Southern Paprika turns off the gas

Minister for Energy and Resources Dr Megan Woods was at Southern Paprika, in Warkworth, this morning to announce a $5 million contribution from government to assist the company to stop using natural gas in its hot houses.

The company plans to install a 10MW biomass heat and CO2 capture boiler, understood to be a the first of its kind in New Zealand, fuelled by wood chips from forestry waste around the local area. This is likely to see an abatement of nearly 250,000 tonnes of carbon over the lifetime of the boiler.

This will reduce emissions by about 70 percent by replacing 70 percent of the processed heat requirement with a renewable energy source, the Minister said.

The $14 million project will receive nearly $5 million through the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Fund, which is administered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).

Southern Paprika owner Hamish Alexander said he started looking for a way to reduce the amount of gas being used 17 years ago.

“However, there was too much red tape, and the technology simply wasn’t there then,” he said.

EECA senior account manager Pramesh Maharaj said many business owners wanted to do the right thing.

“It’s a matter of finding the right tech. Businesses are wary of the risk to production and many other hothouse producers will be watching keenly how Southern Paprika gets on,” he said.

To prove that point, representatives from New Zealand Hothouse, the largest privately owned specialist tomato producer in the country, and Gourmet Paprika, from Woodhill – also a recipient of $574,000 from the fund, were at Southern Paprika for the announcement.

Southern Paprika is one of 15 businesses to receive project funding.