026, 4:05 pm
Article: RNZ

Abundant rainfall at the country's hydro lakes has led to record levels of renewable energy generation.

The quarterly energy report from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), showed a record-high 96.4 percent of electricity generation coming from renewable sources from October to December 2025.

"Hydro inflows were strong, which supported an 8 percent increase in hydro generation compared with the same quarter in 2024," MBIE domains manager Amapola Generosa said.

"We also saw continued growth from new gridscale solar farms connecting, which lifted solar generation by more than 70 percent yearonyear."

Natural gas generation fell to its lowest quarterly level since 1980, with output down 52 percent from a year earlier.

"Contributing to this was planned maintenance at gas generation plants during the quarter," Generosa said.

MBIE said emissions from electricity generation fell to their lowest quarterly level since records began in 1990. Electricity demand also increased in the period.

"National consumption rose 6.5 percent to 10,045GWh, with agricultural demand rising 14.2 percent due to irrigation loads," Generosa said.

"Industrial consumption increased 12.2 percent, in part due to comparatively low usage in the December 2024 quarter."

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