6. GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam) Link to this
to the Minister of Energy
Does he agree with the New Zealand Wind Energy Association chief executive, Fraser Clark, who said today that: “While wind energy is growing somewhere between 25-35% per year globally our growth has been inconsistent in the last couple of years due to a lack of clear Government policy on renewable energy and climate change, as well as practical issues such as consistent consenting processes”?
Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister of Energy) Link to this
A decade ago, wind generation was close to nil. In the quarter ending December 2006, it was 2 percent of total generation, and is climbing fast. I believe that it is clear that the Government’s climate change policies have brought forward wind power development by many years.
How can the Minister make such a bold claim when the quarterly energy statistics released yesterday showed that in 2006, electrical energy produced from renewable sources was 2 percent less than the 10-year average?
In the case of wind, I can say very confidently that we already have 170 megawatts of wind at the moment. There is 151 megawatts of wind under construction this year. So while the rest of the world is growing wind generation at the rate of about 25 percent per annum, according to the member’s primary question, New Zealand’s wind generation is going up by 88 percent this year alone. That is a marvellous achievement.
H V Ross Robertson Link to this
Is the Minister able to inform the House exactly how much extra wind generation is in the consent process, not counting the 150 megawatts of extra new wind power already under construction?
Yes, I can. An additional 1,518 megawatts is currently in, or has recently completed, consent processes. To put that in perspective, that is nine times the current wind generation capacity, and it really is further proof that the Government’s climate change policies are working.
Does the Minister accept the views of the Wind Energy Association, a group that includes three of the four State-owned electricity generating companies, which says that the slow growth of sustainable wind generation is due to a lack of clear Government policy and target setting for renewable energy, or are we to believe from his answers today that he knows something that the State-owned enterprises do not?
I do not agree that wind generation is growing slowly. The member’s own question stated that the international rate of growth is 25 to 30 percent per annum. New Zealand’s growth in wind generation this year is 88 percent, and nine times the current generation capacity is in consent processes. That would be amongst the highest rates of progress in the world.
Why does the Minister remain so optimistic about a sustainable energy future when the chief executive officer of the Wind Energy Association says that the Government’s goal of being truly sustainable is a long shot if Government policy does not change, and he says that at this rate it will be 20 years before our growth gets anywhere near that of the rest of the world?
Submissions are open on the New Zealand energy strategy until 30 March, and I expect we will be receiving a very constructive submission from the Wind Energy Association, not least because it is highly supportive of the Government policy that has brought forward the development of wind generation in New Zealand by many, many—
That is not true. We are not behind the pace. The rate of growth of wind generation in New Zealand is amongst the highest in the world.
Why does the Minister keep up the pretence that under his stewardship, New Zealand is moving towards a more sustainable energy future, when Meridian Energy’s wind energy development manager says that the establishment of a wind farm is a bit like a game of snakes and ladders—often it is one step forward, but usually it is two steps back?
That is an interesting point. That is a reference to consenting processes, and, of course, one of the ideas we floated in the New Zealand energy strategy is the idea that we might call in some wind farm applications in order to put them through single consent processes. Interestingly, the Wind Energy Association notes that it does not always approve of that, because it thinks that consent processes, particularly for small developments, are running very well and will be easier under existing processes than if we call them in. I am sure that we welcome all of these different contributions—
I say to Dr Smith that we already have. The member should wake up. We did so 2 years ago. Despite National’s protestation that this is the reason why wind development is not proceeding, we can show National members that wind generation is increasing by 88 percent this year, with another 1,500 megawatts in planning.
Has the Minister seen the quote from Bernhard Voll, technical director of Allco Wind Energy, who stated that the Government, after making the commitment to reduce greenhouse gases, just kept consulting, and he also stated: “This is not going to help us …”; and how can an answer like the one the Minister gave give Mr Voll, or anyone else in the industry, any encouragement that this Minister is committed to growing our renewable energy sources?
The draft New Zealand energy strategy proposes, as a policy setting for generation, the principle that all new generation capacity ought to be renewable, except to the extent necessary to maintain security of supply. I can inform the House that the advice I have is that the security of supply constraint will not be upon us for some time to come. So, effectively, the country is able to set its sights on all new generation capacity for the foreseeable future coming from renewable sources.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
I know that the Minister of Energy and Minister responsible for Climate Change Issues has repeatedly referred to the Government’s climate change policies, so I seek leave to table the editorial of the New Zealand Herald that states: “New Zealand still has no climate change policy”.
Madam SPEAKERI seek leave to table three pages in relation to wind farms. The first is the list of the 170 megawatts of current wind farms, the second is the list of 151 megawatts of extra capacity being built now, and the last sheet is the 1,518 megawatts of wind power either recently consented or in process.