Genesis Energy s Tekapo B Power Station.
Photo: Genesis Energy
The power company, which owned the fossil fuel-fired Huntly Power Station, said the electricity market was under stress due to low hydro levels and tight gas supply.
The power system relied on Huntly to fill the void left by renewable sources, with the capacity to produce energy equivalent to 84 percent of the storage capacity of Lake Taupō.
Genesis said the deal with Methanex to provide natural gas would also mean lower carbon emissions for the country, with gas emitting approximately half the emissions of coal on an energy equivalent basis.
It said Methanex had shown flexibility in respect of its own business to make the gas available.
Press Release – Genesis Energy Genesis Energy and Methanex agree to short term gas supply Genesis will purchase between 3.4PJ and 4.4PJ over winter Methanex will temporarily idle one Motunui facility to improve New Zealands energy security Genesis and Methanex also agree a Winter/ …
Genesis Energy and Methanex agree to short term gas supply
Genesis will purchase between 3.4PJ and 4.4PJ over winter
Methanex will temporarily idle one Motunui facility to improve New Zealand’s energy security
Genesis and Methanex also agree a Winter/ Summer swap for 2022 and 2023
Genesis Energy and Methanex have agreed to a gas supply arrangement for between 3.4PJ – 4.4PJ over winter that will support security of supply for the country’s electricity system.
Genesis will purchase between 3.4PJ and 4.4PJ
over winter
Methanex will temporarily idle one
Motunui facility to improve New Zealand’s energy
security
Genesis and Methanex also agree a Winter/
Summer swap for 2022 and 2023
Genesis Energy and
Methanex have agreed to a gas supply arrangement for between
3.4PJ – 4.4PJ over winter that will support security of
supply for the country’s electricity system.
The
agreement comes at a time when the electricity market
remains under some stress due to low hydro levels and tight
gas supply and has relied on Huntly Power Station to fill
the void left by renewable sources. This provides the energy
The company announced earlier this month that it would bring a third coal-fired turbine out of storage to add its Huntly power station in anticipation of more demand for coal generation, in anticipation of a dry summer and constraints in gas supplies. However, it has also signalled its intention to bring to market an additional 1350 gigawatt-hours of renewable electricity by 2024, in addition to the completion of its Waipipi Wind Farm next month. Chief executive Marc England said its retail business had delivered “improved efficiencies without compromising on our vision to be ‘customer’s first choice for energy management’”. “The last six months has also seen a reduction in disconnections and bad debt, largely due to measures implemented by the business as part of its response to the customer impact of Covid,” he said.