New Zealand looks to add 6.5GW of solar

• 4 years ago (2020-04-07)
• David Flin

Australasia 51 Solar 243

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New Zealand electricity power transmission operator Transpower has said that it believes its generation capacity will be around 95 per cent by 2035, reaching 100 per cent by 2050, making use of 6.5GW of solar capacity.

Transpower has published a report, Whakamana i Te Mauri Hiko – Empowering our Energy Future, detailing its plans for the future. The report “urges the energy sector to combine optimism with urgency to transform New Zealand and its economy through electrification” and “shows how accelerated electrification stands to provide a stronger, more reliable system with much lower reliance on fossil fuel imports at the same time as cutting average household energy costs.”

New Zealand currently has approximately 80 per cent renewable generation, of which 25 per cent is from Hydropower. Transpower said that it plans to expand other technologies, with a focus on solar, wind, and geothermal. The report expects electricity demand will increase by 68 per cent by 2050, with nearly 60 per cent of the country’s total energy requirements coming from electricity in 2050, up from 25 per cent in 2016.