Global dairy major and New Zealand's largest company, Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd has announced that its Te Awamutu milk processing site on the North Island will be coal-free next season. Until now the site has used a combination of fuels to process milk – including coal. This latest move follows a trial in 2019 and means it will switch from using coal at the end of this season, starting the 2020/21 season powering the boiler with domestically produced wood pellets.
During 2019, Fonterra announced a series of environmental targets relating to its coal use, manufacturing emissions and water efficiency, packaging and farm environment plans. Fonterra is taking another step forward in its commitment to renewable energy as it announces that its Te Awamutu site will be coal-free next season.
Fonterra’s Sustainable Energy and Utility Manager Linda Thompson says that it is an “exciting step” for Fonterra and, in particular, the Te Awamutu team.
It really demonstrates that sustainability, doing what’s right for the long term good, is very much at the heart of how we’re working and thinking about our future. The move to wood pellets at Te Awamutu will save the Co-operative about 84 000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year, that’s the equivalent of taking around 32,000 cars off the road and will reduce Fonterra’s national coal consumption by approximately 10 percent. It’s a positive step forward as we look to reduce emissions and work towards net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, said Linda Thompson.
The Te Awamutu site is one of three North Island sites that are currently using coal. Linda Thompson says the Co-operative knows it’s got a big challenge ahead of it to get out of coal but it’s one that it’s up for.
There is no one single solution for us to transition out of coal. We know we can’t do it alone, that’s why working with others like wood pellet supplier Nature’s Flame and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) are so important, said Linda Thompson.
Taupō based Nature’s Flame will be supplying the pellets made from sustainable wood fibre residues sourced from the surrounding areas.
We’re encouraged about the growth of the bioenergy (wood pellets) industry and we’re proud to be part of something that’s good for the environment and our local communities, said John Goodwin, Nature’s Flame’s Operations Manager.
EECA’s Chief Executive Andrew Caseley says “this project fully aligns with EECA’s purpose to help decarbonise the New Zealand economy.
This is the largest boiler conversion project to biofuels to date, and this is why it has received NZ$200 000 (≈ EUR 109 658) in funding from EECA’s technology demonstration programme. It also has the added benefit of establishing a more viable and large scale wood pellet supply chain, said Andrew Caseley.
