Brownlee Gerry: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Brownlee Gerry: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:649;Page:17909] 
12.  
GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam) 
 to the  
Minister of Energy 
: How much electricity if any was generated from thermally fuelled sources in the months of April May June and July 2008 measured as a percentage of total electricity generation for each month? 
Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister of Energy) 
: 
 Electricity from fossil-fuelled sources in those months peaked at 46 percent of the total in June and fell to 37 percent in July. This compares to around 35 percent in a normal year. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Is the Minister’s stubborn insistence on advancing the thermal ban in the face of overwhelming opposition from industry experts an indication of a total lack of confidence in the ability of the Government’s emissions trading scheme to incentivise new renewable generation because if the emissions trading scheme works—as he assures us it will—why is it that we need this heavy-handed thermal ban? 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: First it is not a ban. [ 
Interruption 
] It is not a ban. National is doing its best to set up a phoney war. Its members are trying to argue that security of supply and renewables are incompatible but of course we know that we can have both. The first casualty in this phoney war that is being set up was from a salvo in National’s own energy policy. It produced a graph on security margins that left off the period after 2006 because it did not suit the myth that National was trying to portray. National excluded from its security margins the 1000 megawatts of electricity capacity that has since been added or is currently under construction. It is a phoney war and the first casualty is truth. 
Moana Mackey 
: What reports has he seen on thermal electricity and renewables? 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: Just today Contact Energy one of New Zealand’s biggest generators outlined its plans to invest up to $3 billion in about 1400 megawatts of new generation projects nearly all of it renewable. It includes about 500 megawatts of geothermal a renewable baseload source of renewable electricity. Mighty River Power is also building more geothermal. These investors have confidence in a renewable future. In contrast of course we have the backward-looking energy policy from the National Party which is wedded to fossil fuels— 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Well supported! Very well supported! 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: It is well supported by Nick Smith and about one other. National would tie electricity prices to rising gas prices and increasing greenhouse gas emissions. It is no wonder that Greenpeace said of National’s policy: “Earth to National: there is this thing called climate change.” 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Is it now the Minister’s position that thermal generation has saved his bacon this year but we do not need any more of it? 
Hon DAVID PARKER 
: That is not what the policy says. It is clear that we have large amounts of economic geothermal baseload renewable capacity that the generators are willing to build and that we know is cost competitive. National is turning its back on that saying “More fossil fuel less renewables”. 
I seek leave to table the graph used by National in its energy policy that excludes the 1000 megawatts. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.