The third-generation, family-owned business has received just over $1.1 million in co-funding to replace its existing diesel-fired boilers with high temperature heat pumps for all hot water requirements and a 2MW electric boiler to generate steam for equipment.
The technology is intended to reduce total emissions by about 70%.
"Each year, we estimate that we will reduce our carbon footprint by 631 tonnes of carbon.
"This is the equivalent of removing approximately 200 diesel vehicles off the road," managing director Rick Wellington said.
The business, which won the Business Sustainability at Resilience Award at last year’s Grand Business South Awards, has been monitoring its carbon footprint for 10 years.
After working with local company Ahikā Consulting, a carbon reduction plan was put in place.
Preens, which celebrated 100 years in business last year, is a drycleaner, commercial laundry supplying linen, which services motels, hotels and hospitality clients, and a rental textile business providing work-wear, including cleaning overalls, mats and towels.
The business is also part of the Apparelmaster and Linenmaster network.
Ahikā Consulting director Lloyd McGinty said the carbon reduction plan investigated various on-site opportunities including water re-use, additional heat recovery, steam production efficiency and boiler fuel switching.
Through that process, electrification was selected as the best fit for the site.
Preens partnered with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, which administered Gidi, and the announcement meant the company could now "shift the dial" and make a difference to its emissions profile, Mr Wellington said.
The new technology was expected to be fully operational at the end of 2024, when the facility would be fully electrified.
Next, it would look to electrify its fleet of commercial vans, which would take several years.
Gidi is part of the government’s Climate Emergency Response Fund and is funded via proceeds from the emissions trading scheme. A total of $650m ($1 billion over seven years) was allocated as part of Budget 2022.
Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods said the projects announced recently would reduce carbon emissions by 67,300tonnes each year; the equivalent of taking about 25,000 cars off the road.
Open Country Dairy received $17.7m co-funding for the installation of a large high pressure electrode boiler and three high temperature heat pumps at its Awarua plant in Southland.
Alliance Group received $5.2m for projects at its Mataura, Dannevirke, Smithfield, Pukeuri and Lorneville plants.
Affco New Zealand received $2.2m to replace a coal boiler with a high-voltage electric boiler and reduce energy demand for its Awarua site using heat recovery from the new engine room.
Lion New Zealand received $1.6m to decarbonise process heating at its Speight’s brewery in Dunedin by adding a 3MW electric duty boiler, and OceanaGold received $220,000 to replace two LPG barring furnaces with an electric barring furnace at its Macraes gold mine.
