Press Release

Washdyke - Energy for Industry

A new energy centre being built in Washdyke, Timaru next year aims to create jobs, support businesses, improve air quality and pass savings onto customers with its economies of scale and renewable energy use.

An ambitious task, but project manager Jerome Parkinson says they are up to it.

“In 2001, we took over an existing energy centre in Dunedin. We upgraded and re-consented it,  to allow on-going supply of  steam to crucial infrastructure down there like the university, the hospital, several commercial buildings and a high profile food processing plant in the city The Washdyke project will be very similar so we will be utilising our existing knowledge.”

The plan
Energy for Industry Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Meridan Energy. It will build, own and operate the centralised energy plant and steam distribution network, north of Timaru.  

Stage one of the Washdyke project site works will begin in January and expected to be operating mid-way through 2011.

The energy centre will have two boilers, one run on 100 percent wood based fuel. The other boiler will run on South Island lignite coal.

“Both boilers will generate steam,” Parkinson explains. “And steam is still one of the most efficient ways to transport heat. The steam is like a gas and when the heat is removed it converts back to water.”

“Process industries in the Washdyke industrial area currently face challenging coal supply conditions and a requirement to reduce their air emissions. These changes are causing significant increases in operating costs and are a potential barrier to new industries establishing at Washdyke.”

In March 2009 EFI presented the energy cluster approach to a number of businesses in the area and DB Mainland, NZ Light Leathers and Juice Products NZ all came onboard.

“Timaru has many primary production heartland businesses and we’re so pleased to be working with these companies. We hope as time goes on, others will see what we can do and want to get onboard.”

EFI has purchased land and has secured long-term (10 year) agreements with the three companies to provide their manufacturing and processing plants with steam.

“Benefits for these businesses are significant in that customers are able to enjoy the benefits of energy cost reduction, achieved from the economies of scale the cluster will provide and improve competition for its customers,” Parkinson says. 

The build
Stage one will cost around $10 million and the plant will be capable of producing 10 Megawatts of steam initially. That will double to 20 Megawatts with a further investment of $5 million once demand increases.

The build beginning in January 2011 will be the first of many boosts to Timaru’s economy. Parkinson  expects 2-3 main contractors will be involved, and they will be using many local sub-contractors for the six month construction project.

Throughout 2010 preliminary engineering work and design work has continued in the background preparing for the build beginning next year.

 The future
Jerome Parkinson says there are green-field sites nearby the energy centre in an area the Timaru District Council is re-zoning as an industrial business and manufacturing area.

“On back of that, we’d like to see more businesses buying those sections and working there. Hopefully, those businesses will want to use our energy once we prove to them how efficient and cheap it is.”

Energy for Industry is also focused on the environment. The future-proof design of the energy centre will give EFI the versatility to substitute and use a growing percentage of renewable fuels which over time will include wood residues and low grade logs from local forestry operations and/or clean construction and demolition wood wastes. local .  This comes as part of EFI’s committed year on year targeted lower carbon intensities and reduced green house gas emissions on its sites as a Landresearch CEMARS® accredited business.

 “EFI already has established agreements with foresters and councils through its Wood Energy NZ (WENZ) business unit currently operating in Central Otago and Canterbury. WENZ specialises in the recovery and supply of naturally seasoned quality wood chips and works closely with EFI and other regional customers with a secure and efficient sustainable fuel supply chain,” Parkinson says.

“Protecting the environment is fundamental to our business model – clean green energy production is what we want for the Washdyke project in Timaru and for the entire country.”