Keith Turner and Stephen Barrett

Keith Turner and Stephen Barrett

Meridian Energy chief executive Keith Turner is a vocal champion for renewable energy sources. But he has been accused of being too optimistic. Here he debates "that renewable energy sources are the best option for meeting electricity demand for the next 15 years" with one of his chief critics, Contact Energy CEO Stephen Barrett.

Dear Steve,

New Zealand, of all the countries in the world, is uniquely placed to have it all in regard to electricity - secure supply, at a fair price, with minimal environmental impact.

Being a long, thin country in the middle of an ocean means we get lots of wind and water.

The synergies between wind and hydro generation make a renewable future possible. Broadly speaking, when the wind blows we can preserve our hydro storage. When it stops, we can quickly start our hydro plants.

The fuel is clean, plentiful and free.

The alternative is to burn carbon, to invest a billion dollars in a terminal to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) and sign the country up to decades of exposure to international fossil fuel markets.

We saw the consequences of that in the oil shocks of the 1970s.

Renewable electricity meets the preferences of the vast majority of New Zealanders. A recent Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority survey showed:

* 82 per cent and 79 per cent of people approve of wind and hydro generation respectively.

* Wind is the preferred generation method for 40.9 per cent, and hydro is preferred by 40.7 per cent.

* Coal is least preferred, followed by gas.

Keith

* * *

Dear Keith,

Firstly, to say that there are only two choices - wind and hydro or burn carbon and commit to LNG - is misleading.

New Zealand has a range of choices that can meet our future electricity needs, including hydro, wind, geothermal, gas, coal, solar and energy efficiency.