Our energy geek, Lloyd, is stoked that we have been selected to assist in the development of the Biomass Boiler standards for Standards New Zealand. We are joining the Technical Advisory Group that will develop the New Zealand publicly available specification for biomass boilers.
The Government has set ambitious targets under the Zero Carbon Act to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Reducing coal use across NZ has been flagged as an obvious target. Coal continues to be used in many schools, hospitals, prisons and much of industry as the primary fuel for heating water and providing steam. Co-firing of boilers (blending biomass with coal), converting coal boilers to run totally on biomass, or replacing coal boilers with dedicated biomass units are the three options under consideration. Standards New Zealand are working with EECA to create a guideline for biomass boilers that will focus on using biomass as a direct alternative to coal. The guidance will assist in ensuring combustion efficiency is optimised.