Renewable Energy Innovation Rewarded

NEWS RELEASE May 21, 2009

Renewable Energy Innovation Rewarded

A ground-breaking project that turns process waste sludge into renewable energy has fired-up the judges at the 2009 EECA Energywise Awards.

Energy For Industry (EFI) and its customer Silver Fern Farms Limited have claimed a top honour in the innovation category of the Energywise Awards for a project it undertook for the meat processing company.

The project was also awarded highly commended in the renewables category.

The project involved the development and installation of an 8.5MW bubbling fluidised bed (BFB) bio-fuel boiler that runs on process waste sludge produced at Silver Fern Farms’ Finegand plant near Balclutha.

It is the first time this technology has been used at this scale in New Zealand and the first time treated process waste has been used as a renewable energy source.

The new boiler plant supplies one-third of the steam requirements at the Silver Fern Farms’ site.

It replaces an older coal boiler and its installation has cut CO2 emissions on site by around 5,000 tonnes a year.

Because the new plant allows Silver Fern Farms to use a by-product that would otherwise have been composted it also meant the company avoided spending $3.5 million on additional waste treatment.

EFI spokesperson, Grant Smith, said the project introduced to New Zealand new and very innovative renewable energy technology.

“It throws open new doors in terms of what we can use to generate large amounts of renewable energy.

“And because the technology and the process are entirely replicable, this kind of innovation can be used quite widely within New Zealand, which would have environmental and waste implications for many major energy users.

“It really is an example of an innovative energy project killing two birds with one stone.”

Silver Fern Farms general manager operations, Steve Murphy, said the bio-fuel plant had delivered a modern and improved boiler system, with better environmental outcomes, and operational efficiencies.

“It is very innovative and solved two of our pressing energy issues.”

EFI is a business unit of Meridian Energy. The company specialises in developing and supplying sophisticated on-site energy solutions with a focus on energy efficiency, enhanced environmental outcomes and reduced energy costs.

Established in 2000, the company has invested more than $35 million in energy plant at sites throughout the country.

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