New recommendations were published recently by the EECA, aimed at helping Otago industry quickly thrive in a low-emissions economy, as momentum to push more fossil fuels out of the energy system continues to build.
The Otago Regional Energy Transition Accelerator (Reta) report was the result of months of collaboration between the government, Business South, Transpower, Aurora Energy, OtagoNet, local biomass suppliers and forest owners, energy solutions businesses and medium to large industrial energy users.
It looked at how the region could work collectively and share information across both the demand and supply sides of energy, to support the uptake of renewable energy among local process heat users for things like food and beverage production, laundries and concrete manufacturers.
"Building on the success of its neighbouring regions, Otago is in a great position when it comes to adopting clean energy and clever technologies.
"The region has a small carbon emission profile, and businesses are encouraged to commit now. Streamlining efforts will make a number of steps easier – particularly unlocking supply chains to meet the demand for biomass raw material and electricity infrastructure," Ms Sutherland said.
Central to the recommendations was a focus on businesses choosing the optimal fuel source for their industrial process; considerations should include boiler age, location and regional characteristics.
"Demand reduction and thermal efficiency are key parts of the Reta process and enable and help fuel switching decisions.
"There will be savings from this alone, which will make fuel switching easier and cheaper later. But the Otago Reta has a greater level of focus on the fuel switching decision, due to the higher capital and fuel intensity of this decision,” she said.
Otago was a forestry-rich region and biomass would play a role as a renewable fuel, Reta modelling suggesting about 86% of the region’s energy supply could be met by biomass alongside electricity.
One Dunedin business leaning into decarbonisation is Preens Apparelmaster and Linenmaster.
The company recently received co-funding of $1.1 million through round five of the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Fund to switch from diesel to electricity at its site.
Managing director Rick Wellington said the opportunity to collaborate across the region had already been valuable.
"Networking opportunities and hearing from some industry experts have provided a clearer picture of how, as a region, we can work together to make the transition to decarbonise as smooth as possible," he said.
Aurora Energy general manager asset management and planning Glenn Coates said Reta increased transparency and enabled energy users and suppliers to have a more co-ordinated and efficient plan.
Business South chief executive Mike Collins said support and initiatives like Reta that were available to businesses encouraged working together and highlighted the power of collaboration.
