Energy in New Zealand

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Despite abundant natural resources and a relatively small population, New Zealand is a net importer of energy, in the form of petroleum products. The ratio of non-renewable and renewable energy sources was fairly consistent from 1975 to 2008, with about 70 per cent of primary energy supply coming from hydrocarbon fuels. This ratio decreased to about 60 per cent in 2018.^[1] The proportion of non-renewable energy varies annually, depending on water flows into hydro-electricity lakes and demand for energy.^[2] In 2018, approximately 60% of primary energy was from non-renewable hydrocarbon fuels and 40% was from renewable sources.^[1] In 2007 energy consumption per capita was 120 gigajoules. Per capita energy consumption had increased 8 per cent since 1998. New Zealand uses more energy per capita than 17 of 30 OECD countries.^[3] New Zealand is one of 13 OECD countries that does not operate nuclear power stations.

From 1994 to 2018, the energy intensity of the economy per unit of GDP declined by 33 per cent to 2.57 MJ/$.^[1] A contributing factor is the growth of relatively less energy-intensive service industries.^[4][5]