New Zealand Comes in Second for Energy Architecture Performance

New Zealand ranks second in the World Economic Forum’s Energy Architecture Performance Report .  Energy architecture peformance measures three elements – economic growth, environmental sustainability and energy access and security.  Topping the list was Norway, with New Zealand second, Australia coming in at 26, with the US at 31.  The report explains New Zealand’s rank:

New Zealand’s energy system is characterized by the diversity of its total primary energy supply (TPES), the development of renewable energy sources and a liberalized energy market that has delivered a relatively high level of energy security alongside economic prosperity for consumers. These factors combine to afford New Zealand high scores across the energy triangle. The New Zealand Energy Strategy, published following a government review in 2010, set the path towards improving the energy system by establishing clear long-term policy priorities and energy-savings goals for the country. Among them is the ambition to increase the contribution of renewables to electricity generation from the current 70% of output to 90% by 2025. Although hydro contributes the largest share of installed renewable capacity, New Zealand seeks a wider portfolio of renewables with greater capacity in geothermal and, increasingly, in wind. As the country strives to achieve its ambition in the power-generating sector, it may face challenges of integrating these sources into the national grid. (EAPI 2014 Global Rankings )