Our wind, our futureSponsored
Don't miss your chance to attend the premier event dedicated to the future of wind energy in New Zealand, the NZ Wind Energy Summit.
The Summit is being held on 10-12 September in Wellington and will feature presentations from across NZ and the international wind energy sector.
This year’s over-arching theme, "Our Wind, Our Future", encapsulates wind energy’s critical role to deliver our future clean energy needs. Aotearoa’s wind resource is not only abundant, but it is world class in terms of sustained wind quality, which we should all embrace.
The secondary theme of this year’s event is focused on the wind sector's ability to provide energy security to the grid. While wind is intermittent on a short-term basis, we have 21 wind farms and 661 turbines operating in real time (a total of 1.26 GW installed), with capacity factors far greater than what is observed in other jurisdictions. New Zealand’s wind farm geographic diversity and high-capacity factors, therefore, enable the sector to deliver critical energy at times when we need it most.
In 2023, wind energy delivered over 7.4 per cent of the grid's total electricity (versus 6.4 per cent in 2022), and in Q4 2023, it delivered 9.2 per cent which greatly supported the grid during those times of need. Wind energy will therefore continue to play a crucial role for the country's electricity security demands.
The event traverses both onshore wind energy and offshore wind energy as both technologies continue to evolve. We need both technology solutions to support the net zero carbon targets, with each requiring different industry support. NZWEA is therefore technology agnostic and deeply supportive of both.
The event will feature keynote presentations from Hon. Simeon Brown, Hon. Dr Megan Woods and parliamentary speaker Scott Willis, as well as international speakers Dr Lawrence E. Jones, SVP Edison Electric Institute based in Washington, and Australia Clean Energy Council CEO Kane Thornton.
The Summit will also feature two key panel sessions, the first focusing on the energy security risks on today's grid, the capacity of the market to provide this security, the effects of the Tiwai deal, and how new demand response contracts and upcoming energy storage investments can play their part. Jonathan Young of Ara Ake will lead the panel which will be attended by Mike Roan of Meridian, Tim Thompson of Mercury, James Flannery of Contact and Chris Blenkiron of Rio Tinto.
The second key panel session will traverse the ‘Think Big’ policies of the 1970s and energy reforms of the 1990s and examine whether these have been a success, and whether these types of major energy policies are relevant in today’s market. This panel will be led by Brigid McArthur of GreenwoodRoche and will feature Hon. Max Bradford (former Minister of Energy), Phil O’Reilly of Iron Duke Partners and Kerry McDonald former senior executive of Comalco/Rio Tinto.
Together, we can seize the opportunity to continue working with the limitless potential of the wind, so join us at this major wind energy event of the year.
Summit Register
Thank you to our sponsors for their partnership, commitment and continued support:
Platinum Sponsors – Parkwind and Beca
Gold Sponsors – AECOM, Aurecon, Boffa Miskell Limited, Contact Energy Ltd, Mercury NZ, Meridian Energy, Sumitomo Corporation, Taranaki Offshore Partnership and Goldwind.
Welcome Function Sponsor – Tonkin + Taylor
Dinner Sponsor – BlueFloat Energy Elemental Group Limited Partnership
Lanyard Sponsor – ElectroNet Group