RD_039: Energy in New Zealand 2026 (MBIE) - 2026 edition, data year 2025

RD_039: Energy in New Zealand 2026 (MBIE) - 2026 edition, data year 2025

Source

https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/energy-and-natural-resources/energy-statistics-and-modelling/energy-statistics/energy-in-new-zealand — original source (opens in a new tab; the file is not redistributed)

Energy in New Zealand 2026 (MBIE) - 2026 edition, data year 2025

MBIE's authoritative annual national energy statistics for the 2025 calendar year - the current NZ energy baseline, successor to RD_026 (data year 2024)

Headline: 88.5% of electricity generated in 2025 came from renewable sources - the highest share since 1981, up from 85.5% in 2024, driven by record geothermal and solar generation plus a hydro recovery. Renewables reached a record 47.7% of total primary energy supply; renewable supply hit a record 395 PJ while non-renewable supply fell to its lowest since 1992. Gas-fired generation fell to its lowest since 1981 (3,538 GWh). National energy self-sufficiency ticked up to 72.6%; natural gas reserves fell a further 23% to 731 PJ (1 Jan 2026) with the Maui field signalled to reach end of life by the end of 2026; NZ remains 100% import-dependent for refined liquid fuels. Read verbatim via pdftotext → data_quality: verified.

Summary

MBIE’s comprehensive annual report on New Zealand’s energy supply, demand and prices for the 2025 calendar year (published August 2026, 55 pp). It covers total primary energy supply, electricity generation and consumption, renewables, coal, gas, oil, and the national energy balance tables. This is the authoritative NZ-specific energy baseline and the direct successor to RD_026 (2025 edition, data year 2024).

The 2025 story reverses 2024’s divergence: where 2024 paired a record primary-energy renewable share with a dry-year fall in renewable electricity, 2025 delivers records on both measures at once. Renewable electricity reached 88.5%, the highest since 1981, as geothermal (record 9,631 GWh) and solar (record 959 GWh, capacity +52% to 830 MW) grew, hydro recovered (+2.1% to 24,079 GWh despite record-low early-year inflows), and every thermal fuel fell - gas generation to its lowest since 1981. The primary-energy renewable share set another record (47.7% of TPES), and modern renewables reached a record 31.7% of final consumption. Yet the structural vulnerabilities the series tracks deepened on the fossil side: gas reserves fell another 23% to 731 PJ with Maui signalled to reach end of life by end-2026, the Huntly coal stockpile was deliberately rebuilt to a 13-year high against winter risk, and the country remains wholly import-dependent for refined liquid fuels. The national grid is becoming more renewable while its fossil backstop becomes thinner and more import-exposed - the exact tension community-level self-sufficiency design responds to.

Key claims

- claim: "88.5 per cent of electricity generated in 2025 came from renewable sources, an increase from 85.5 per cent in 2024 (Figure B.1). This is the highest share of electricity generated from renewable sources since 1981. In 2025, 44,140 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity were generated in New Zealand, an increase of 0.4 per cent from 2024. The increase in generation from renewable sources was driven by new capacity such as geothermal and solar."
  source_location: "Section B Electricity, p.10 ('Electricity generation from renewable sources reaches new high'); restated Section C p.20 ('the highest share of electricity generation from renewable sources since 1981, rising from 85.5 per cent to 88.5 per cent')"
- claim: "New Zealand's renewable energy supply reached a new record in 2025, increasing from 383 PJ in 2024 to 395 PJ. Growth in renewable supply, combined with a continued decline in non-renewable use, increased New Zealand's renewable share of total primary energy supply (TPES) to a record 47.7 per cent, up from 45.6 per cent in 2024. Non-renewable energy supply fell to its lowest level since 1992, decreasing from 457 PJ in 2024 to 433 PJ in 2025."
  source_location: "Section C Renewables, p.20 ('Renewable energy production increased in 2025'); Quick facts p.2 ('Renewable sources made up over 47% of total primary energy supply, a record high')"
- claim: "Geothermal generation increased 10 per cent on 2024, reaching a record 9,631 GWh in 2025 (commissioning of Tauhara May 2024, Te Huka 3 October 2024, TOPP2 December 2025). Solar generation increased 66 per cent to a record 959 GWh, with solar generation capacity increasing 52 per cent to a total of 830 MW; in January 2025 Lodestone's Te Herenga o Te Rā (33 MW, near Waiotahe) became the first solar farm in New Zealand directly connected to the national grid. Wind generation declined 3.3 per cent to 3,811 GWh - the second-highest annual figure on record, behind 2024's record of 3,940 GWh."
  source_location: "Section B, p.10 (geothermal, solar) and p.11 (wind). ⚠ The wind 2024 record is restated here as 3,940 GWh; the 2025 edition (RD_026) printed 3,919 GWh for the same year - inter-edition data revision, this edition's value used for within-page comparison."
- claim: "Total hydro generation in 2025 increased 2.1 per cent to 24,079 GWh, despite record low inflows early in the year: Transpower reported record low inflows during January and February, the March 2025 quarter had the lowest quarterly hydro generation since the June 2012 quarter and the lowest March-quarter hydro generation since 1987, and coal generation in that quarter rose 54 per cent on the March 2024 quarter to compensate. Conditions improved later: September-quarter hydro was 23 per cent higher than 2024's, December-quarter 8.0 per cent higher."
  source_location: "Section B, p.11 ('Record low inflows for early 2025 quarters') and p.12 (quarter recovery, Figure B.3)"
- claim: "With high renewable generation in 2025, coal generation decreased by 32 per cent to 1,523 GWh, oil generation dropped 76 per cent to 6 GWh and gas generation dropped 13 per cent to 3,538 GWh. At 3,538 GWh, 2025 saw the lowest amount of gas generation in New Zealand since 1981 (less available gas supply; reduced operation of gas plants, including a three-month scheduled outage of Genesis Energy's Huntly Unit 5 from October to December 2025)."
  source_location: "Section B, p.12 ('Gas generation at record low since 1981')"
- claim: "Total electricity generation capacity from renewables reached 9,098 MW in 2025. Solar capacity made up 1.9 per cent of total renewable generation capacity in 2020, increasing to 9.1 per cent in 2025 (solar capacity grew from 545 MW to 830 MW over the 2025 calendar year, a 52 per cent increase). New plant commissioned January–December 2025 (Table C1): Te Herenga o Te Rā (solar, 33 MW), TOPP2 (geothermal, 49 MW), Te Puna Mauri ō Omaru (solar, 17 MWp), Pukenui (solar, 21 MWp), Taiohi (solar, 33 MWp), Pāmu Rā ki Whitianga (solar, 33 MWp), Twin Rivers (solar, 31 MWp), Ward (solar, 9 MW)."
  source_location: "Quick facts p.2 (9,098 MW); Section C, p.23 (1.9%→9.1%, 545→830 MW, Table C1)"
- claim: "The Electricity Authority's generation investment pipeline shows 1,705 MW of generation capacity from committed projects, expected to come online in the next three years. 94 per cent of this planned generation capacity comes from renewable projects, with the remaining 6 per cent from battery energy storage system (BESS) projects. Solar projects make up over 50 per cent of the planned generation capacity (930 MW), followed by wind (485 MW) and geothermal (190 MW). Renewable generation capacity is expected to grow by 647 MW over the next year as committed projects are commissioned."
  source_location: "Section C, pp.23-24 (pipeline paragraphs; solar 930 MW over the next three years per Section B p.11 footnote to the EA pipeline)"
- claim: "Total energy consumption decreased slightly by 1.2 per cent (6.25 PJ) to 523 PJ in 2025, its lowest level since 2011, largely driven by lower industrial demand. New Zealand's share of modern renewables in total final consumption (TFEC) reached a new record in 2025, increasing from 30.3 per cent in 2024 to 31.7 per cent. Direct use of renewables dropped to 37.5 PJ, its lowest level since 2000, while electricity consumption allocated to renewables reached 129 PJ."
  source_location: "Section A, p.6 (523 PJ, lowest since 2011); Section C, p.21 ('31.7 per cent of energy consumption came from renewable sources'). Quick facts p.2 rounds the TFEC share to 32%."
- claim: "In 2025, national energy self-sufficiency increased slightly from 72.1 per cent to 72.6 per cent. Coal self-sufficiency rose from 121.3 per cent to 160.4 per cent, reflecting higher domestic production after the Tawhai Tunnel reopened in early 2025; LPG self-sufficiency decreased from 69.1 per cent to 62.8 per cent as domestic production falls. National energy imports increased 2.2 per cent (7.99 PJ), primarily driven by coal imports (+29 per cent, 6.44 PJ) as Genesis Energy increased imports in anticipation of winter 2025 need - the Huntly Power Station coal stockpile reached a 13-year high of 1.16 million tonnes."
  source_location: "Section A, p.5 (self-sufficiency, coal/LPG splits, imports, stockpile); Quick facts p.2 ('Coal stockpile at Huntly over 1 million tonnes, highest since 2012')"
- claim: "New Zealand's natural gas reserves as of 1 January 2026 were estimated to be 731 PJ, a drop of 23 per cent on 1 January 2025 figures, reflecting both extraction during 2025 and operators' downward reserve revisions. Significant revisions occurred at Pohokura (poor performance of the POW-5 well) and at Maui, which has been signalled as reaching end of life by the end of 2026; successful drilling at Mangahewa partially counteracted the downward revisions. The Turangi field now holds over half of New Zealand's remaining gas reserves."
  source_location: "Section E Gas, p.34 ('Reserves data indicates a low-gas future')"
- claim: "Oil imports for 2025 totalled 340 PJ (+0.5 per cent on 2024's 338 PJ); diesel is New Zealand's largest import (45 per cent of oil imports), followed by petrol (30 per cent) and jet fuel (19 per cent). Since the closure of the Marsden Point refinery, New Zealand has imported all its refined petroleum products, mainly from Asian countries such as South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia."
  source_location: "Section F Oil, p.41 ('Imports and consumption remain steady')"

Neobiome Intelligence relevance

This is the annual refresh of the national NZ energy baseline behind RD_026, updating every headline figure to the 2025 data year. It feeds the same three NI pages - D01, I06 and I09 - and supersedes RD_026 as the current-year national anchor.

• D01 - the national renewable-electricity baseline moves again, upward. The current NZ electricity mix is 88.5% renewable (2025), the highest since 1981 - recovering the ground the 2024 dry year lost and passing the previous 88.1% (2023) mark. Read together with RD_026, the pair quantifies the hydrology swing NI’s grid-vs-off-grid framing must respect: 88.1% (2023) → 85.5% (dry 2024, coal +118%) → 88.5% (2025, gas generation at a 44-year low). Renewable capacity is 9,098 MW and the committed pipeline (94% renewable, 6% BESS) adds 647 MW within a year. RD_039
• D01 - utility-scale solar inflection. Solar generation rose 66% to a record 959 GWh, capacity 52% to 830 MW, with the first direct-to-grid solar farm (Te Herenga o Te Rā) and five further plants commissioned in 2025; solar is over half the planned pipeline (930 MW). ⚠ Unlike RD_026, this edition carries no residential-solar capacity figure - the current residential anchor stays RD_037 (80,715 connections / 457.9 MW at 30 Jun 2026), which is fresher anyway. RD_039
• I06 - the fossil backstop thins further. Self-sufficiency ticked up to 72.6% (a coal-production artifact: the Tawhai Tunnel reopened), but the structural picture worsened where it matters for backup fuels: gas reserves fell another 23% to 731 PJ with Maui signalled to reach end of life by the end of 2026, gas-fired generation hit a 44-year low partly because gas supply was short, the coal stockpile had to be deliberately rebuilt to a 13-year high against winter risk, and refined liquid fuels remain 100% imported. The series now shows two consecutive years of steep reserve decline (−27%, then −23%). RD_039
• I09 - records on all three renewable measures at once. TPES renewable share 47.7% (record), electricity 88.5% (highest since 1981), modern renewables in TFEC 31.7% (record) - and, unlike 2024, emissions direction improved too (coal −32%, oil −76%, gas −13% in generation). The TFEC measure moving 30.3→31.7 in one year is the electrification frontier finally shifting, though direct renewable use fell to its lowest since 2000. RD_039

Curation note (supersession): this 2026 edition (data year 2025) supersedes RD_026 (data year 2024) as the current national baseline. RD_026, RD_001 and RD_014 are retained for their data-year figures (year-on-year series).

Research targets

Documents to retrieve

• None raised.

Research gaps

• No new retrieval gap. The report is an annual series; the natural follow-on is the 2027 edition when published - a routine refresh, not a research target. No RT proposed (mirrors RD_026’s rationale).

Notes

Authoritative Crown-published annual statistics (MBIE, published August 2026; PDF metadata created 20 Aug 2026; 55 pp; cover: “Energy in New Zealand 2026 / 2025 CALENDAR YEAR EDITION”; contents: “Quick facts for 2025” → the 2026 edition, data year = 2025 calendar year), read in full via pdftotext -layout - data_quality: verified (every cited figure traced verbatim to a printed page/section; printed pages derived from the report’s own page footers). Official MBIE PDF downloaded from mbie.govt.nz. context: both - refreshes the NI national baseline (D01/I06/I09) and supplies thesis context on NZ’s energy transition and fossil-fuel import dependency (mirrors RD_026/RD_001/RD_014).

⚠ Inter-edition revisions of 2024 figures. The 2026 edition restates several 2024 values slightly differently from what the 2025 edition (RD_026) printed: wind 2024 record 3,919 → 3,940 GWh; TPES renewable share 2024 45.5% (with a 45.4% internal variant) → 45.6%; renewable supply 2024 379 → 383 PJ; modern renewables in TFEC 2024 29.8% → 30.3%. This is normal statistical revision in the MBIE series, not an error in either page: RD_026 records what the 2025 edition printed; this page’s year-on-year comparisons use the 2026 edition’s own restated 2024 values. Do not mix bases when citing a 2024→2025 change.

⚠ No residential-solar capacity figure in this edition. RD_026 carried the EA-derived residential solar series (251→323 MW over 2024); the 2026 edition reports utility-scale solar capacity growth (545→830 MW) and the 1.9%→9.1% capacity share, but no residential split. The current residential anchor is RD_037 (verified EA EMI extract, 30 Jun 2026).

⚠ Geopolitical note quoted for context only: the report mentions the June 2025 “Twelve-Day War” between Israel and Iran threatening global oil flows (Section F); no figure from that passage is cited.

Connections

Links to

Sources (4): RD_001 · RD_014 · RD_026 · RD_037

Referenced by

SSI indicators (2): I06: Resistance to External Shocks · I09: Environmental Sustainability

Sources (1): RD_026

EDT domains (1): D01: Renewable Energy & Storage Systems