Does Auckland New Zealand need energy storage for photovoltaic power generation

In urban areas, such as Auckland, the obvious choice of renewable energy technology is photovoltaics. The research described here investigates the likely uses for solar generated electricity in the City and its implications on the future shape of Auckland.

Both solar PV and energy storage have seen increasing support from the Electricity Authority. Indeed, the organisation is actively looking to improve regulations to support more investment in energy storage and new generation, including residential solar PV, to enhance the security of supply.

Australia's energy market operator expects rooftop solar (which already supplies almost three times as much electricity annually as gas generators do) will become the dominant source of electricity supply over the next two decades. None of those countries have the energy storage advantage New Zealand has.

Some load types and locations will have poorer performance than utility-scale solar. 23. There are intangible benefits to consumers having their own solar generation, such as energy education, and directly taking part in contributing to New Zealand's renewable future, electrification, and greenhouse gas emission reduction.

New Zealand's huge hydro storage advantage means photovoltaics, particularly rooftop systems, can unlock real benefits for customers. This could mean shifting the management of the legacy hydro assets to provide a high-value product – stored energy – rather than the gentailers simply using hydro generation to maximise profits.

34 Currently in New Zealand solar is used mainly in residential domestic scale applications and a few individual industrial applications. It is not yet used for commercial-scale electricity generation.