Fonterra has received funding from New Zealand’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) which will help fund the installation of new emissions-reducing technology at its Brightwater dairy site.
The investment will upgrade Brightwater’s existing coal boiler, adding capacity to burn wood biomass to generate steam.
Fonterra claims that this will reduce the plant’s emissions by 2,400 tonnes a year, a reduction of 25% and the equivalent of taking approximately 530 cars off the road.
The move has been approved following a successful trial that was undertaken last year, and Fonterra says the conversion should be completed by October 2018.
Fonterra chief operating officer for global operations Robert Spurway said: “Last year we joined forces with the Ministry for the Environment to develop a roadmap to a low emissions future, which included a commitment to undertake a demonstration of co-firing wood biomass with coal at one of our sites.
“Now, with the support of EECA, we’re putting our co-firing strategy into action. Brightwater’s transition to a lower emission energy source is a tangible step toward achieving our target of reducing our Global Operations emissions by 30%by 2030, and our longer-term goal of net zero emissions by 2050.”
EECA business group manager market engagement Greg Visser added: “This is exactly the type of demonstration project that EECA looks to support.
“Our funding helps de-risk investment in new technology application where there are big emissions reductions on offer. It’s a great opportunity for replication across Fonterra – and by others looking to adopt this technology to save energy.”
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