Power StationsWORLDWIDETHE GLOBAL EDITION 01
Map of 43 power plants in New Zealand, coloured by fuel and sized by capacity
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Power plants in New Zealand

43 power-plant records · 6,675 MW reported capacity

  • Hydro 56%
  • Geothermal 16%
  • Wind 16%
Explore New Zealand on the map

New Zealand at a glance

Power-plant records
43
Reported capacity
6,675 MW
Renewable electricity (2024)
86%
Most records
Hydro, Geothermal
Grid operator
Transpower
Capital
Wellington

Largest listed power plants

  1. 1Manapouri800 MW
  2. 2Ohau A688 MW
  3. 3Benmore540 MW
  4. 4Huntly (steam)500 MW
  5. 5Clyde432 MW
Full list of power plants in New Zealand ↓

Records by technology

Counts records, not generation share · coverage & dates

Reported capacity is the rated size of the listed installations, not electricity being produced now. Source dates and coverage differ, so newer facilities may be absent and historical records may remain.

How electricity works in New Zealand

Liberalised marketCompetitive generation and retail

Hydro, geothermal and wind supply about 85% of electricity, traded in a nodal wholesale market.

  1. GenerationCompeting generators
  2. TransmissionIndependent grid operator
  3. DistributionRegulated local networks
  4. CustomersYou choose a supplier

Who regulates

Who controls the grid

State-owned Transpower runs the national grid; 29 local lines companies distribute.

Markets & power exchanges

Regional grid

Not part of a larger synchronous grid or regional power pool.

What does “Liberalised market” mean?

Generators sell into a wholesale market, an independent operator runs the transmission grid, and households can choose their electricity supplier. Networks stay regulated monopolies because building parallel power lines makes no sense.

References reviewed 2026-09-29. Logos are each organisation’s own site icon, shown to identify it. Selected organisations, not an exhaustive list of licence holders.

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ELECTRICITY IN 2024

How New Zealand generates electricity

Electricity generated44 TWh
Renewable share86%
Low-carbon share86%
Carbon intensity112 gCO₂e/kWh

Electricity mix 2024

Annual generation by source · terawatt-hours (TWh)

Hydro23.5 TWh
Wind4.3 TWh
Solar0.37 TWh
Bioenergy0.78 TWh
Other renewables8.9 TWh
Nuclear0 TWh
Coal1.2 TWh
Gas4.3 TWh
Other fossil0.66 TWh

Missing categories are labelled “No data”. Rounding can cause small differences from the reported total.

Source: Ember (2026), processed by Our World in Data · CC BY 4.0 · Snapshot 24 April 2026. Method & download details.

Explore trends & country comparisons

Geography and data notes

New Zealand is in Australia and New Zealand. Its coastal or island geography provides a different setting for electricity infrastructure from inland systems. This profile connects country reference information with the historical station inventory and reported electricity generation.

Capital
Wellington
Languages
English, Māori, New Zealand Sign Language
Region
Australia and New Zealand

Geographic reference: Countries geographic database (ODbL). Boundaries and names are for orientation; language listings are introductory, not exhaustive. Banner map: Natural Earth boundaries (public domain) with this atlas’s station records.

The source inventory contains 43 records for New Zealand. Select a fuel in the map to explore where its stations are located, then open a record to inspect reported capacity and provenance.

Inventory coverage

43 source records. 0 reported operational in their source snapshot; this is not live status.

0 lack an owner/operator; 14 lack a commissioning year.

Coverage, dates & exclusions
THE GENERATION INVENTORY

List of power plants in New Zealand

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Browse 43 source records, ordered by reported capacity. Ownership and operating status describe the source snapshot; they may have changed. Missing information is shown explicitly.

Published selection: 12 records. JavaScript loads the full searchable inventory.

800 MW
Owner in source
Meridian Energy
Operator in source
Not reported
Commissioned
Not reported
Source status
Operating status unverified
Meridian Energy · historical recordDetails & map

Ohau A

Hydro
688 MW
Owner in source
Meridian Energy
Operator in source
Not reported
Commissioned
Not reported
Source status
Operating status unverified
Meridian Energy · historical recordDetails & map

Benmore

Hydro
540 MW
Owner in source
Meridian Energy
Operator in source
Not reported
Commissioned
Not reported
Source status
Operating status unverified
Meridian Energy · historical recordDetails & map

Clyde

Hydro
432 MW
Owner in source
Contact Energy
Operator in source
Not reported
Commissioned
1992
Source status
Operating status unverified
Contact Energy · historical recordDetails & map
352 MW
Owner in source
Mercury Energy
Operator in source
Not reported
Commissioned
Not reported
Source status
Operating status unverified
Mercury Energy · historical recordDetails & map
220 MW
Owner in source
Meridian Energy
Operator in source
Not reported
Commissioned
Not reported
Source status
Operating status unverified
Meridian Energy · historical recordDetails & map

Arapuni

Hydro
192 MW
Owner in source
Mercury Energy
Operator in source
Not reported
Commissioned
1929
Source status
Operating status unverified
Mercury Energy · historical recordDetails & map

Tekapo

Hydro
179 MW
Owner in source
Genesis Energy
Operator in source
Not reported
Commissioned
Not reported
Source status
Operating status unverified
Genesis Energy · historical recordDetails & map

MW measures rated capacity, not electricity generated. Records may describe units, installations, projects or whole complexes. Review inventory coverage and licenses. Download this country’s records.