McCain you’ve done it again with fuel switch
It has been three years in the making, but now Timaru’s McCain plant is making chips with a woodchip boiler system instead of coal, reducing waste by 20% and making it a leader in the industry.
McCain’s Timaru plant was recognised as a Climate Action Leader by the Sustainable Business Network, a social enterprise to help New Zealand businesses move into more sustainable models.
The network recognised the company’s efforts with an award for ‘‘new initiatives and innovative technologies’’, which were made possible because of the financial support ofthe Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry Fund (GIDI), McCain Timaru plant manager Jordan Jurcina said.
The company has spent $5.6 million to convert its coal boiler to burn domestically sourced woodchips, and implemented a heat recovery system, using mechanical vapour recompression (MVR), to reduce steam demand, he said.
Jurcina said they received $2,876,500 of the $5.6m through the GIDI Fund.
Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods visited the plant, at Washdyke yesterday, and said the MVR technology recovers waste heat from the fryer for use elsewhere in the facility, and will reduce total energy consumption and fuel use by more than 37,000 GJ/year.
Woods said that was roughly equivalent to the electricity used by 1400 households. She said she was very excited to visit the plant, to see everything in person and completed, as the facility had changed since her visit when they received the funding.
‘‘It has been really great to see it in action, and for a carbon emissions’ reduction by around 30,000 tonnes per year is incredible,’’ Woods said. ‘‘To compare that to something, it equates to taking 11,000 cars off the road.
‘‘There is no point waiting until 2030, if we do, we will be taking too long.’’
Converting the coal boiler to wood chips is expected to reduce CO2 emissions at the factory by 95%, she said.
‘‘These types of projects show that by prioritising demand reduction and energy efficiency you can make fuel switching easier,’’ Woods said.
‘‘These are lessons that can be shared with, and replicated by, many other businesses to further help reduce our overall carbon footprint.
‘‘And consumers are becoming more and more interested in how their food is manufactured, and more people are moving away from food produced using coal energy.’’
The money for the GIDI fund comes from the money businesses spend buying carbon credits, she said.
Jurcina said it was nice to have Woods visit the facility as she could see the progress which had been made for herself.
‘‘It was quite exciting to see the reaction on her face seeing it all come to fruition,’’ Jurcina said.
One of the great things about converting to woodchips was the reduction of biowaste product, he said, as it took up considerably less room and the biowaste from the woodchips could be returned to the soil.