New Zealand's energy situation

Abstract

New Zealand is an energy rich country having large reserves of natural gas, coal, and a well developed hydro-electric capacity. Coal is the most abundant energy resource but is generally of low quality. As the technology of low grade coal use improves, better use can be made of this resource, so there should be no great rush to use this coal. The situation with the gas fields is somewhat different, the Maui gas field (one of the largest in the world) is already providing considerable amounts of energy and will do so for the next 30 years or so. Hydro-electric generating potential is considerable and renewable. It should be noted that some energy types are more easily utilised than others, a petajoule of electricity is much more useful (in most situations) than a petajoule of coal. Another point to note is that although the renewable energy resources are considerably smaller than the non-renewable resources, the very fact that they are renewable makes them important.