Generation assets
We’re committed to reducing waste at our assets and diverting as much as we possibly can away from landfill.
The operation and maintenance of our generation assets make up around 20% of our total waste emissions (including landfill and recycling). The majority of this waste currently comes from hydro.
Towards the end of the decade we’ll begin a repowering programme that will involve upgrading our wind assets as they come to the end of their design lives. This will start with our Te Āpiti wind farm, where we know a range of decommissioned materials will need end-of-life solutions.
Although further analysis is required to map and understand generation waste inputs, outputs and impacts properly, we know that asset components are difficult to reuse or recycle as a result of their complex electrical, mechanical and/or structural properties.
What’s more, receiving accurate reporting from contractors on the kilograms of waste sent to landfill or being recycled remains an ongoing challenge (especially in our rural areas).
We’re proud to have found creative end-of-life solutions for our filters and our hydraulic hoses, and we’re excited about a future pilot that will explore the potential of pressing oil out of oily rags. It should be noted that although this pilot will potentially help us to optimise the recycling of oil, the flammable properties of the rags themselves mean they’ll still need to be disposed of to landfill as hazardous waste.