An employee walks on solar panels at a solar power plant in Aksu, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region May 18, 2012.
An employee walks on solar panels at a solar power plant in Aksu, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region May 18, 2012. Reuters/Stringer

In New Zealand, the era of coal-fired power will soon come to an end as the country is making a rapid transition to renewables, the energy minister said. “Historically coal has played an important role in ensuring the security of New Zealand's electricity supply, particularly in dry years where our hydro-lake levels are low,” Energy Minister Simon Bridges said.

New Zealand’s share of electricity from renewable resources in 2014 was 79.9 percent, which showed a 5 percent increase from 2013 on the back of rise in geothermal generation, which had doubled nationally. According to the minister, significant market investment in the renewable energy sector, particularly in geothermal has reduced coal’s importance.

Renewable investment

“New Zealand's share of renewable electricity generation is already the fourth largest in the world and the shift from coal will help us to achieve our ambitious goal of having 90 percent of New Zealand's electricity supply generated by renewables by 2025,” Bridges said.

The New Zealand government is confident that renewable energy sector will draw more private sector investments by 2030. This is based on the trends in the past six years, where investments in renewables totaled NZ$1.5 billion. One of the leading energy companies, Utility Genesis Energy is going to shut its remaining coal-fired power plants by December 2018, marking the end of coal power era in New Zealand. According to Genesis Chief Executive Officer Albert Brantley, lower cost renewable options, mainly in wind and geothermal coupled with low demand has made the coal unviable. He said changing market conditions for electricity are making coal power increasingly unwieldy.

Solar boost

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s solar plus storage market will be getting a boost under a novel initiative that is seeking to offer more than 100 free solar and battery storage systems to chosen consumers in New Zealand including community groups and schools. The initiative led by NZ network operator, Vector, offers free use of 3KW Vector Solar panels plus a Tesla Powerwall home battery system for 100 individuals, households and community groups. Under the plan, around 30 systems will be offered for state and state-integrated schools. Candidates for the Future of Energy campaign can be nominated via a dedicated website www.vectorfutureofenergy.co.nz.

In the first 10 years, the ownership of the systems will be with Vector. After 10 years, ownership will pass on to each winner. Vector has a partnership with US tech firm Tesla to bring its Powerwall battery storage to the home market. Vector CEO Simon McKenzie is an ardent advocate of leasing systems for solar and storage, which he calls a "game-changer."

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