MBIE - Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment of New Zeland
MBIE - Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment of New Zeland
03/12/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/11/2026 16:47
Favourable hydro conditions see record high share of electricity generation from renewables
Favourable hydro conditions see record high share of electricity generation from renewables
Published: 12 March 2026
From October to December 2025, New Zealand set a record high of 96.4% of electricity generation coming from renewable sources.
On this page I tēnei whārangi
Favourable hydro conditions and continued growth in utility scale solar were key contributors, sharply reducing reliance on natural gas and driving emissions from electricity generation to their lowest level on record, says MBIE Domains Manager Amapola Generosa.
The latest Energy Quarterly release from the Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment (MBIE) for the quarter to December 2025, reflects strong renewable electricity generation across the quarter.
"Hydro inflows were strong, which supported an 8% increase in hydro generation compared with the same quarter in 2024," says Generosa.
"We also saw continued growth from new grid scale solar farms connecting, which lifted solar generation by more than 70% year on year.
"Natural gas-fired generation fell to its lowest level quarterly level since the March quarter 1980, with output down 52% compared with the December 2024 quarter. Contributing to this was planned maintenance at gas generation plants during the quarter. Natural-gas-fired generation declined to 219 GWh, a reduction of 238 GWh on the previous quarter.
"Emissions from electricity generation fell to their lowest recorded quarterly level since records began in March 1990.
"Electricity demand also increased across most sectors. National consumption rose 6.5% to 10,045 GWh, with agricultural demand rising 14.2% due to irrigation loads. Industrial consumption increased 12.2%, in part due to comparatively low usage in the December 2024 quarter. Electricity use by New Zealand Aluminium Smelters was relatively low in the December 2024 quarter following its demand response agreement being called on in winter 2024.
"The story of this quarter is that higher hydro inflows and additional solar capacity increased renewable generation and reduced emissions from electricity generation"
Full energy quarterly results along with data and graphs:
The next Energy Quarterly will be published on 11/06/2026
MBIE media contact
Email: [email protected]
Share:
MBIE - Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment of New Zeland published this content on March 12, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on March 11, 2026 at 22:47 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]