CIP, NZ Pension Fund Explore Wind Farm To Support 100% Renewable Target By 2030

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New Zealand Superannuation Fund has partnered with Denmark based Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) to explore the potential for large-scale offshore wind farms in the country. The projects may come up in a large bay on the western coast of North Island – South Taranaki Bight.

The pension fund can invest $1.75 billion in a wind farm to allow New Zealand to further its renewable portfolio.

The companies say that the initial objective is to generate 1GW of wind energy that could fulfill 11% of the domestic demand but could later be expanded to 2GW. If the 2GW expansion takes place, New Zealand will be able to fulfill its 2030 commitments of producing 100% renewable energy and help become net zero emitter by 2050.

The project feasibility study is expected to be completed in two years. The South Taranaki Bight lies to the south of Taranaki, west of the Manawatu, north and west of the western entrance of Cook Strait and north of the South Island.

“There is a global shift to clean and sustainable energy sources. New Zealand has a prime opportunity to utilise its natural resources, in this case offshore wind, to power the country into the future,” said Michael Hannibal, CIP Partner. He added that the New Zealand government’s renewable energy ambitions would require strong partnerships to deliver large-scale clean energy projects over the coming decade.

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New Zealand has been a leader in clean energy and even today, about 84% of its power comes from renewable sources. According to IRENA, geothermal energy makes about 66% of the country renewable energy due to abundance of volcanic and tectonic features. The share of wind power is negligible. Its first wind farm was established in 1996 that powers mere 4200 homes.

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Besides Wind, New Zealand has  also preferred to move slowly on Solar power, with just 186 MW of grid connected PV by the end of 2021. Currently there are no government subsidies for solar.