17th December 2013

Gas to energy plant for Hawke’s Bay landfill

A gas to energy power plant is to be constructed at the Omarunui Landfill in Hawke’s Bay.

Hastings District Council (HDC) and Napier City Council (NCC) have completed negotiations which will see the methane gas, which is created from the waste, sold to drive a 1Megawatt power generator. Pioneer Generation Limited will fund the construction of the power plant, which is expected to be operational in October/December 2014.

The landfill is jointly owned by the Hastings District and Napier City Council’s and managed by Hastings District Council under the governance of the Omarunui Refuse Landfill Joint Committee. The sale of the gas will provide income for the landfill of close to $70,000 per year.

Hastings District Council also retains an option to acquire up to 40% of the equity in the scheme within 3 months of the Gas Supply Agreement becoming unconditional. This option will be considered when a final business case is submitted to Council. The total cost of the project is around $2.0m with a 40% equity share being around $800,000.

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule says “This project is a win/win for all involved; the Councils, Pioneer Generation and the ratepayers. Currently the methane gas which is produced from the waste is flared from an onsite chimney. Turning it into electricity makes good environmental sense, and is something that occurs at other landfills around the country (Auckland-Redvale, Wellington-Silverstream).”

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton says “This initiative will improve the security of the electricity supply to Hawke’s Bay while the ratepayers of both cities benefit as the sale of the gas creates a long term, secure income stream for the landfill. Converting the gas to energy will also help offset the requirement for non-renewable resources, such as coal and oil to be used for power generation.”

Chairman of the Omarunui Refuse Landfill Joint Committee Wayne Bradshaw says” The Landfill Committee has driven this project to achieve environmental and commercial benefits and I am delighted that the project is proceeding. The revenue which will come from the sale of the gas will provide funding for potential future developments at the landfill.”

Council Chief Financial Officer Tony Gray says “We are always seeking new ways of maximising the income which is available from Council’s assets and the gas to energy project is a very good example of how this can be achieved by utilizing the expertise that is available in the private sector.”

Pioneer Generation Ltd Chief Executive Fraser Jonker says “We are very pleased to be able to partner with the Napier and Hastings Councils in this project. We have experience with this type of generation at the Silverstream landfill in Upper Hutt and look forward to bring the lessons leant from that operation to ensure the Omarunui landfill gas to energy project is also successful.”

ENDS

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