Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods, has given a resounding endorsement for bioenergy, saying “wood energy will
make a significant contribution” to New Zealand’s transition to a low emissions economy, as she formally opened
Fonterra’s wood energy co-firing system in Nelson yesterday.
Officially switching on the new fuel blending system at Fonterra’s Brightwater site, the Minister celebrated the first
milk processing plant to co-fire with woody biomass, a change which will see at least a 25 percent reduction in its
greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to taking 530 cars permanently off the road.
Woods said she wanted to ensure that New Zealand takes full advantage of its renewable energy potential and
opportunities and applauded Fonterra’s efforts in reducing emissions. “Switching from coal to wood energy is what we
would like to see more of in New Zealand,” she said.
Lifecycle emissions from wood energy, she noted, are a mere 2-4 percent of those produced by coal and gas, which fuel
most of New Zealand’s process heat. The Minister outlined that the Coalition Government’s heat action process plan will
seek to “increase the uptake of wood energy” amongst other technology, to reduce New Zealand’s global emissions, in
accordance with the Paris Agreement.
Also attending the launch, Andrew Caseley, Chief Executive of EECA, which contributed $250,000 to the Brightwater
project, congratulated Fonterra for championing the move to renewable wood energy, thereby “showing large industrial
processors that such initiatives will work and are part of the future”. He added that we have a significant challenge to
convert these processors off fossil fuels and onto renewables, such as biomass.
Brook Brewerton, General Manager of Azwood Energy, which supplies wood energy across New Zealand and wood fuel for the
Brightwater plant, said Fonterra’s forward-facing decision to co-fire with woody biomass demonstrates “that co-firing,
on a commercial scale, is a viable option to reduce our emissions and meet our 2030 and 2050 targets”.
Brewerton pointed out that the wood energy used yearly at Brightwater alone will remove 2,000 tonne of wood residue from
forestry slash sites, waste that would otherwise provide fuel for forest fires and contribute to erosion events, causing
damage to waterways and freshwater ecosystems in extreme weather events.
“Biomass is a proven technology with a long-term, secure, mapped supply strategy,” said Brewerton, who predicts its use
could drastically reduce New Zealand’s emissions in the next five years.
Brewerton said Azwood Energy, who developed the prototype fuel blending system for Fonterra, is working with schools,
hospitals and industry across New Zealand to convert to the resourceful use of biomass. He said Fonterra is a key player
in the transition to a low emissions economy and fuel-switching at Brightwater demonstrated Fonterra’s commitment to
renewable and resourceful energy sources.
Speaking on behalf of Fonterra, Head of Manufacturing, Alan Van Der Nagel, thanked Azwood Energy for contributing to the
2017 trial, which facilitated the fuel-switching.
Van Der Nagel said widespread benefits would accrue from the Brightwater conversion, with learnings to be applied to a
“longer-term co-firing strategy for other boilers across the country,” in accordance with Fonterra’s 2017 Road Map to
Transition to a Low Emissions Future.
The Road Map sets out a plan for Fonterra to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 across all its sites. Van Der Nagel said
the Brightwater wood-fuel co-firing conversion demonstrates what a sustained and collaborative approach between
government, NGOs and business can achieve.
Brewerton later added that the containerised fuel blending system could be transported for R trials anywhere across New Zealand for organisations that have an appetite to economically reduce their emissions and
extend the life of their energy systems.
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