National Policy Statement for Renewable Electricity Generation 2011
National Policy Statement for Renewable Electricity Generation
This NPS provides guidance for local authorities on how renewable electricity generation should be dealt with in Resource Management Act 1991 planning documents. These documents include regional policy statements, regional plans and district plans.
Go to the published NPS legislation on the Ministry for the Environment website
Why it is Needed
The NPS recognises the importance of renewable energy and will help New Zealand achieve the Government’s target of 90 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
The NPS promotes a more consistent approach to balancing the competing values associated with the development of New Zealand’s renewable energy resources when councils make decisions on resource consent applications. This gives greater certainty to applicants and the wider community.
What it Covers
The NPS applies to renewable electricity generation activities at any scale. It covers the construction, operation and maintenance of structures associated with renewable electricity generation.
This includes:
- small and community-scale renewable generation activities
- systems to convey electricity to the distribution network and/or the national grid
- electricity storage technologies associated with renewable electricity storage.
It covers all the renewable electricity generation types:
- wind
- geothermal
- solar
- biomass
- marine
It also provides for investigation activities for renewable electricity generation such as wind masts and geothermal test bores.
Implementation Guide
This guide provides local authorities with direction on how the National Policy Statement for Renewable Electricity Generation 2011 can best be incorporated into regional and district planning instruments. The NES came into effect on 13 May 2011.
Go to the implementation guide on the Ministry for the Environment website
