'Dramatic' renewables expansion possible with smelter deal - Contact

Fri, 15 Jan 2021

The agreement to keep the Tiwai Point smelter operating until 2024 could underpin the biggest expansion of the country’s renewable electricity generation in years, Contact Energy chief executive Mike Fuge said.The new arrangement with Meridian Energy makes the smelter – the country’s biggest electricity user – “extremely competitive,” and avoids an early closure and the disruption to generation investment that would have come with it, he said.“It maintains a stable investment environment. I think that i...

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