Summarised by Centrist
Engineering expert Bryan Leyland writes that New Zealand’s electricity woes aren’t just due to bad weather. The real issue is a flawed electricity market combined with the government’s push for net-zero emissions creating an uncertain future.
Declining gas supplies and coal shortages are also driving up electricity prices. Leyland says it’s a “risky model” that puts profit over reliability.
With 65% of electricity generated from hydropower, dry years mean shortages, and current market strategies don’t support backup like they used to.
Leyland writes that the ban on gas exploration has left the country short of gas, and the coal stockpile is far too low. He criticises the idea of relying on wind and solar without proper storage, noting that “batteries are too expensive by a factor of 50.” The government, he argues, is ignoring these flaws while pushing for more renewable energy.
For “dangerous man-made climate change” sceptics like Leyland, more coal and gas generation are the answer.
“Those who believe that man-made global warming is real and dangerous should be advocating nuclear power, which is the only practical and economic way of reducing CO2 emissions from thermal power generation. I suspect that the New Zealand public are more sympathetic to nuclear power than they are believed to be,” he writes.
