Opinions
Editorial: Big power change in the wind
Presumably the reserve generating capacity will be set lower to encourage more renewable generation but we shall see; political safety was the Government's priority at that time and there is no reason to believe it would be braver now. Sustainable energy and secure energy are "not mutually exclusive goals", the Prime Minister maintains. But the fact is oil- and gas-fired stations are the country's security against low hydro levels and it's hard to see that any weather-dependent power plant could pick up the slack in a dry season.
October 22, 2007
in New Zealand Herald
The Government has been paying lip service to the subjects of climate change and environmental sustainability for a long while. Now it has bared some teeth, first introducing legislation to require motor fuel companies to sell some biofuel, followed closely by an "energy strategy" that proposes a qualified ban on the building of fossil-fuelled electric power stations for 10 years.
The ban is not absolute; a new oil- or coal-fired station may be permitted if the Electricity Commission thinks it necessary to maintain the security of the country's power supply. But for ordinary growth in base-load capacity the power companies... [continue via Web link]
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