The Achilles heel in electrifying the NZ economy: winter shortages

Tue, 22 May 2018

By Pattrick Smellie May 23 (BusinessDesk) - Power shortages during winters when there is not enough water, wind or sun remain the Achilles heel in New Zealand's otherwise huge potential to move most of its fossil fuel-driven economy to renewable electricity, says a new report from the national grid operator, Transpower. Entitled Te Mauri Hiko, the report suggests fast-starting power stations using natural gas should not be closed "without an energy storage solution" under scenarios that show the gap between supply and demand during winter...

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