New Zealand Celsias

In the 2010 calendar year, a total of 43,401 GWh of electricity was generated in New Zealand, 74 percent of which came from renewable sources, up three percent from the previous year. That’s an amount not seen in 12 years according to acting minister for energy and resources Hekia Parata, who points to strong hydro inflows and generation from new wind and geothermal sources as contributors to that growth. Her comments come as part of the release of the latest edition of the New Zealand Energy Quarterly, published by the Ministry of Economic Development last week. 

Other highlights pointed out by the minister include:

• Lowest quarterly electricity generation emissions in seven years. The high level of renewable electricity generation this quarter led to less reliance on thermal electricity generation sources and a decrease in electricity generation emissions. 
• Diesel demand returns to pre-recession levels. Diesel demand bounced back this quarter to a level not seen since June 2008.
• Highest annual gas production in eight years. Production from the Kupe field saw total production at its highest level since 2002 

But while Parata refers to hydro energy or “hydro inflows” as a form of renewable energy, its environmental credentials have often been debated. As well as having an impact on wildlife, hydro dams don’t last forever, and their decommissioning can cause built-up toxins in sediments to be released, a process which the author K. Gregg Elliott says could lead to carbon release in the atmosphere. Check out his article HERE. 

And speaking of releasing carbon into the atmosphere, the quarterly points to a bit of good news when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. Taking the overall December 2010 quater into account,  electricity generation produced 1,427 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (kt CO2-e) emissions, a number reported to be the lowest for seven years. This was down 9 percent on the previous quarter, and down 2 percent on the December quarter of 2009. 

The rest of the emissions, as stated in the quarterly, include: 

Gas-fired electricity generation contributed 61 percent of all electricity generation emissions this quarter, with coal making up 23 percent and geothermal emissions 16 percent. Emissions from gas-fired generation are up 5 percent since December 2009, whereas emissions from coal-fired generation are down by 28 percent for the same period. 

For the 2010 calendar year electricity generation produced a total of 6,093 kt CO2-e of emissions, down 9 percent from 2009 levels. Emissions from gas-fired generation accounted for 66 percent of these, coal-fired generation accounted for 20 percent and geothermal emissions accounted for 14 percent. Due to higher renewable generation levels and a preference for gas use over coal, emissions from coal-fired generation in 2010 were around half what they were in 2009, whereas emissions from geothermal (up 21 percent) and gas-fired generation (up 15 percent) showed significant growth.

You can download the entire New Zealand Energy Quarterly HERE (be warned, it’s a big file)