Fonterra has unveiled plans to carry out decarbonisation work at two of its sites in New Zealand.
The cooperative will receive NZD 2.5 million (approx. $1.5 million) in co-funding to convert the coal boilers located at its Hautapu site to wood pellets. At its Palmerston North milk processing site, it will receive NZD 4.3 million (approx. $2.7 million) to install a heat pump.
The decarbonisation projects have received support from the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Process Heat Contestable Fund.
Fonterra chief operating officer, Fraser Whineray, said: “There are a number of solutions we’re using to decarbonise our operations and these two projects are a good example of different technologies available”.
The Hautapu site project, which is expected to be completed in early 2024, will aim to reduce Fonterra’s carbon emissions by a forecasted 15,785 tonnes per annum, roughly the equivalent of removing about 6,500 cars fromNew Zealand’s roads.
Meanwhile, the heat pump at Fonterra’s Palmerston North site will convert wasted heat from the refrigeration system into a heat source. This new process will reduce the amount of natural gas needed for process heat and allow the site to generate additional heat via a solar thermal plant.
Whineray added: “This GIDI co-funding will help the cooperative progress two emission reduction projects ahead of time. It will help us continue to make progress towards our target of reducing emissions by 30% across all our manufacturing operations by 2030 (from a 2018 baseline), on the way to net zero by 2050, and transition out of coal by 2037.”
The projects are part of Fonterra’s efforts to decarbonise the business, such as the Waitoa and Stirling sites that are in the process of installing wood biomass boilers to transition out of coal.
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