New Zealand's future with Nuclear Power

• New Zealand is one of the few developed countries not using electricity (indigenous or imported) from nuclear energy.
• As hydro-electric potential was progressively utilized, nuclear power featured in national power plans from 1969 to 1976.
• Concern about global warming due to carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels, especially coal, coupled with impending electricity shortages in Auckland, is putting nuclear energy back on the agenda.

New Zealand has depended primarily on hydro-electric power for its electricity for many years, but scope for expansion is limited and even the reliability of present capacity depends on capricious rainfall. Of 44 billion kWh of electricity generated in New Zealand in 2007, 54% was hydro, 27% gas, 7% coal, 8% geothermal, 2% wind and 1.8% biomass. For 4.2 million people, average per capita consumption is thus about 9300 kWh per year, or 7900 kWh if aluminium smelting is treated as largely an electricity export^a.

The power is produced from 9.4 GWe capacity, including 5.4 GWe hydro, 1.2 GWe gas-fired, 1.0 GWe coal-fired and 0.6 GWe geothermal – mainly run as baseload. In 2008, there was 0.32 GWe of wind capacity installed and 0.19 GWe more under construction. Peak demand is over 6.7 GWe.

There has been no large-scale increase in hydro capacity since the Clyde Dam on the Clutha River was commissioned in the early 1990s^c. As a result, growth in demand since 1990 has been mostly met by gas-fired plant, at least until the 1000 MWe state-owned Huntly plant shifted to using coal for 80% of its energy^d.

Auckland's power supply is particularly vulnerable to even minor incidents, and major interruptions have occurred in recent years. Nationally, new baseload capacity is required.