Impact of a changing climate on our energy system – project summary

This research investigated climate change impacts on the wind and water needed for the energy transition. Projections of wind and water, sourced from Global Climate Models (GCM) and downscaled to local level (Collins 2020, Collins, Montgomery and Zammit) by NIWA scientists (Dr Christian Zammit and Dr Richard Turner), were combined with high resolution electricity system modelling, to explore how changes to wind and water will impact our ability to generate enough renewable electricity to support New Zealand’s decarbonisation goals.

Datasets and guidance from this research allow energy planners to incorporate information they haven’t previously had access to.

A webpage version of this summary can be found here.