Wind energy resource studies in New Zealand

Abstract

The New Zealand Energy Research and Development Committee was established in 1974 in response to the oil crisis. The Wind Energy Resource Survey of New Zealand started in 1974. A Wind Energy Task Force coordinated a cross-disciplinary team of engineers and physicists drawn from universities and government departments. A number of aerogenerator demonstrations were carried out during the 10 year funding of wind power research and a Small-Scale Wind Power Report was published in 1986. The survey confirmed the conventional wisdom that New Zealand, by virtue of its topography and location, is an island well endowed with wind energy resources. However, small scale homestead use of wind energy is limited by the extensive penetration of the NZ grid system. There are many potential wind energy farm sites which could be integrated into the grid. Despite this it seems anomalous that no attempts have been made to demonstrate either a pilot farm or a well-sited single medium-sized wind power generator in New Zealand.