WELLINGTON, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The proportion of renewable energy used in New Zealand electricity generation hit a new record of 80.8 percent last year, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) announced Thursday.
The figure was the highest renewable contribution in 20 years and was mainly due to increased geothermal generation, MBIE manager of energy and building trends James Hogan said in a statement.
"This was due to strong growth in geothermal electricity generation in 2015. Geothermal contribution was 56 percent of total renewable primary energy for the year," said Hogan.
The report also showed that renewable energy provided 40.1 percent of New Zealand's total primary energy supply - a measure of all the energy used domestically - in 2015.
It includes all raw energy produced domestically, such as coal, oil and gas, hydro, wind, geothermal heat, and biomass, as well as all energy imported for use, such as petrol and diesel.
"This is a record high, placing us third in the world, behind other renewable superpowers Iceland and Norway," Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges said in a statement.
The renewable contribution showed the country was well on the way to meeting the government's target of 90 percent renewable electricity by 2025, he said.
"The government continues to work on new energy targets and this growth in our renewable advantage is very encouraging as we think about what New Zealand's energy future should look like in the transition to a lower carbon economy," said Bridges.
