A South Canterbury factory's emissions have been reduced by 95% due to the conversion of a coal boiler to utilize woodchips in the production of potato chips.
A coal boiler has been recently converted to use woodchips to make potato chips, further cutting emissions by 95% at a South Canterbury factory.
Speaking on the latest move, Megan Woods, Energy and Resources Minister, stated that McCain would cut carbon emissions by about 30,000 tons annually by switching their coal boiler to burn woodchips from domestic sources while adding that this has been made feasible by government co-funding.
The minister also noted that this equals to taking 11,000 cars off the road.
If reports are to be believed, McCain Timaru has also proposed a heat recovery system that will help reduce steam demand as well as retrieve the waste heat from the fryer by employing mechanical vapor recompression.
Apparently, this technology will assist in reducing the energy consumption for fuel, which equals the electricity used by around 1,400 households.
Woods went on to say that this showcases how the industry and government could collaborate to shift away from fossil fuels.
James Shaw, Climate Minister, mentioned that such projects fall under the core part of the Emissions Reduction Plan.
Shaw added that meeting the emissions goals can only be achieved by taking action and imposing changes across every sector of the economy.
The climate minister also stated that this kind of project, which covers the conversion of large-scale industrial processes to clean energy alternatives, is a great initiative demonstrating what can be done and achieved when the government allies with the industry to make big things fall in place quickly.
According to sources, the boiler conversion project at McCain Timaru worth $5.6 million has recently received around half of its funding from the government's Investment in Decarbonizing Industry Fund.
Source credit - https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/479726/factory-switches-boiler-from-coal-to-woodchips-for-potato-chip-production