Skip to main content.

NPS for Renewable Electricity Generation 2011– Questions and Answers

What is a national policy statement?

A national policy statement (NPS) is a planning document under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) that gives central government direction for making resource management decisions about nationally significant issues. Councils have to ensure that their policy statements and plans ‘give effect’ to a national policy statement.

The NPS for Renewable Electricity Generation therefore requires councils to provide for renewable electricity generation in their policies and plans. It includes direction for decision makers on a range of issues, such dealing with the impacts on residential developments, and direction that council plans should enable potential renewable electricity generation sites to be indentified and investigated. The NPS also sets out timeframes by which councils should have it in place, and requires that the NPS be reviewed within five years.

Why do we need the National Policy Statement for Renewable Electricity Generation 2011 (NPS REG)?

To achieve the Government’s target of 90 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by 2025, the proportion of renewable electricity needs to be significantly increased. This national policy statement recognises the need for new and existing renewable electricity generation to support this target.

Renewable electricity generation can have local, regional and national environmental effects. This NPS ensures that those national benefits are fully taken into account in consenting decisions. By giving this guidance, the NPS promotes a more consistent approach to balancing the competing values associated with the development of New Zealand’s renewable energy resources when councils make decisions on resource consent applications. This gives greater certainty to applicants and the wider community.

When does the NPS REG take effect?

The NPS REG takes effect on 13 May 2011. RMA decision-makers will have to have regard to the NPS in consenting decisions from this date.

The NPS requires regional councils to amend their regional policy statements within 24 months, if they have not already included provisions for renewable electricity. Councils have 12 months after those changes become operative to notify the changes in their regional and district plans.  However, where a regional policy statement does not need to be amended to give effect to the NPS, then Councils need to make necessary changes within 24 months of the NPS taking effect.

For proposed plans, changes or variations notified before 13 May 2011 the NPS REG may assist the decision-maker in determining whether a proposed policy statement or plan will achieve the Act’s purpose.

Back to top

How does the NPS REG work?

The NPS REG gives guidance to local authorities about how renewable electricity generation should be dealt with in RMA planning documents. These documents include regional policy statements, regional plans, and district plans. Policy statements and plans must ‘give effect’ to relevant provisions of the NPS REG. In deciding how they do this, councils take account of local issues and priorities.

RMA decision-makers on resource consents (including commissioners and the Environment Court) must ‘have regard’ to relevant provisions of the NPS REG amongst other matters (eg, environmental effects, the relevant plan). The NPS REG policies are not binding rules: they are weighed up alongside other matters, when reaching an RMA decision.

What does the NPS REG cover?

The NPS REG applies to renewable electricity generation activities at any scale. It covers the construction, operation and maintenance of structures associated with renewable electricity generation. This includes small and community-scale renewable generation activities, systems to convey electricity to the distribution network and/or the national grid, and electricity storage technologies associated with renewable electricity storage. It covers all renewable electricity generation types; hydro, wind, geothermal, solar, biomass, and marine. It also provides for investigation activities for renewable electricity generation such as wind masts and geothermal test bores.

How will council plans give effect to the NPS REG?

The RMA requires local authorities to amend regional policy statements, proposed regional policy statements, plans, proposed plans, and variations to give effect to any provision in an NPS that affects those documents.

Regional councils have  to give effect to its provisions by notifying changes to existing or proposed regional policy statements within 24 months of the date on which it takes effect.

Back to top

 How will the NPS REG apply to resource consent applications?

From 13 May 2011 decision-makers on resource consent applications, notices of requirements for designations, heritage orders and applications for water conservation orders, will need to have regard to the provisions of the NPS REG, regardless of when the application was lodged.

 How does this NPS relate to other government initiatives and policies?

  1. Climate change

    The NPS REG promotes renewable electricity generation, which cumulatively helps reduce New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions and supports the uptake of low-carbon renewable electricity generation. 
  2. New Zealand Energy Strategy (NZES),  New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy (NZEEC) and the renewable electricity target.

    These strategies outline the Government’s 2025 90 per cent renewable electricity target. The NPS REG supports this target by providing guidance for RMA planning and resource consent decision-making on the national significance and benefits of renewable electricity generation.
  3. The National Policy Statement on Electricity Transmission

    New Zealand also has a National Policy Statement on Electricity Transmission. This NPS facilitates the operation, maintenance, upgrading and development of the electricity transmission network. The NPSs are complementary. Timeframes for implementing these NPSs have been aligned to help minimise costs for councils occurring from plan changes, and for submitters to those plan changes.
  4. The New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement 2010

    The New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement recognises that the coastal environment contains renewable energy resources of significant value that can provide social, economic, and cultural benefits for people and communities.
  5. The proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management

    The NPS for Renewable Electricity Generation and the proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management both affect hydro-electricity generation. The former will provide direction and guidance on the development, operation, maintenance and upgrading of renewable electricity generation activities and their benefits. The latter is expected to provide direction and guidance on the appropriate use and/or allocation of water resources. Once an NPS for Freshwater comes into force, RMA resource consent decision-makers will need to have regard to both NPSs and RMA plans will need give effect to both of them.

    6. Back to top

  6. The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme?

    The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) is a way of meeting our international obligations around climate change. By putting a price on carbon, the NZ ETS makes renewable electricity more competitive than fossil-fuel generation.

    The NZ ETS improves the economics for renewable electricity generation projects, while the NPS addresses the resource management issues associated with renewable electricity generation, and the planning and consenting processes under the RMA.

Will this NPS mean that all renewable generation proposals will be consented?

No. A NPS is only one of a number of factors that a RMA decision-maker must consider when making a decision. The NPS does not promote renewable electricity at any environmental cost.

How will the NPS affect electricity generators?

Electricity generators will benefit from more consistent resource consent and planning decisions across different districts and regions. This may reduce costs associated with advocacy during the development of district and regional plans and resource consent applications.

How will the NPS affect landowners and the public?

The NPS will not affect landowners’ rights. 

The NPS will not affect the rights of the public to participate in resource management processes.  As electricity consumers, the public will benefit from barriers to the development of renewable electricity generation being addressed.

Will the NPS make it easier to set up small electricity generation projects?

The NPS seeks to reduce unnecessary barriers to obtaining resource consent for the development of small and community scale renewable electricity generation projects. Local council policy statements and plans will have to provide for the development, operation, maintenance and upgrading of small and community-scale renewable electricity projects from any renewable energy source to the extent applicable to the region or district.

How will the NPS address issues such as visual amenity and noise?

The Ministry for the Environment is working with key agencies, local authorities and the electricity industry to identify a workable set of supporting measures to be developed as close as possible to the notification of the NPS in the New Zealand Gazette.

Examples of issues that could be included are landscape assessment methodology, wind turbine noise, environmental performance standards for wind farms, and measures to support small-scale renewable electricity generation. 

Back to top

How will we know if the NPS is working?

The timeframes for policy statements and plans giving effect to this NPS will be monitored by the Ministry for the Environment. The Ministry will also assess and report on the effect of this NPS on relevant regional policy statements and regional or district plans, resource consents and other decision making. The NPS will be reviewed within five years of taking effect.

The Ministry of Economic Development already monitors and reports on the proportion of electricity generated from renewable resources.

Why is the NPS REG different to that recommended by the Board of Inquiry?

The Board of Inquiry recommendations to the Minister for the Environment consisted of a comprehensive report with a recommended NPS REG that was markedly different from an earlier notified version in terms of structure, scope and level of prescription. The Minister sought to retain the Board’s recommendations, including the structure of the NPS, wherever possible. Changes were made for a number of reasons, including developments in policy and/or practice, the need for consistency, or potential issues with interpretation or application of the policies. The Board of Inquiry version is available here.

Background to the NPS REG

For more information, please refer to the Background to the National Policy Statement for Renewable Electricity Generation.

Back to top

Last updated: 7 June 2011