Risking power shortages

The former Electricity Commission chairman has said that NZ will be at risk of power shortages under the Government’s energy strategy.

NZ currently has one of the highest levels of renewable power in the word with around two thirds renewable.  The Government is going to move to 90% renewable, which will involve a lot more wind power.

Now I am a big fan of wind power but it has its limitations. As Hemmingway says:

It was possible to predict the amount of wind energy available over the course of a whole year, but it was “very difficult” to predict how much wind power might be possible at the exact time it was needed to meet demand.

This is why you need a balance.  More hydro will help but the RMA makes this very time consuming to get consent for.

The change is estimated to increase power costs by 30% to 40% over a few years.  That will hurt badly those on fixed incomes.