Heat goes on coal boilers

Businesses will be banned from installing new coal boilers after the end of this year and will need to phase out existing ones by 2037, though both with some exceptions, under a Government proposal.

The proposed ban would apply to low and medium temperature coal boilers, which are commonly used for tasks such as drying wood and milk powder and for heating in horticulture.

The use of high temperature coil boilers – for example in steel and chemical production – would continue to be allowed.

The ban would not apply to the country’s largest coal consumer, Genesis Energy, which burns coal at its Huntly power station to produce electricity.

Some of the options being consulted on by the Government would appear to also allow the continued use of small, lower-heat coal-fired boilers, but these do not appear to be the Government’s preferred option.

Dairy giant Fonterra, which is a major coal user, has supported the idea of a ban and last week said it intended to stop using coal boilers by 2037, which would align it with the Government’s proposal.

But some smaller food producers had reported more concern about the potential impacts in the run-up to the Government’s announcement yesterday. Tomatoes NZ general manager Helen Barnes said it had yet to study the proposal.

‘‘We have been doing a lot of work to try to understand the best path forward for our growers, and I think growers accept there is a need to change.

‘‘But there just isn’t an easy option right now, so it is about the speed of transition,’’ she said.

Energy Minister Megan Woods said the proposed rules would make ‘‘a real difference’’ to New Zealand’s carbon emissions.

‘‘The amount of coal displaced by these proposals equates to about 500,000 tonnes each year.

‘‘Once the changes are fully in place it will mean the equivalent of between 400,000 to 550,000 cars being removed from our roads in a single year,’’ she said.

National Party climate change spokesperson Stuart Smith said the proposal was premature, coming ahead of the finalisation of the Climate Change Commission’s draft emissions reduction plan.

‘‘The commission received more than 10,000 submissions on its draft advice and we would have expected the Government to respect the process they established by allowing the commission time to read and consider some of those views,’’ he said.

The party’s energy spokeswoman, Barbara Kuriger, said a ban could lead to unintended consequences.

‘‘Coal and gas boilers are used by crop, meat and dairy producers and there are fears a ban could lead to food shortages if it goes ahead without alternative energy sources in place,’’ she said.

Among the most common alternatives to coal-fired boilers are electricity or boilers that burn waste wood.

The Government also said 14 companies would receive almost $23 million from its Decarbonising Industry Fund to help them move away from fossil fuels.

The largest grant, of just over $4m, will go to Nelson-based grower J S Ewers to help pay for shade screens and a ‘‘biomass boiler’’ to heat greenhouses. The next largest grant, of $3.6m, will go to Timaru-based WoolWorks to help it switch to electricity for process heat.