Industry Electrification references

#1
Process heat accounts for about 8% of New Zealand’s CO2 emissions

A Ministry for the Environment consultation document on reducing emissions from the industrial sector, Phasing out fossil fuels in process heat, states that emissions from process heat in New Zealand account for about 8% of New Zealand’s total greenhouse gas emissions. This information can be found on page 15 of the document, available in full here.


#2
Electricity demand from industrial sector

The demand for electricity by sector is broken down on the website of the Ministry for Business, Innovation, and Employment.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment updates statistics on electricity generation every three months and publishes it in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

To view the page on which this information is hosted, click here, or alternatively, directly download the spreadsheet by clicking here.


#3
Tiwai Point consumption of electricity

While the figure will vary annually depending on variations in demand across all sectors, the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is reported by RNZ to consume about 13% of New Zealand’s electricity.

This was written in an RNZ online article published in April 2021 and can be found here.


#4
Graph showing electricity demand by sector

The graph showing electricity demand by sector is based on information from the of the Ministry for Business, Innovation, and Employment.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment updates statistics on electricity generation every three months and publishes it in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

To view the page on which this information is hosted, click here, or alternatively, directly download the spreadsheet by clicking here.


#5
Cost of delivered energy from electricity compared to using coal and natural gas

The Climate Change Commission sought feedback from the New Zealand public in early 2020 on its draft advice to the government for reducing New Zealand’s emissions.

In one of its pieces of supporting evidence, the commission noted the cost of delivered energy is three to five times the cost of coal or gas at current carbon prices.

This information can be found on page 6 of the relevant supporting evidence document, which is available here.


#6
Installation of electrode boiler at Synlait’s Canterbury site

Synlait’s electrode boiler was made operational in 2019. The press release announcing this can be found on Synlait’s website by clicking here.


#7
Energy capacity from Synlait’s electrode boiler versus its existing coal capacity

In a factsheet explaining the electrode boiler and how it works, Synlait notes the capacity of the boiler is 6MW, but has the ability to increase to 12 MW in future.

The capacity of its three existing coal boilers is given as totalling at 75 MW.

This factsheet can be found here.


#8
Operating costs of electricity versus coal for Synlait over decade

In a press release announcing the commissioning of Synlait’s electrode boiler, a spokesperson for the company notes that the operating costs for the boiler over a ten year period are about double over a ten year period. This press release can be found here.


#9
Open Country Dairy continues to use coal

In a Business Desk article, Open Country Dairy explains that even with a new electrode boiler installed, the company will continue to use coal at its Awarua site. This article can be found on Business Desk’s website by clicking here.


#10
Quote from Open Country Dairy chair

In a Business Desk article, Open Country Dairy, the company’s chair made the comment that to be environmentally sustainable it had to be economically sustainable. The full article can be found on Business Desk’s website by clicking here.


#11
Edendale operating expenditure increase that would result from electrification

In a 2019 submission on a government policy consultation document, Fonterra made the comments about the increased operating expenditure that would result from electrification of its Edendale plant. These comments can be found on page 7 of Fonterra’s submission, which can be found in full here.


#12
Cost of capital expenditure that would have resulted from Edendale’s electrification

In a 2019 submission on a government policy consultation document, Fonterra made the comments about the capital expenditure required to go through with electrification of its Edendale plant. These comments can be found on page 7 of Fonterra’s submission, which can be found in full here.


#13
Fonterra’s consideration of electrifying its Stirling factory

In August 2018 a Stuff article reported on Fonterra’s plans to electrify its Stirling plant in Otago, a cheese factory that uses less energy than many of its other sites. This article can be found here.


#14
Fonterra rules out electrifying its process heat

In its submission on the Climate Change Commission’s draft advice, Fonterra explains that based on previous feasibility studies, it has decided not to electrify its process heat due to the high cost. This is stated on page 11 of Fonterra’s submission, which is available in full here.


#15
Cost of electricity too high for dairy process heat

In its submission on the Climate Change Commission’s draft advice, Fonterra said that while substantial emissions reductions would result from electrification of process heat, the cost is too high to make it feasible. This is stated on page 11 of Fonterra’s submission, which is available in full here.


#16
Red meat sector’s coal consumption in 2020

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment keeps data on coal use in New Zealand each year in the form of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

For the 2020 year, the ministry put the meat industry’s use of coal about 95,000 tonnes.

The page on which this information is hosted is available here and the spreadsheet can be downloaded directly by clicking here.


#17
Coal accounts for about a third of the red meat sector’s energy supply

In 2017, the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment published a series of factsheets on process heat in New Zealand.

Among other things, these sheets covered the energy supply for different parts of the New Zealand economy.

The factsheet on meat product manufacturing can be found here.


#18
Cost for ANZCO to electrify its boilers

The figures outlining ANZCO’s estimated costs of electrifying its boilers come from a submission the company made to the government during consultation on reducing emissions from the industrial sector in 2020.

The estimated capital cost of $41.3 million can be found on page three of the company’s submission, which can be found in full here.


#19
Increase in operating costs for ANZCO if boilers were to be electrified

The figures outlining ANZCO’s estimated costs of electrifying its boilers come from a submission the company made to the government during consultation on reducing emissions from the industrial sector in 2020.

The estimated increase in operating energy costs (from $5.32 million to $16.5 million) can be found on page 12 of the company’s submission, which is available in full here.


#20
Flow on effect for the company’s overall operating expenditure

The figures outlining ANZCO’s estimated costs of electrifying its boilers come from a submission the company made to the government during consultation on reducing emissions from the industrial sector in 2020.

On page 3 of its submission, ANZCO says energy accounts for 20% of the company’s operating expenses. On page 12 the current energy costs are given as $5.32 million. If this is 20% of operating expenses, then total operating expenses can be assumed to be $26.6 million.

This means an extra in energy costs of $11.18 million (from $5.32 million to $16.5 million) in the context of an existing operating budget of $26.6 million would represent an increasing in operating expenses of about 42%.

The company’s full submission is available here.


#21
Meat industry a “low margin business”

ANZCO’s comments on the meat industry being a “low margin business” come from a 2020 submission on reducing the use of fossil fuels in the industrial sector.

These comments were made on page 3 of the full submission, which is available in full here.


#22
Lack of government appreciation of the costs of transition to other energy sources

In a 2020 submission to the government during consultation on reducing the use of fossil fuels in the industrial sector, the Meat Industry Association commented that the government does not appreciate the cost of transitioning to renewables in a short time frame. These comments can be found on page 2 of the submission, under point 8. The full submission can be found here.


#23
Difficulties in transitioning to electricity for meat sector within the next ten years

In a 2020 submission to the government during consultation on reducing the use of fossil fuels in the industrial sector, the Meat Industry Association commented that the government does not appreciate the cost of transitioning to renewables in a short time frame. These comments can be found on page 2 of the submission, under point 8. The full submission can be found here.


#24
Lines infrastructure insufficient for electrification of meat industry process heat

In a 2020 submission to the government during consultation on reducing the use of fossil fuels in the industrial sector, the Meat Industry Association noted a lack of lines capacity as another factor in addition to cost that will serve as a barrier to electrification. This can be found on page 4, under point 35 of the submission, which can be found here.


#25
Use of heat pumps could reduce energy demand by 25%

In a 2020 submission to the government during consultation on reducing the use of fossil fuels in the industrial sector, the Meat Industry Association noted that while heat pumping using refrigeration supply would be costly, once installed demand can for energy can be reduced significantly. This comment is made on page 5 of the submission, under point 37. The full submission can be found here.


#26
Silver Fern Farms coal use reduction plan

Silver Fern Farms made the announcement for its plans to reduce coal use through the installation of heat pumps in July 2021. A Stuff article outlining some of the details can be found here.


#27
Cost of Silver Fern Farms heat pump installations

The cost of Silver Fern Farms’ plans to reduce and eventually eliminate coal use are detailed in a Stuff article on the subject, which can be found here.


#28
Silver Fern Farms plans to eliminate coal use

The long-term plan to eliminate coal use by reducing demand through the installation of heat pumps using recycled heat from refrigerators and then replacing the reduced coal demand with biomass is detailed in a Stuff article on the topic, which can be found here.


#29
Energy profile of the horticultural sector in the North and South Islands

In a Horticulture New Zealand submission on government policy consultation on reducing fossil fuel use in the industrial sector, Horticulture New Zealand describes the energy profile of the sector is “natural gas where there is access to it in the North Island, and predominately coal in the South Island”.

This comment can be found on page 7 of the full submission, which can be found here.


#31
Ongoing cost of electricity for vegetable growers

In a Horticulture New Zealand submission on government policy consultation on reducing fossil fuel use in the industrial sector, the ongoing cost of electricity was described as too high to be cost effective. The comment from a grower that electricity would triple their energy costs can be found on page 15 of the document, which is available in full here.


#32
Only one vegetable grower heating hothouse with electricity

In a Horticulture New Zealand submission on government policy consultation on reducing fossil fuel use in the industrial sector, Horticulture New Zealand noted on page 7 of its submission that only one small grower is heating their glasshouse with electricity. The full submission can be found here.


#33
Price per unit of energy from electricity simply too high

In a Horticulture New Zealand submission on government policy consultation on reducing fossil fuel use in the industrial sector, the ongoing cost of electricity was described as too high to be cost effective. This comment was made on page 23 of the document, which is available in full here.

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