Feasibility study of small and micro wind turbines for residential use in New Zealand: An analysis of technical implementation, spatial planning processes and of economic viability of small and micro scale wind energy generation systems for residential use in New Zealand : A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Applied Science in Environmental Management

Abstract

Even though there might not seem to be any similarity between a holiday lodge on the verge of New Zealand's Banks Peninsula, a satellite earth station on the unmanned Black Island in the middle of the Ross Ice Shelf in the Antarctica and an American stargazer on his property in the middle of the Arizona desert, they all have something in common. They, among many other people across the globe, use the free resource wind to generate eco-friendly electricity, facilitating small and micro scale wind turbines. Japan, the USA and the UK, for example, have already installed thousands of domestic wind turbines. In New Zealand small and micro scale wind energy generation still has not established itself among other distributed energy generation methods on a domestic scale, even though the conditions for wind energy generation are perfect in many places. The aim of this study was to assess the potential of domestic wind turbines in New Zealand. It established an overview of small and micro scale wind energy generation planning and implementation processes to gain insight into effectiveness, feasibility and straight forwardness of the processes involved. Hereby, economic, technical and planning aspects of domestic wind energy generation systems were analysed to investigate the benefits from small and micro scale wind energy generation. The study revealed that: • The definition of benefit varies and has to be clear beforehand as a small or micro wind turbine is only valuable when some benefit is achievable; • Good wind resources with at least 6 m/s annual average wind speeds are required to achieve good overall performance; • Rural or semi-rural areas are more adequate for good turbine performance as they provide more consistent and uninterrupted wind flows; • Economies of scale effects apply for wind turbines; the bigger and higher a wind turbine, the better it will perform on a given site; • Consent authorities deal with small and micro wind turbines in a different way. Planning processes are not consistent and transparent enough to attract more potential investors; • A lack of sufficient qualitative information on small or micro scale wind energy projects exists in New Zealand; • A lack of one integrated, comprehensive and overarching legislation and the nonexistence guaranteed electricity buy-back rates (feed-in tariffs) deters potential investors and prevents market growth; • Manufacturer and installation company's data often are biased and whitewashed; information about additional costs (that may account for over 80 percent on top of acquisition costs) are often swept under the carpet.