NIWA provides a wide range of research and consultancy services to the energy sector, including resource assessment, monitoring and forecasting, environmental impact assessments and mitigation. Our work is helping New Zealand to move towards being powered by sustainable and low carbon technology.
Hydro
Our world class observation networks and computer modelling provide the foundation for planning and operating hydroelectric projects.
- Historical flows from the hydrometric archive.
- Flow and turbulence measurements.
- Estimation of hydro resources and extremes.
- Low flows and ecosystem impacts for consenting.
- Sedimentation.
- Modelling and forecasting for accurate river flow and hydro inflows.
- Seasonal snow estimation - improving snow-pack and snowmelt forecasts which are very important for hydro-lake inflow projections.
Wind
Quantifying the resource and forecasting its variability.
- Site measurements to evaluate wind resources, flow and turbulence.
- Historical climate data to establish long term variability.
- Actual climate stations to establish long term variability.
- Virtual climate stations to establish long term variability.
- Developing and validating wind forecasts at various hub-heights.
- Modelling wind flows over complex New Zealand terrain with validation of GERRIS and WAsP using SODAR and local masts.
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Transmission and management
Understanding the climate is essential for network management.
- Weather extremes for risk assessment.
- Snow accretion and line-sag forecast tools.
- Climate variability and energy security.
- EnergyScape - a future energy scenario visualisation suite.
- Forecasting the weather drivers of electricity demand.
Marine (wave and tidal)
Keeping ahead of international energy generation trends.
- Wave climatology for NZ resources.
- Wave forecasts.
- Tidal resource assessment.
- Tidal current modelling.
- Tidal turbine array modelling.
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Bio-gas and bio-oil
Managing waste and generating revenue.
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Solar
Optimising your investment.