NZ generators face ban

Age
Friday 12/10/2007 Page: 2

NEW Zealand electricity producers, including Contact Energy, will face a 10-year ban on building gas-fired or coal-fired generators to help the nation meet its Kyoto Protocol emission reduction targets. The measures may affect $NZ1 billion ($A845.6 million) of investment in two projects planned by Contact and government-owned Genesis Power.

State-owned generators would be barred from building gas-fired plants, and a decision on whether to extend the ban to Contact and other private generators would be made this year, Energy Minister David Parker said yesterday. NZ already produces about 70 per cent of its power from wind, hydroelectric and geothermal generators. The Government wants to raise that to 90 per cent by 2025 and is blocking construction of cheaper gas-fired power stations to speed investment in wind turbines and steam fields.