Queenstown Flex Challenge
The Queenstown-Lakes District is undergoing rapid economic growth and electrification, increasing the demand for major investments in transmission and distribution infrastructure upgrades.
The opportunity: Future proofing electricity infrastructure
The Queenstown-Lakes District, including Queenstown and Wānaka township, is experiencing rapid economic growth and electrification, driving the need for significant investments to transmission and distribution infrastructure upgrades.
To address this, Powernet, Aurora and Transpower are undertaking a joint work programme to identify the best infrastructure investment options to meet these needs. They have developed scenarios for electricity demand growth in the region, considering:
- Population and other economic growth
- Decarbonisation of transport, including road, air and off-road vehicles
- Electrification of heating and cooking
- The role of how much flexibility or demand response could moderate peak demand growth and potentially reduce or defer the need for infrastructure investment.
In parallel, the Queenstown-Lakes District Council and tourism bodies have an ambitious goal to electrify the region and achieve a zero-carbon tourism economy by 2030. This is intended to drive uptake of solar, batteries and the electrification of transport and industry across the region.
The role of demand flexibility in Queenstown-Lakes
The Ara Ake-led Flexibility Challenge supports this important mahi led by regional partners, by identifying both near and long-term opportunities to develop commercial or technology solutions that moderate demand peaks or enable demand response in the Queenstown-Lakes District. Flexibility solutions have the potential to save or defer millions of dollars’ worth of grid investments to meet regional demand growth.
Looking ahead, we are working with key stakeholders to develop a Regional Flexibility Hub to demonstrate and roll-out long-term solutions to support the region’s growth and electrification in 2025.
Stakeholders
- Aurora
- Powernet
- Queenstown Lakes District Council
- Queenstown Airport Corporation
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