Introduction
Policy makers and leaders around the globe have realized the need to protect the environment for sustainable operations and the future generations. The energy industry has now turned to renewable sources of power such as water, wind, biogas, etc. Wind power currently serves as the cheapest avenue for large-scale renewable energy. The transformation to more environmentally conscious practices requires the support of the government and other stakeholders. New Zealand strives to set the pace and standards for other nations in terms of utilizing renewable sources of power (Schaefer, Lloyd, and Stephenson, 2011). This essay assesses the development of electricity generation using renewable energy sources in New Zealand to minimize the nation’s emission of greenhouses gasses.
Body
Benefits of Renewable Energy
Renewable sources help in displacing, reducing, and avoiding emissions of greenhouse gasses. Additionally, it increases or maintains the nation’s capacity to generate electricity by diversifying the supply and security of the energy resources (Akinyele, Rayudu & Nair, 2015).
Legal Standards set by New Zealand to Sustain Renewable Energy
In 2011, New Zealand formulated the National Policy Statement for Renewable Electricity Generation that recognizes the significance of developing, upgrading, maintaining, and operating renewable electricity generation operations to tap into the advantages of renewable energy. New Zealand hopes to achieve their renewable energy goals by developing portfolios standards, feed-in-tariffs, and tax incentives. The country has focused on trading schemes, building codes, energy strategies, various grants, resource management, and government procurement (Schofield, 2013).
Barriers to Wind Energy Growth in New Zealand
In addition to minimal government regulatory support, wind energy development faces consenting difficulties, poor access to producers, grid connection challenges, subsidies, and economic hurdles (Schaefer, Lloyd, and Stephenson, 2011).
Conclusion
The wind industry is an integral part of the renewable energy to bring the next generation clean power technologies, diversify the energy economy, and cut down on carbon emissions (Mason, Page & Williamson, 2013). Hence, it is essential for New Zealand to develop interventions that will eliminate the problems that limit the country from maximizing the wind energy. The aspect calls for the coordination and consolidation of all the stakeholders in the energy industry starting with the government, farmers, public, and shareholders to diminish the barriers to renewable energy (Plew & Stevens, 2013).
References
Akinyele, D. O., Rayudu, R. K., & Nair, N. K. C. (2015, November). Grid-independent renewable energy solutions for residential use: The case of an off-grid house in wellington, New Zealand. In Power and Energy Engineering Conference (APPEEC), 2015 IEEE PES Asia-Pacific (pp. 1-5). IEEE.
Mason, I. G., Page, S. C., & Williamson, A. G. (2013). Security of supply, energy spillage control and peaking options within a 100% renewable electricity system for New Zealand. Energy Policy, 60, 324-333.
Plew, D. R., & Stevens, C. L. (2013). Numerical modelling of the effect of turbines on currents in a tidal channel–Tory Channel, New Zealand. Renewable Energy, 57, 269-282.
Schaefer M., Lloyd B., and Stephenson J. (2011). The Suitability of a feed in tariff or wind energy in New Zealand—A study based on stakeholders’ perspectives. New York: Elsevier Ltd.
Schofield S. (2013). Geothermal and Wind Energy in New Zealand. 17 N.Z. J. Envtl. L.
