Fonterra looks to 25% drop in emissions at Brightwater site through EECA help

Thanks to funding from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), conversion is about to get under way on Brightwater’s existing coal boiler, adding capacity to burn wood biomass to generate steam.

The move will cut emissions from the factory by around 2,400 tonnes a year – roughly the same as taking 530 cars off the road.

Emission targets

Fonterra chief operating officer global operations Robert Spurway said the move to a co-fired boiler decreases reliance on fossil fuels and is a significant step toward achieving Fonterra’s emission reduction targets.

“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,”​ Spurway said.

“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.”​

Operational by October

EECA business group manager market engagement Greg Visser said this is the type of demonstration project 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,”​ Visser said.

The move to convert the existing coal boiler at Brightwater follows a trial undertaken in 2017. It is expected the boiler will be able to co-fire with wood biomass by October this year.

Lyttleton Engineering is the original manufacturer of the boilers. They will be working on the conversion with engineering consultants Worley Parsons.