latest news
December 25, 2006
Wind Capacity Will Double in 2007
Greenpeace is delighted to note that, due to the construction of several major wind farms, such as White Hills and Tararua, wind capacity in NZ will double during 2007. This increase in renewable energy generation is a vital first step in finding a solution to the climate change crisis.
The NZ Wind Energy Association states that by the end of 2006 the total installed and operational capacity of wind turbines in New Zealand will be 170.8 MW (see below). The installed capacity at the beginning of 2004 was 36.3 mega watts (MW): In other words this is equivalent to an increase in installed wind energy capacity of 470% - almost all of this occurred during 2004.
In fact in 2004 New Zealand had the fourth highest per capita installation rate of wind turbines in the world. However, little additional capacity has been installed since 2004. Meanwhile growth in the total worldwide capacity has continued at 20-30% per year for the past five years and is now in excess of 60,000 MW, leaving New Zealand some way behind the installed capacity for other developed countries.
However, the situation may be changing. 151 MW of new capacity is currently under construction (see below) and when this is commissioned during 2007 the total installed capacity in New Zealand will nearly double to 321.8 MW.
Post a comment
Track the emergence of wind farms on Google
News
|
