Research and reports

This report has been commissioned by Murray Cowan of Bio-Energy Equipment Ltd to ascertain the viability of using a highly automated purpose-built wood chip type Low Temperature Hot Water (LTHW) boiler to provide hot water heating for a dairy shed wash down along with space heating and Domestic Hot Water (DHW) for nearby farm houses.

At present, there are very few biomass recovery operations in New Zealand, despite the very large amount of residue generated by large-scale harvesting operations in plantation forests.
A research project has commenced to help assess what an optimal residue recovery system may be. This paper considers what strategy could be employed to successfully integrate biomass recovery into NZ logging operations.

A feasibility study to investigate the most appropriate heating option for Mt Difficulty Winery was undertaken by Transitionz Group Limited under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority's (EECA) Wood Energy Grant Scheme. Mt Difficulty is in the early stages of expanding the winery and it was identified that the current heating system was not suitable and a replacement system is being reconsidered as part of the expansion. The study looks at several technologies, solar hot water, ground-source heat pumps and wood pellet and chip boilers, to replace the current gas boiler system.

This report commissioned by EECA provides a wide ranging and comprehensive analysis of barriers to the greater uptake of DG in the New Zealand. The study covers the full gambit of DG technologies and potential DG owners or developers. The report also discusses what constitutes a barrier and provides an analysis of barriers to DG in overseas markets.