Hydro references

#1) Percentage of electricity supply from different primary sources

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment updates statistics on electricity generation every three months and publishes it in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

To view the page on which this information is hosted, click here, or alternatively, directly download the spreadsheet by clicking here.

#2) Clyde constitutes 4.86% of New Zealand’s electricity supply

According to a Stuff article published in 2009, the Clyde Dam’s annual generation is about 2,100 GWh. This article is available online by clicking here.  As a percentage of New Zealand’s total annual generation in 2020 (43,187 GWh) it amounts to 4.86%.

#3) Four more Clyde Dams to replace coal and gas generated electricity

As is noted above, the Clyde Dam generates about 4.86% of New Zealand’s electricity, and the combined generation of coal and gas in New Zealand’s electricity network is about 20%. For there to be enough hydro electricity to replace that would take about four dams the size of the Clyde Dam.

#4) Passing of the Clutha Development (Clyde Dam) Empowering Act, 1982

After a legal decision in court against the granting of water rights, the National government under Rob Muldoon passed the Clutha Development (Clyde Dam) Empowering Act to allow the hydro project to proceed – the full act can be found online by clicking here.

#5) Meridian abandons Mokihinui River hydro proposal 2012

Two years after obtaining resource consents for the scheme – the granting of which was contested and appealed to the Environment Court – Meridian Energy withdrew its consent applications and abandoned the scheme before the issue was to be discussed in court. An article on the NZ Herald website at the time outlined Meridian Energy’s decision. This article can be found in full here.

#6) Mokihinui Dam would have been one fifth size of Clyde Dam

The Mokihinui Hydro Dam (if it were constructed) would have had a capacity of  85-100 MW, according to page 1 of the company’s 2010 annual report (available here), which in comparison with the 432 MW capacity of the Clyde Dam (according to Contact Energy’s website information, available here) works out to between a fifth and a quarter the size of the Clyde Dam.

#7) Impacts of Mokihinui Dam

According to a press release on the Department of Conservation’s website from April 2010, the proposed dam would have required an 85 metre high wall, created a 14 kilometre lake, and inundated about 225 hectares of public conservation land in the Mokihinui Gorge. This press release can be found here.

#8) Meridian Energy applied for 34 consents

According to an article published in the Otago Daily Times in August 2008, Meridian Energy applied for 34 resource consents – the article can be found on the publication’s website by clicking here.

#9) Mokihinui Dam consented in 2010

Meridian Energy was granted resource consents for the Mokihinui Hydro Proposal in April 2010. An article published early in the month, shortly after the consents were granted, can be found on the NZ Herald’s website by clicking here.

#10) Department of Conservation appeals consenting decision

After consents were granted for the Mokihinui Hydro Proposal in early April 2010, the Department of Conservation appealed the consents later the same month, as is outlined in a press release on the organisation’s website dated 29th April 2010 – the full press release is available here.

#11) Impacts outlined in Department of Conservation’s opposition during consent process

The Department of Conservation opposed the granting of resource consents through the course of the consents hearing for several reasons. These reasons are outlined in which are listed in a press release put out at the time the Department of Conservation appealed the decision to grant consents to the Environment Court – this decision can be found in full here.

#12) Reasons for the Department of Conservation’s appeal to the Environment Court

The Department of Conservation appealed the decision to grant resource consents to the Environment Court mainly because it felt concerns it had raised in the resource consent process had not been sufficiently addressed in the decision to grant resource consents. This reasoning is outlined in a press release put out at the time the Department of Conservation appealed the decision to grant consents to the Environment Court – this decision can be found in full here.

#13) Department of Conservation concession needed for dam to proceed

Speaking in an article published on Stuff’s website on the 22nd of May 2012, the chief executive of Meridian Energy explained that the process of getting the dam built involved not just the securing of resource consents under the Resource Management Act but also the need for land access under the Conservation Act. The article can be found in full here.

#14) Meridian Energy withdraws application for concessions and land-swap 2010

In May 2010, a month after the Department of Conservation appealed the resource consents relating to the Mokihinui Hydro Project, a Department of Conservation press release explained that Meridian Energy had withdrawn its applications for land access via a concession and a land swap. The press release can be found on the organisation’s website, here.

#15) Meridian withdraws from Environment Court process in 2012

Prior to the Environment Court hearing on the resource consents, Meridian Energy announced it would not be proceeding with the consents hearing, and was exiting the hydro project altogether. A full article on the company’s decision can be found on Stuff’s website by clicking here.

#16) Large power companies say the era of big hydro schemes may be over

Radio New Zealand coverage of Meridian Energy’s decision to abandon the Mokihinui Hydro Project aired the views of large power companies – Meridian Energy, Trustpower, and Genesis Energy – who all considered the decision to abandon the project heralded the end of large scale hydro schemes in New Zealand. The coverage can be found in full here.

#17) Electrical output of Waitaha hydro proposal

The proposed Waitaha Hydro scheme had an estimated generation of up to 120 gigawatt hours per annum, according to a project proposal summary on Westpower’s website, which can be found here.

#18) Minister’s decision deems Waitaha hydro proposal ‘contrary to purposes of Conservation Act’

In his capacity environment minister (making the decision on behalf of the conservation minister) David Parker declined Westpower’s application for the concessions needed for the proposed hydro scheme on the Waitaha River. In the summary on page one of the decision, David Parker explained the granting of a consent would have been ‘contrary to the provisions of the Conservation Act, and the purposes for which the land is held. The decision is available in full here.   

#19) Minister considered the impacts on flora and fauna to be “minor”

In his capacity environment minister (making the decision on behalf of the conservation minister) David Parker declined Westpower’s application for the concessions needed for the proposed hydro scheme on the Waitaha River.

In points 4 and 19-23, David Parker explained his belief that the impacts on native flora and fauna would all be minor.

The decision is available in full here.

#20) Almost half of all potential small-scale hydro schemes in New Zealand on conservation land

In 2020 the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment received a report on the potential for “embedded” (small-scale) run-of-river hydro schemes – those that don’t require a dam or obstruction of the water source. The report was prepared by Roaring 40s Windpower Ltd.

Table 3, on page 18 of the full report, shows 37 of the potential schemes to be on public conservation land, and 47 of the potential schemes to be outside public conservation land.

The full report can be found here.  

#21) New Zealand’s existing hydro capacity is about 5,434 MW

This figure is derived from the electricity tables available on the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment’s website. The balance tables at the time of writing show New Zealand’s hydro electricity capacity to 5,434 MW. The page hosting these spreadsheets can be found here, and the spreadsheet itself directly downloaded by clicking here.

#22) New Zealand’s hydro schemes supply about 60% of the country’s electricity

This figure is derived from the electricity tables available on the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment’s website. The data tables indicate going back over the years electricity from hydro sources has accounted for between 55% and sometimes in excess of 60% of the nation’s electricity.

The page hosting these spreadsheets can be found here, and the spreadsheet itself directly downloaded by clicking here

#23) New Zealand’s potential large scale hydro schemes amount to 2,043 MW of capacity

Going off reference #21, New Zealand’s existing hydro capacity is about 5,434 MW. A 2020 report commissioned by the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (written by Roaring 40s Wind Energy Ltd) indicates the potential additional capacity of all large scale schemes in New Zealand would be about 2,186 MW – this is based on analysis of information on pages 15 and 17 of the report.

If worked out as a percentage, 2,186 MW works out to 40.2% of the percentage of 5,434 MW. The full report is available here.

#24) New Zealand’s small scale schemes amount to 236 MW capacity

In 2020 the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment received a report on the potential for “embedded” (small-scale) run-of-river hydro schemes – those that don’t require a dam or obstruction of the water source. The report was prepared by Roaring 40s Windpower Ltd.

A table on page 17 of the report shows the total capacity of all small-scale hydro schemes would add up to about 236 MW. This works out to about 4.3% of New Zealand’s existing hydro capacity mentioned in reference point #21 on this page.

The full report can be found here.

#25) New Zealand’s hydro capacity likely to grow 44.5% if all potential schemes were built

Taking reference points #23 and #24 into consideration, this works out to 44.5% of New Zealand’s existing hydroelectricity capacity.

#26) About 61% of New Zealand’s energy supply comes from fossil fuels

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment releases its annual energy balance tables in line with the annual Energy in New Zealand reports.

The data tables for the 2020 year show that it 2020, fossil fuels accounted for 61% of the total primary energy supply of 868.68 PJ.

The page on which this spreadsheet is hosted can be found here, and the spreadsheet itself can be directly downloaded here

#27) A 50% increase in hydro generated electricity would increase New Zealand’s overall energy supply by about 5%

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment releases its annual energy balance tables in line with the annual Energy in New Zealand reports.

The data tables for the 2020 year show that it 2020, hydroelectricity accounted for 87.36 PJ within a total primary energy supply of 868.68 PJ – working out to about 10%.

It follows that if hydro supply were to grow 50%, either the energy supply would grow 5%, or an additional 5% within the existing supply would be sourced from renewable energy.

The page on which this spreadsheet is hosted can be found here, and the spreadsheet itself can be directly downloaded here

#28) Coal accounts for 7% of New Zealand’s energy supply

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment releases its annual energy balance tables in line with the annual Energy in New Zealand reports.

The data tables for the 2020 year show that it 2020, coal accounted for 60.75 PJ out of a primary energy supply of 868.68 PJ – working out to about 7%.

The page on which this spreadsheet is hosted can be found here, and the spreadsheet itself can be directly downloaded here

#29) Natural gas accounts for 22% of New Zealand’s energy supply

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment releases its annual energy balance tables in line with the annual Energy in New Zealand reports.

The data tables for the 2020 year show that it 2020, natural gas accounted for about 180 PJ out of a total primary energy supply of 868.68 PJ – working out to about 22%.

The page on which this spreadsheet is hosted can be found here, and the spreadsheet itself can be directly downloaded here

#30) Oil accounts for 33% of New Zealand’s energy supply

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment releases its annual energy balance tables in line with the annual Energy in New Zealand reports.

The data tables for the 2020 year show that it 2020, oil accounted for about 277.17 PJ out of a total primary energy supply of 868.68 PJ – about 33%

The page on which this spreadsheet is hosted can be found here, and the spreadsheet itself can be directly downloaded here

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