Latest news with #MikeRoan
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Tiwai Point to ramp up production
Meridian Energy's Manapōuri power station. PHOTO: MERIDIAN ENERGY The Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is ramping back up as hydro lakes further north have received more rain. Meridian Energy said in a statement yesterday that it and New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Limited (NZAS) had agreed NZAS would ramp up production from June 16 to bring the current demand response to an end early, targeting a completion date of August 11. It had been set at November 25 but will now end more than three months earlier than that. NZAS will notify Meridian if the target completion date changes. The demand response option in place is Option 4. This is normally 185MW but has been modified to 50MW. "New Zealand's hydro storage is looking much healthier than it was just a few weeks ago, so we are now confident regarding security of supply this winter. As a result, we want NZAS to get back to business," Meridian Energy chief executive Mike Roan said. "This is another example of how willing NZAS is to support New Zealand's electricity system while making some of the purest, renewable aluminium on the planet and we are hugely appreciative of that." Meridian will next have the ability to call for demand response Option 3 (100MW) or Option 4 (185MW) under the demand response agreement between the parties to take effect from April 12 next year. It will next be able to call demand response Option 1 (25MW) no sooner than 60 days after this ramp up finishes and Option 2 (50MW) no sooner than 90 days after this ramp up finishes. There had been concerns about hydro storage earlier this year. New Zealand's controlled hydro catchments — the main driver to keep the lights on during winter — had had the driest start to the year in 93 years of historic records, a statement from Transpower said in late April. But rain had arrived in the catchments of the hydro lakes and helped to fill them up. Hydro power supplies about 57% of the nation's electricity supply. Minister of Energy Simon Watts earlier announced changes to drawdown limits at Lake Manapōuri and Lake Te Anau. Mr Watts said the changes would deliver an extra 45GWh of energy from the Manapōuri Power Scheme each year — enough energy to power around 6000 homes. It was an important step in the government and the sector's work to protect the security of the country's energy supply for the future, Mr Watts said. — PL
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Tiwai Point smelter to ramp up production
Photo: Power restrictions on the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter (NZAS) are being eased as hydro lakes levels have risen enough to ease fears of stretched power supplies this winter. An agreement between the smelter and its main power supplier Meridian Energy has allowed production to be cut and electricity usage reduced to preserve hydro resources. "New Zealand's hydro storage is looking much healthier than it was just a few weeks ago, so we are now confident regarding security of supply this winter. As a result, we want NZAS to get back to business," Meridian chief executive designate Mike Roan said. The smelter is the largest power user in the country and had been reducing its power usage by 50 Megawatts, which would start being phased out from the middle of the month allowing for an increase in aluminium production. "This is another example of how willing NZAS is to support New Zealand's electricity system while making some of the purest, renewable aluminium on the planet and we are hugely appreciative of that," Roan said. Under the agreement, Meridian has two options that can be called on if the power supply outlook deteriorates.
Scoop
4 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Meridian And NZAS Agree To Shorten Current Demand Response
Press Release – Meridian New Zealands hydro storage is looking much healthier than it was just a few weeks ago, so we are now confident regarding security of supply this winter. As a result, we want NZAS to get back to business, says CEO designate Mike Roan. Meridian Energy and New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Limited (NZAS) have agreed that NZAS will ramp up production from 16 June 2025 to bring the current demand response to an end early, targeting a completion date of 11 August 2025 rather than 25 November 2025. NZAS will notify Meridian if the target completion date changes. The demand response option in place is Option 4. This is normally 185MW but currently modified to 50MW. 'New Zealand's hydro storage is looking much healthier than it was just a few weeks ago, so we are now confident regarding security of supply this winter. As a result, we want NZAS to get back to business' says CEO designate Mike Roan. 'This is another example of how willing NZAS is to support New Zealand's electricity system while making some of the purest, renewable aluminium on the planet and we are hugely appreciative of that.' Meridian will next have the ability to call for demand response Option 3 (100MW) or Option 4 (185MW) under the demand response agreement between the parties to take effect from 12 April 2026. Meridian will next be able to call demand response Option 1 (25MW) no sooner than 60 days after this ramp up finishes, and Option 2 (50MW) no sooner than 90 days after this ramp up finishes. A copy of the original demand response agreement and the new ramp-up agreement is available on Meridian's website at
Scoop
4 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Meridian And NZAS Agree To Shorten Current Demand Response
New Zealands hydro storage is looking much healthier than it was just a few weeks ago, so we are now confident regarding security of supply this winter. As a result, we want NZAS to get back to business, says CEO designate Mike Roan. Meridian Energy and New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Limited (NZAS) have agreed that NZAS will ramp up production from 16 June 2025 to bring the current demand response to an end early, targeting a completion date of 11 August 2025 rather than 25 November 2025. NZAS will notify Meridian if the target completion date changes. The demand response option in place is Option 4. This is normally 185MW but currently modified to 50MW. 'New Zealand's hydro storage is looking much healthier than it was just a few weeks ago, so we are now confident regarding security of supply this winter. As a result, we want NZAS to get back to business' says CEO designate Mike Roan. 'This is another example of how willing NZAS is to support New Zealand's electricity system while making some of the purest, renewable aluminium on the planet and we are hugely appreciative of that.' Meridian will next have the ability to call for demand response Option 3 (100MW) or Option 4 (185MW) under the demand response agreement between the parties to take effect from 12 April 2026. Meridian will next be able to call demand response Option 1 (25MW) no sooner than 60 days after this ramp up finishes, and Option 2 (50MW) no sooner than 90 days after this ramp up finishes. A copy of the original demand response agreement and the new ramp-up agreement is available on Meridian's website at
RNZ News
13-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Powering New Zealand from a Wellington wind farm
West Wind technician Tim Clark on top of a wind turbine at West Wind farm in Makara Photo: Sharon Brettkelly When rain poured into our South Island hydro lakes last week, electricity bosses heaved a huge sigh of relief. They are still wincing from the memories of last winter's energy crunch, when power became dangerously scarce and wholesale prices shot sky high. "Droughts are no fun," says Meridian Energy chief executive Mike Roan. "They're inevitable though. "Our power system has been built with droughts in mind. The scale of the southern hydro lakes, Lake Taupō, the combination of them is there to provide that backup stored energy for and when a drought emerges." But the past 12 months have been "horrible" with the August drought and loss of gas supply causing wholesale prices to spike. Heavy spring rain filled the lakes in September, but the drought re-emerged with additional force at Christmas and lingered through April. Hydro lake flows were at historic lows until heavy rain earlier this month. Mike Roan, CEO of Meridian Photo: Meridian "If there are problems you want to have, it's too much rain," says Roan. He tells The Detail how the industry is shoring up for future extremes - including proposals to raise lake levels by building higher walls - and why he is quietly confident there will not be a repeat of last year's near-crisis. What caught industry bosses out last August was the shock news that they had no gas supplies, a backup fuel generation companies had relied on for decades when lake levels were low, says Roan. "We rely on different forms of energy beyond solar, wind and hydro. The country's relied on gas as its fuel for making electricity and we have become used to having gas available to provide electricity when it doesn't rain. "What we found out last August was that not only did we have a drought on our hands, but those gas stores, the energy that we thought was available to us, was not. "That was unexpected and that made it really, really tough." It also cost Meridian more than $200 million in contracts for alternative backup fuel that it never used, and it did not get that money back. Roan says generators have been working on sourcing other fuel supplies, including coal, and have brought forward renewable energy projects. Expect to see a large expansion in solar energy projects in the next five years, alongside more wind farms and the new battery farm in Northland. Roan says the investment in renewables will start to offset the loss of gas and make for lower energy prices for everyone in about three years. But he explains why there will not be lower electricity bills for household and business consumers - instead bills will be eight to 10 percent higher annually. Sharon Brettkelly on top of a wind turbine at West Wind in Makara, Wellington Photo: Sharon Brettkelly The Detail also braves 50 kilometre per hour winds to climb to the top of a 70-metre wind turbine at West Wind in Makara, Wellington with technician Tim Clark. Clark describes the dangers of high winds, including flying rocks, and the wear and tear to the turbines on a site that is regarded as one of the world's most productive wind farms. The former mechanic says it beats working on cars in a garage with a view of a roller door. "Now you've seen my view, it's the best view in town," he says. He is still not sick of it after 14 years, even when he goes home with sea legs after sways in the tower in Wellington's famously harsh winds. "We're lucky, I say, you can get sunburnt while you're eating your lunch." Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter .
