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Sep 29, 2023

New biomass boilers help slash Canterbury's reliance on coal for hospitals

A new energy centre that uses sustainably produced wood biomass has helped slash

A new energy centre that uses sustainably produced wood biomass has helped slash Canterbury's reliance on coal to power the region's hospitals.

New boilers, in central Christchurch, were switched on last month and are now providing safer and more reliable energy for the nearby hospital.

The new centre, which cost about $45 million and was paid for from earthquake insurance, will cut the hospital's overall carbon emissions in half by using a renewable, more efficient energy resource.

The vast majority of the hospital's emissions previously came from only one source – coal burned in hospital boilers.

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Canterbury now uses 90% less coal to power its hospitals than before the energy centre came online.

Dr Rob Ojala, Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury's head of infrastructure, said it was an exciting step in the organisation's environmental sustainability.

"The replacement of the coal boilers will deliver the reliable energy that our staff and patients deserve while honouring our commitment to drive towards a more environmentally sustainable organisation."

The new woody biomass boilers, which replace coal boilers damaged in the earthquakes, will emit about 60 times less emissions than coal boilers.

Coal boilers were replaced with biomass boilers at Christchurch's Burwood Hospital as part of its expansion in 2016, helping reduce carbon emissions by 9727 tonnes in the 2017/18 year.

Hillmorton Hospital's LPG boiler was also replaced with a woodchip boiler in 2013, and a new energy building is under construction at the site to accommodate services that move from Princess Margaret Hospital.

Ashburton is the only facility in the region that still uses coal-fired boilers, which are being replaced with ground source heat pumps, expected to be done by June 2024.

"We are cutting our carbon footprint dramatically and we are working towards the carbon-neutral government programme targets," Ojala said.