Case studies

Rotorua Girls High School requires heating for around 40% of the school year. The school in not only concerned about its enviromental impact but sees a role in providing environmental leadership to its students and the community.

Historically many schools have used coal boilers but particulate and carbon emissions are now being targeted for reduction.

This report has been commissioned by Little Sisters of the Poor Sacred Heart Home and Hospital (LSOP) to assess and compare the viability of using a wood chip type Low Temperature Hot Water (LTHW) boiler and the existing LPG type LTHW boiler to provide hot water heating and Domestic Hot Water (DHW) for the LSOP, located on 295 Brockville Road in Dunedin.

After a long period on the sidelines, gasification is attracting new interest.

For businesses with ready access to a good source of wood fuel - and increasingly other forms of biomass - it could be a very attractive way of producing low-cost and low-emission heat and electricity. This article overviews the technology and shares the experience of the ‘advance guard' driving this technology forward in New Zealand.

Waste was one of the first considerations for Southern Pine Products when it started manufacturing MDF (medium density fibreboard) products.

The company opted to install a briquette press, which turns MDF dust into combustible briquettes for boiler fuel.

Moffatts Flower Company, a greenhouse complex only 5 km from Southern Pine, now buys all the briquettes the company produces.

The saving in Southern Pine's waste disposal costs is projected to be $180,000 a year and annual revenue from briquettes is projected to be around $25,000.