A sustainable energy future for New Zealand

New Zealand has the potential to become the first country to be totally dependent on renewable energy sources. Already hydro power supplies 70% of the total electricity demand and geothermal a further 5%. The challenge is to phase out the remaining 25% thermal power generation and to provide suffici...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Renewable energy 1996, Vol.9 (1), p.1049-1054
Main Author: Sims, Ralph E.H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Crops
Economic data
Energy
Energy economics
Energy policy
Exact sciences and technology
General, economic and professional studies
Q1
Solar radiation
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Summary:New Zealand has the potential to become the first country to be totally dependent on renewable energy sources. Already hydro power supplies 70% of the total electricity demand and geothermal a further 5%. The challenge is to phase out the remaining 25% thermal power generation and to provide sufficient liquid transport fuels from the biomass resources. The natural gas fields currently supply over 30% of total energy demand but the reserves are very limited. Wind farming is a feasible alternative using wood-fired power generation and landfill gas plants to meet peak demands. There is land available for energy crop production and the climate enables all year round growth such that high crop yields of 20 oven dry tonnes/ha/year appear feasible. In addition the solar radiation of 1 kW/m 2 will enable solar thermal and photovoltaics to make a significant contribution. Currently there are no government incentives for renewable energy under the free market economy but a sustainable energy future is feasible in the long term.
ISSN:0960-1481
1879-0682
DOI:10.1016/0960-1481(96)88460-6