Manufacturing

East Harbour Energy was commissioned by Fonterra to carry out an assessment of the feasibility of converting the energy supply at their Tuamarina, Kaikoura, and Culverden milk processing plants from diesel or LFO to wood fuel.

This report investigates the site requirements, the regional wood fuel supply, suitable boiler plant, consenting issues, risks, benefits, and provides a financial assessment of conversion.

This study looks at the feasibility of replacing light fuel oil boilers with wood fuel boilers at ENZAFOODS site in Nelson.  It found that the due to the variable steam demand at the site and the high cost of wood fired boilers per kilowatt, the most cost effective approach to steam supply at the Nelson site would involve utilising a relatively small woodfired boiler as a "Base Load" boiler.

The rising cost of natural gas prompted Tatua Co-operative Dairy Factory near Hamilton to look at alternative energy sources to run its boilers.
Wood-fired boilers are common in sawmills and wood processing plants, but are yet to be used in a New Zealand dairy factory. Tatua's site engineer Jack van Lankveld says they were motivated by a desire to be more self-sufficient and environmentally friendly.
"If the [gas] supply went down we would have to stop operating. There's also the whole carbon issue to think about - this is something that is becoming increasingly important."