Fonterra to convert Waitoa coal-fired boiler to biomass

Fonterra is converting one of its coal-fired boilers at Waitoa to biomass. Photo / File

Fonterra plans to install a 30-megawatt wood biomass boiler to replace a coal boiler at its Waitoa site to lower its carbon footprint.

Work will begin on the new boiler installation later this year, and it is expected to be up and running in November 2023.

The new boiler will reduce the site's annual emissions by 48,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of taking 20,000 cars off New Zealand's roads, Fonterra said.

Fonterra's head of energy and climate, Linda Mulvihill, said it was another step for the co-op's sustainability ambitions.

"This is the fourth sustainable fuel switching decarbonisation project in as many years for the co-operative, with projects including Te Awamutu and Stirling providing us with insights into the best way forward along with emissions reductions," she said.

Together, the projects will reduce Fonterra's CO2e emissions by a forecast 183,000 tonnes per annum, the equivalent of 76,000 cars.

The co-operative has an ambition to be at net zero emissions by 2050 and has an interim target of a 30 per cent absolute reduction in manufacturing emissions by 2030, based on the 2018 level.

Projects such as Waitoa will make for a significant reduction in Fonterra's emissions, Mulvihill said.

"We saw that with our Te Awamutu conversion, which resulted in an 11 per cent reduction, and we're looking forward to starting our first site on 100 per cent renewable thermal energy next season at the cheese factory in Stirling, Otago," she said.

The Bioenergy Association said food processors were increasingly turning to bioenergy solutions.

The association's chief executive, Brian Cox, said that the use of renewable biomass to replace coal arose because of the increased use of forest residues.