16 | REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Ecogas eyes other plants Once fully operational the Reporoa organics facility will be generating enough clean and renewable energy to power the equivalent of 2500 households and producing carbon-neutral bio-fertiliser for around 2000 hectares of local farmland. from page 14 Ecogas: Food Waste Processing Facility 65 Matai St P 07 378 6067 W eandj.nz SPECIALISING IN • House Drainage • Civil & Commercial • Sewer • Stormwater • Soakholes E & J Contractors are proud to be associated with Ecogas • Water Reticulation • Butt & Fusion Welding • Wastewater Treatment Systems • Fibreglass Jointing & Fabrication • Pump Stations Proudly supplying Pioneer Energywith all their recycling bailer needs • NEWZEALANDMADE • ROBUSTCONSTRUCTION • SIMPLETOOPERATE • ENERGYEFFICIENTTECHNOLOGY +64 3 688 2900 www.scarlett.co.nz Pioneer Energy is a community owned renewable energy company with a track record of active investment in the New Zealand energy market. “EcoStock originally came up with the idea of this plant after realising that not all the food waste they were collecting could be used for stock feed. Andrew Fisher, the owner of EcoStock, had been looking around for alternatives. When he saw what other countries were doing to convert food waste into biogas, he realised this was something that New Zealand should be doing too. At the same time, Pioneer were looking to diversify their portfolio. Having these two companies driving this project together is a perfect match.” Engagement with local iwi and the community has also been pivotal to the development of this forward-thinking venture. Alzbeta is a chemical engineer whose postgraduate studies in Denmark were all about anaerobic digestion systems based on food waste. Since arriving in New Zealand in 2009, she has worked hard to help promote this option as a practical sustainability pathway. Interestingly, she points out that New Zealand started out as a leader in this field. Fifty years ago, the Government funded a research programme in Otago, out of Invermay, to convert agricultural waste/manure into fuel. “New Zealand was a pioneer in championing this technology. Back then, they were running tractors on bio-methane. People from places like Sweden came here to learn from these innovators. Unfortunately, interest in New Zealand faded away and instead other countries took the lead. At least now, New Zealand is able to catch up again.” Once fully operational, New Zealand’s first commercial scale anaerobic digestion plant will be generating 180,000 gigajoules of bioenergy a year, as well as 60,000 tonnes of biofertiliser. While the nitrogen content will be lower than other comparable products, this biofertiliser will be rich in micro-nutrients and residual carbon needed for healthy soils. The Government is currently developing a new national waste strategy and new legislation to better regulate how we manage products and materials circulating in the economy. Ecogas plans to develop similar facilities in other parts of the country to help meet growing demand for action on food waste. “We are actively pursuing a project in Canterbury and are also working in Manawatū at the moment.
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