NEW ZEALAND WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION LAUNCH

WELLINGTON CITY GALLERY, CIVIC SQUARE

mr martin gummer, chief executive eeca mr paul van lieshout, nzwea spokesman

thank you for the opportunity to launch your new association today.

since becoming minister of energy, i have spent most of my public occassions launching new energy related associations and opening conferences of key leaders in the energy sector in new zealand. this demonstrates the vitality and vigour there is in the energy sector at present.

the opening up of various energy markets to the disciplines of competitive markets in new zealand has led to this vitality, and to a burst of innovation and focus which will do more for energy efficiency and energy conservation, than 50 years of centralised government control of the sector ever did.

as i come to grips with the energy portfolio, i have been most impressed with the professionalism and dedication of the people in the sector.

energy is of course a major and pervasive influence in the economy and our day-to-day lives. it plays an important part in determining whether or not new zealand companies are internationally competitive.

some forms of energy are also major co2 emitters and therefore create a problem as we grapple with the rising international clamour for climate change controls.

how we deal with climate change will be a major focus of the coalition government, and is the number one issue in my portfolio this year.

today though, you are launching an organisation to promote an energy form which does not contribute to the environmental problems caused by co2 emmissions.

indeed, quite the opposite.

wind energy is environmentally friendly, about as natural as you can get, and harnesses a natural competitive advantage new zealand has, but one which has been largely ignored until recently.

wind power is a mature technology with an international track record. technological improvement has made wind power commercially feasible as part of the array of available and economically efficient sources of energy in new zealand.

there is significant investment beginning to occur in wind energy. a single turbine in wellington and a 7 turbine wind farm in martinborough are up and running, while resource consent for a site of up to 137 turbines has been granted near palmerston north.

wind power capacity world wide is currently in the order of 5000 mw and will be about 6000 mw by the end of this year. this is the equivalent to about two thirds of new zealand's total electricity generation capacity.

about 2000 mw of wind power is located in united states, 2300 mw in europe, and 700 mw in the rest of the world (mostly india which has about 400 mw).

wind power has been expanding rapidly - in order of 20% per year, particularly in countries such as india and germany. germany doubled its capacity during 1995 from 500 mw to over 1000 mw.

the cost of wind power is continually declining and is now only about one third of what it was ten years ago. in the united states some projects produce electricity at 4.5 us c/kwh.

wind farming can be economically viable in new zealand conditions, however each case is dependent on a number of site specific issues, such as the wind strength/conditions, access to transmission/distribution networks, the cost of turbines and the ability to partially avoid transmission costs.

the current best estimates are that wind power can be produced in the range of new zealand $0.06-0.08 per kwh. for example, a 1995 ministry of commerce analysis estimates wind power costs (excluding transmission charges) would be around 7 cents/kwh for a 20 wtg (small to medium size) windfarm. the wind section of the 1996 cae/eeca renewable energy opportunities report concludes that the cost of wind power generation could be approximately 7c/kwh, which includes 0.5-1.0 c/kwh for transmission charges.

one of the stranger decisions i have seen regarding the application of wind power and its relationship to the resource management act, was the decision in september 1995 by the hutt city council to refuse consent for energy direct's 47 turbine wind farm at baring head.

the tragedy is that the company has chosen not to appeal the decision, and this raises the questions whether the resource management act, an act supposedly designed to obtain better environmental outcome from generating energy than having to burn gas or coal, will itself become a barrier to environmentally and economically sensible decisions.

nevertheless, many electricity companies are investigating their regional wind regimes or measuring wind speeds at a range of potential sites. several are expected to apply for resource consents in 1997.

surveys conducted over the last two years have shown that there is a strong general support for wind power in new zealand. for example, new zealanders consider wind power to be the most environmentally acceptable method of power generation, 81% of new zealanders are in favour of windfarms that can be seen in the distance on the skyline, 33% of new zealanders say they are prepared to pay a 10% permium for wind power. in addition, now that new zealanders are able to view a working windfarm in the wairarapa, general familiarity with the technology and the visual impact it causes should increase.

what we must do is build on this positive support for wind energy, and mitigate the impact of localised opposition effectively known as the nimby factor - `not in my backyard'.

this is why today's launch of the new zealand wind energy association is so important.

you can be the catalyst for better public understanding of the importance of wind power, and its potential to be one of new zealand's environmentally sustainable sources of energy.

it is therefore with great pleasure, and best wishes, that i formally launch the wind energy association.