The conversion slashes the amount of coal used and cuts carbon emissions at the site by about 2400 tonnes a year – roughly the same as taking 530 cars off the road.
With support from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority Fonterra has achieved a significant step in the Road Map to Transition to a Low Emissions Future developed with the Ministry for the Environment last year.
Fonterra global operations chief operating officer Robert Spurway says the Brightwater boiler conversion is part of Fonterra’s plan to reduce emissions across all sites.
“We’ll take what we learn from this conversion and apply it to our longer-term co-firing strategy for other boilers across the country.
“Brightwater shows what’s possible when it comes to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.
“We’re serious about meeting our targets to reduce carbon emissions by 30% by 2030 and net zero by 2050 across all New Zealand operations. Achieving them will involve a combination of energy options and energy efficiency gains.
“On the electrification front we’ve been exploring a number of options.
“We’ve completed a feasibility study to convert our Edendale operations to electricity and in August announced our plan to replace coal with electricity at our Stirling site in south Otago.”
EECA chief executive Andrew Caseley said the project demonstrates how co-firing can be used now to reduce energy emissions for process heat.
“Co-firing has wide potential for replication with other businesses that use coal boilers with the ultimate goal of replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy.”
