Right place, price and wind make wind farms economic

Right place, price and wind make wind farms economic

“It’s great that we can now identify the secrets of the New Zealand wind industry’s success,” says Fraser Clark, Chief Executive of the New Zealand Wind Energy Association.

A new report from Deloitte explores the economics of wind farm development in New Zealand. The report will be discussed at tomorrow’s NZ Wind Energy Conference in Wellington.

The report shows that identifying and consenting the right sites, maximising yield, and capturing favourable market conditions and exchange rates were critical factors in making New Zealand’s recent wind farms economically viable.

“New Zealand developers’ success in building and operating economically viable wind farms is recognised internationally,” notes Mr Clark. The Chief Executive of the multinational engineering giant Siemens AG recently pointed to New Zealand as the reference for cost effective renewables, noting to Newsweek that the company has proven here that if you build in favourable conditions ‘wind farms can be profitable at the same price that is paid for other energy sources’.

“There has been considerable debate about the cost of wind energy in NZ. Until now we have had to interpret how overseas data might apply to New Zealand’s specific market and economic environment,” says Mr Clark.

“This new report draws on actual New Zealand data to give an accurate picture of the key drivers for successful local investment.”

“Wind generation has increased 10 fold in the last 6 years, and wind now supplies 4% of New Zealand’s electricity. In the last 18 months, over NZ$300 million has been invested in new wind farms.”

“The wind industry is actively investigating and consenting new wind farm sites across the country. These sites will become sources of competitively priced electricity generation – and contribute towards achieving the Government’s target of 90% renewable electricity by 2030 – when the conditions are right for their development,” says Mr Clark

Over 60 nationally and internationally recognised speakers, including Environment Minister Hon Dr Nick Smith, will address delegates at the NZ Wind Energy Conference, which begins Tuesday 12 April. The speakers will cover a broad range of topics including international wind energy market developments, opportunities for wind energy in the NZ electricity market, project economics, challenges in consenting

and constructing wind farms, technology developments and integrating wind energy into the electricity system.

NOTES

Economics of wind development in New Zealand is a report prepared by Deloitte for the New Zealand Wind Energy Association. It can be downloaded from:
http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1104/economicsnz.pdf

About the NZ Wind Energy Conference
The annual NZ Wind Energy Conference is organised by the New Zealand Wind Energy Association. It is accompanied by a trade exhibition.

The conference programme can be viewed online at:
http://windenergy.org.nz/events/2011-conference/programme

Around 300 delegates are expected to attend the conference, coming from across New Zealand, Australia and overseas. Over 40 companies are sponsoring or exhibiting at the conference, including wind turbine suppliers GE, Goldwind, REpower, Siemens, Suzlon and Vestas along with electricity generators Meridian Energy and Mighty River Power.

When and where
Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 April, Wellington Town Hall, Wakefield Street, Wellington.

About NZWEA
The New Zealand Wind Energy Association (NZWEA) is an industry association that works towards the development of wind as a reliable, sustainable, clean and commercially viable energy source. We aim to fairly represent wind energy to the public, government and the energy sector. Our members include about 80 companies involved in New Zealand's wind industry, including electricity generators, wind farm developers, lines companies, turbine manufacturers, consulting firms, researchers and law firms. For more information visit www.windenergy.org.nz.

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