fbpx
Print this page
Tuesday, 27 April 2021 12:55

State funding to reduce emissions

Written by  Staff Reporters
Westland is investing in technology to reduce emissions. Westland is investing in technology to reduce emissions.

Chinese-owned Westland Dairy Company is getting $1.7 million from the Government to accelerate plans to reduce carbon emissions produced by its Hokitika factory.

The milk processor says the funding from the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Fund will help 116,000 tonnes of annual carbon emissions as part of work to be completed by October next year. Westland Dairy is investing $1.5 million.

"Thi is an important step in our journey towards a low-carbon future," Westland chief executive Richard Wyeth.

"This co-investment will allow us to reduce our emissions, produced by our boilers, immediately."

Wyeth says Westland is very conscious of its responsibilities to the region and the role it needs to play in navigating the path towards a low-carbon future.

"The West Coast faces particular challenges when it comes to decarbonising our local industries but we look forward to working with the Government to identify future alternative energy sources as we transition to that future."

The two stages of work on technology solutions would allow annual carbon emissions produced by the factory to be reduced by 7% - from 116,000 tonnes to 107,560 tonnes.

Work has already begun on the project, which involves installing new heat exchangers to recover more heat from coal-fired boilers used in milk pasteurisation. Heat recovered by the exchangers will be reused for energy consumption, reducing the amount of coal the factory requires to run its boilers.

Energy efficiency projects will be progressed alongside the installation of the heat exchangers, including projects that will allow combustion air to be preheated, and heat to be collected from the refrigeration engine room and air compressors to preheat the cold-water feed to the boilers.

New control mechanisms to better manage product flow across the heat exchangers will also enable better energy efficiency by reducing the amount of steam produced and therefore lost to evaporation rather than energy reuse.

The work will involve the use of local engineering firms as part of the Fund's guidelines to keep jobs in the region, stimulate the local economy and support local employment as part of the Government's Covid Response and Recovery Project.

In total, 14 companies will receive nearly $2.3m in co-funding from the GIDI Fund to help their businesses transition away from fossil fuels.

"The decarbonisation fund provides crucial financial support to business and industry to help them switch from boilers run on coal and gas to cleaner electricity and biomass options. This helps create jobs in the clean energy sector, and future-proofs our economy," says Energy and Resource Minister Megan Woods.

"The 14 projects we're announcing funding for will achieve up to 10% of the gross long lived emission reductions required from the Climate Commission's first draft carbon budget for the period 2022-2025 - the same as taking 49,000 cars off the road."

Another milk processor Synlait will get $600,000 for installing a biomass boiler from the GIDI Fund.

More like this

Milk processors and emissions

OPINION: Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – especially scope 3 emissions that occur on the farm – has been on the agenda of leading dairy companies for many years.

New Holland eyes methane capture

Having upped the ante in the alternative fuels segment for use in tractors with its T6 Methane tractor, last year New Holland took a majority interest in Bennamann, a company specialising in methane capture.

Great grazing

OPINION: We hope the Green Party and its supporters are taking notice.

Featured

Sheep drench resistance costly

Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.

Dairy sheep and goat turmoil

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.

Hurry up and slow down!

OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.

National

Govt urged to reduce ETS units

The Climate Change Commission wants the new Government to reduce NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction volumes as son as…

Dairy sheep, goat woes mount

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand…

Machinery & Products

All-terrain fert spreading mode

Effluent specialists the Samson Group have developed a new double unloading system to help optimise uphill and downhill organic fertiliser…

Can-Am showcases range

Based on industry data collected by the Motor Industry Association, Can-Am is the number one side-by-side manufacturer in New Zealand.