Press Releases

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Wind Energy Basics: Wind farms in NZ, NZ’s wind resource, frequently asked questions. ( 196kB)


Growth in wind generation good for New Zealand (2 July 2008)

Figures released today by the Ministry of Economic Development show wind energy is making an important and growing contribution to New Zealand’s electricity supply, says the New Zealand Wind Energy Association. Read the full press release. ( 27kB)

Energy and climate change policies key to avoiding repeat of electricity crisis (17 June 2008)

“New Zealand needs stable government policy that enables the development of renewable electricity generation in order to reduce the risk of electricity shortages in future dry years” says Fraser Clark, Chief Executive of the New Zealand Wind Energy Association. “The current uncertainty around energy and climate change policy, such as the future of the ETS, is a disincentive to investment in new generation. This investment is needed to ensure we do not experience supply shortages in future dry years.” Read the full press release. ( 35kB)

Overwhelming support for wind energy (30 May 2008)

“New Zealand has a huge and clearly identified potential for wind energy – and it is clear that most New Zealanders would like to see this resource harnessed for electricity generation,” said Chair of the New Zealand Wind Energy Association Gerry Te Kapa Coates today, welcoming new research from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. Read the full press release. ( 32kB)

Delaying the ETS risks electricity security (21 May 2008)

“Delaying the Emissions Trading Scheme risks discouraging investment in new electricity generation,” says Gerry Coates, Chair of the New Zealand Wind Energy Association. Read the full press release. ( 30kB)

Wind energy making a growing contribution to electricity security (9 April 2008)

“There are no fundamental technical barriers to the integration of 20% wind energy into the electrical system in New Zealand.” says Charlie Smith, Executive Director of the US-based Utility Wind Integration Group, speaking at the NZ Wind Energy Conference in Wellington. Read the full press release. ( 26kB)

Wind energy – the logical choice (8 April 2008)

“Wind energy is making a growing contribution to New Zealand’s energy mix,” says Fraser Clark, Chief Executive of the New Zealand Wind Energy Association. Delegates at the New Zealand Wind Energy Conference heard today that renewable energy is central to the future of New Zealand and global energy supplies. Read the full press release. ( 25kB)



New Zealand needs more wind energy (7 April 2008)

“New Zealand needs more wind energy”, says Fraser Clark, New Zealand Wind Energy Association Chief Executive. “We must maximise the use of our world class wind resource if we want a secure and reasonably priced supply of electricity in the future.”
Tuesday is the first day of the New Zealand Wind Energy Association’s annual conference. New Zealand’s wind energy industry will be joined by international speakers to discuss how best to increase the use of wind energy in New Zealand. Read the full press release. ( 33kB)



Increasing gas prices drive rising electricity prices (28 March 2008)

To say the 90% renewable energy target will be directly responsible for increased electricity prices ignores current electricity price trends, say Fraser Clark, CEO of the New Zealand Wind Energy Association. Recent rises in electricity prices have been driven by the depletion of Maui gas field. “If we want a secure, reasonably priced supply of electricity in the future we need to maximise the use of our natural, renewable resources.”

Read the full press release. ( 65kB)



Electricity price debate ignores impact of rising gas prices (27 February 2008)

Recent debate about the impact that increased renewable generation may have on electricity prices has missed the potentially greater impact of rapidly increasing gas prices, according to Fraser Clark, CEO of the New Zealand Wind Energy Association.

Read the full press release. ( 25kB)



Greater wind uptake can ease electricity supply concerns (29 January 2008)

The high electricity prices seen in the North Island late last week demonstrate the need for diversity in our sources of electricity and greater use of wind energy, according to the New Zealand Wind Energy Association. View full press release ( 24kB).



Waikato wind farm a first step towards new renewables target (16 October 2007)

Last week the Government released its final New Zealand Energy Strategy (NZES) and detailed its goal of New Zealand generating 90% of its electricity from renewables by 2025. This represents a significant increase on today’s level of between 60 and 70%. With our excellent wind resource and a mature and increasingly commercially viable technology, wind energy is expected to play a significant role in achieving this new target.

Today saw the launch of the first proposed new wind farm project following the release of the NZES, with Contact Energy announcing plans for a world-scale project at Waikaretu in the Waikato. NZWEA has welcomed the project as demonstration of wind energy’s ability to contribute to the new renewables target. View full press release ( 49kB).

More information on the project is available at Contact’s website by clicking here.



Wind energy powers on with the start of Project West Wind (27 September 2007)

Work officially started today on New Zealand’s newest wind farm, Meridian Energy’s Project West Wind near Makara in Wellington. The project includes 62 wind turbines, providing up to 143 MW of renewable electricity into the national grid. The wind farm’s annual electricity generation is expected to be sufficient to meet the needs of around 70,000 homes when it commences operation in 2009.

The NZ Wind Energy Association took part in this morning’s opening ceremony and issued the attached statement( 54kB) welcoming the start of the project.

More information on the project is available at Meridian’s website: (http://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/OurProjects/WestWind).



Carbon neutral wind energy can close off nuclear option (13 September 2007)

Today’s official opening of Stage 3 of Trustpower’s Tararua Wind Farm acknowledged the recent completion of this highly successful project. Not only was the project completed on-time, within budget and without a single lost-time injury during its construction – it was also carbon neutral on July 5th, nearly two weeks before the last of the wind farm’s 31 turbines was commissioned.

The Wind Energy Association says that confirmation that the wind farm had become carbon neutral only a few months after commissioning had begun provides evidence that wind energy can help make nuclear energy a non-starter in New Zealand.

The full NZWEA press release is available here ( 49kB). The related announcement from TrustPower celebrating the opening of the wind farm can be found here.



Genesis announcement shows wind’s strength (24 August 2007)

The decision yesterday by Genesis Energy to take an equity share in a wind farm development in Hawkes Bay now means all five of the country’s largest electricity generators have wind energy projects, confirming wind energy as a mainstream energy source.

NZ Wind Energy Association (NZWEA) Chief Executive Fraser Clark said that along with the Genesis announcement, Meridian Energy, TrustPower, Contact Energy and Mighty River Power had also all either sought resource consents or announced plans to pursue wind energy projects in recent months.

The full NZWEA press release is available here ( 53kB). The related announcement from Genesis Energy can be found here.

West Wind demonstrates NZ wind energy potential (16 August 2007)

The Wind Energy Association today welcomed the announcement by Meridian Energy that it intends to proceed with its West Wind project in Wellington as a further sign of the important role that wind energy will play in meeting NZ’s electricity requirements.

NZ Wind Energy Association (NZWEA) Chief Executive Fraser Clark said the decision demonstrated that wind energy could compete directly with other sources of electricity.

The full NZWEA press release is available here ( 53kB) and the related announcement from Meridian Energy can be found here.

Palmerston North wind decision not excusable (28 June 2007)

The NZ Wind Energy Association (NZWEA) says the Palmerston North joint local authority Commissioners cannot excuse their decision on Allco Wind Energy’s Motorimu wind farm by saying there are other wind farm options. NZWEA chief executive Fraser Clark said the Commissioners cannot escape the reality that their decision has lowered New Zealand’s capacity for sustainable electricity generation.

The full press release is available here. ( 53kB)

Whistle blown on Oliver’s wind energy comments (14 June 2007)

The Wind Energy Association says the public are unlikely to be swayed from supporting wind farms by the shrill attacks on wind energy from Anton Oliver.

Wind Energy Association (NZWEA) chief executive Fraser Clark said today that the public would not be impressed by Mr Oliver’s contradictory statements, reliance on exaggeration, and lack of accurate information.

“Mr Oliver needs to get his line straight on this issue.

“As a man with a high profile in another part of public life, people expect a much better level of contribution from Mr Oliver. He has an obligation to debate the issue fairly and factually,” Mr Clark said.

He said that given the media coverage accorded to Mr Oliver’s broad attacks against wind energy as a resource, the Wind Energy Association urged examination of the accuracy of some of his comments. For example:

• Anton Oliver accuses wind farms of being fraudulent (“government-sanctioned corporate rort”).
  • The truth is that both SOE and private companies are building wind farms because they are cost-effective, efficient, and are certainly among the cleanest, ways to produce the electricity that each of us use. The rationale, economics and environmental benefits, are all well documented.
  • He says carbon credits are being used to justify this project. The credits ceased being available in 2004. The truth is that this project and all others are going ahead because they produce electricity at a price comparable to all other forms of electricity generation.
• Anton Oliver contradictorily describes wind energy as a “pandemic”, while also claiming that other countries are not adopting it.
  • The truth is that the world has indeed embraced wind energy as a renewable and sustainable resource. Wind generation has grown internationally at a compounding rate of 24.4% for the last 5 years, with total capacity increasing by 32% last year alone. Turbine suppliers can’t ship their products out the door fast enough.
  • As an example, Denmark has the highest percentage of its power coming from wind - 20%. It is now aiming to double wind energy capacity to achieve 50% by 2025 and believes doing so will reduce electricity prices.
• Anton Oliver says the Germans now think that wind is too expensive.
  • The truth is that Germany leads the world in wind energy capacity - more than 20,000 MW and increasing at more than 2,000 MW per year. Its official energy agency (dena) wants to increase Germany’s renewable generation from around 10% today (5% wind) to 30%.
  • Latest research in Germany actually shows that their increasing amount of wind energy has lead to a net reduction in wholesale power prices.

“Wind makes up only 2% of our electricity generation, yet we have one of the worlds best wind resources. So there is clearly scope for wind energy to have a bigger role in our energy future,” Mr Clark said.

Decision recognises place for large wind farms (15 May 2007)

An Environment Court decision in favour of Meridian’s West Wind Project near Makara in Wellington has demonstrated that large wind farms do have a place in New Zealand, the Wind Energy Association (NZWEA) chief executive Fraser Clark says.

The decision from the Environment Court today is a major step forward for wind energy generation in New Zealand, Mr Clark said.

“The fact that the Environment Court has found in favour in this case is recognition that projects of this size are appropriate in New Zealand,” Mr Clark said.

“This project has great potential to be amongst the world’s best performing wind farms. It is a good thing for New Zealand, and Wellington in particular, and recognises the excellent resource that we have here.”

The decision allows for construction of all but four of the 70 turbines planned by Meridian.

“It would have been great to get all of them, but the fact that the Court decision has identified the many benefits of the overall project clearly demonstrates that wind energy projects are being developed in an appropriate manner,” Mr Clark said.

The West Wind site is considered one of the best in the world for wind power and Meridian's plan could produce enough electricity for more than 100,000 homes.

Mr Clark said there was significant potential for New Zealand wind projects to help meet the Government’s objectives of sustainability and carbon neutrality.

Despite having a world class wind resource, currently less than 2% of New Zealand’s electricity is generated by wind. Meanwhile, globally wind generation capacity has been increasing by nearly 25% per year over the past 5 years.

Installed capacity of wind turbines in New Zealand has now reached 170 MW. A further 151 MW is currently being commissioned in Southland and the Manawatu, nearly doubling capacity to 321 MW – enough electricity to supply over 140,000 typical households.

A copy of the Meridian Energy press release welcoming the decision is available here. ( 71kB)

Wind industry ready to respond to the Government’s call for renewables (30-March-07)

The Government’s draft New Zealand Energy Strategy (NZES) paints of vision of secure and reliable energy system that maximises the use of renewable energy at competitive prices. Wind energy utilises mature technology that is available today and that is well proven in New Zealand and across the globe. Today over 75 GW of wind energy capacity is installed globally with the total growing at 25-30% per year. Here in New Zealand the wind industry is now well-established and continues to grow as we seek to further utilise our World-class wind resource, a resource that allows wind energy to generate electricity at a similar cost to all other forms of new generation. Accordingly, the NZWEA has responded positively to the Strategy. Our submission to the NZES suggests some ways that the Government could help to facilitate the development of renewable energy projects, from single wind turbines to large wind farms including some possible modifications to the way that wind energy projects are assessed under the RMA. Please see the attached submission for more details. ( 359kB)

New Zealand’s newest wind turbines feel the breeze (22-Feb-07)

Construction at NZ’s two newest wind farms, White Hills in Southland and stage 3 of the Tararua Wind Farm in the Manawatu is now well underway with many of their new turbines erected and getting their first exposure to NZ’s winds. Both projects will be complete within the next few months, nearly doubling NZ’s wind generation capacity to a total of 321 MW - enough electricity to supply over 140,000 typical households. Significant potential remains for future wind farm projects, with wind providing less than 2% of NZ’s total electricity demand. For more information and photos please see the attached story.( 2450kB)

White Hills (photo courtesy of Meridian)	Tararua Wind Farm (photo courtesy of TrustPower)

NZWEA members announce new wind turbine orders (19-Jan-07)

Last week TrustPower announced the construction of a new, 42 turbine (88 MW), $200 million wind farm. Unfortunately for the local industry the project happens to be in South Australia but the development has been lead by TrustPower’s team here in New Zealand. The project marks TrustPower’s first foray into generation in Australia but they do not expect it to be their last. The site itself has potential for a larger development but has been constrained at this stage by grid capacity. The project has received support through the Australian Federal Government’s Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) mechanism (probably one of the last projects to proceed under the scheme) and the power is being sold through a power purchase agreement (PPA) with an established retailer. You can find out a little more here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/3926581a13.html

This project is also good news for Suzlon, who will supply the turbines to TrustPower under a turnkey agreement. A maintenance contract is part of the agreement. Suzlon already have an agreement to supply turbines to another project nearby and this project will help them to become much more firmly established in the region. The presence of a number of suppliers in the region can only be good news for developers, ensuring increased competition for turbine supply. The project just tucks into the Class II range so unfortunately does not herald the arrival of a new Class I machine onto the market.

Meanwhile back here in New Zealand, Windflow and NZ Windfarms also had some good news. A 45 day reliability run for the Windflow 500 turbines at Te Rere Hau was successfully completed just before Christmas. This has ensured that all of the conditions for the joint venture for the site between NZ Windfarms, National Power and Babcock and Brown have been satisfied. Following the completion of that agreement NZ Windfarms now holds 50% of the project and also manages it, with the other two parties sharing the remaining 50%. Windflow have also announced that they have now received an order for the next stage of another 14 turbines for the project. This will bring the total number of turbines on site to 19, with a total of 97 anticipated when the project is complete.

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