Coverage this year celebrated New Zealand's electricity grid hitting "94.5% renewable", hydro, geothermal, wind and solar combined. The number is genuine. The framing, treating it as New Zealand's standing average, isn't.

Where it actually comes from: grid operator data showing renewables supplied 94.5% of demand during a specific high-generation window, strong wind, full hydro lakes, and mild demand lining up at once.

The gap that matters: New Zealand's actual annual renewable share sits lower, typically mid-to-high 80s, because dry years reduce hydro output and the country leans on gas to cover the shortfall.

The bottom line: New Zealand genuinely has one of the cleanest grids in the developed world, that's the real story, and it doesn't need inflating.