What is Biomass and Bioenergy?

Biomass is the storehouse for solar energy. It takes carbon dioxide from the air and both stores carbon and releases oxygen through the process of photosynthesis.

Bioenergy is an important form of renewable energy. It is any form of energy released from biomass.

Bioenergy sources can be waste materials, such as forestry, landfill waste and whey from the dairy industry, farming residues like straw, livestock slurry, chicken litter, or it can be a crop grown specifically for the purpose of producing energy. The fuel is available in a number of forms.

A PDF of frequently asked questions about Bioenergy is also available for download. For more information on bioenergy check out the EECA website.

Climate Change

Bioenergy has very beneficial effects on climate change, work being undertaken by Government provides the following emission factors. Click here for details...

New Zealand Bioenergy Potential

Bioenergy provides a real alternative to fossil fuels for many applications. New Zealand's geography and climate have placed it at the forefront of countries internationally for the production of food and fibre. This same natural advantage has a prime role in making New Zealand internationally competitive in bioenergy production of many forms.

The annual production of woody biomass residues from plantation forestry alone is estimated to be between 4 and 6 million tonnes. At an energy value of 9MJ/kg this biomass quantity equates to around 45TJ, roughly equivalent to 10% of New Zealand's total consumer energy demand. Furthermore, the disposal of this biomass poses a problem if not used and its eventual decay can add to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the generation of methane gas.

For more information on the potential for bioenergy click here

Bioenergy Options for New Zealand - Summary

The Bioenergy Options for New Zealand project began in March 2007. This project was initiated to consider the potential contribution of bioenergy to New Zealand's energy future. It began by exploring the bioenergy potential of existing biomass resources, being the residues or wastes from a range of industries. The project concluded in October 2009 with a report that demonstrates how New Zealand can become self-efficient in transport fuels produced from biomass grown in sustainably managed forests. There are five reports to come out of the study:

1. Situtation Analysis - Biomass resources and conversion technologies
2. Pathways Analysis - Energy demand, pathways evaluation, Economics of purpose grown energy forests, Life cycle analysis of biomass resource to consumer energy.
3. Research and Development strategy
4. Analysis of large-scale bioenergy from forestry - productivity, land use and environmental & eonomic impacts
5. Transition Analysis - the role of woody biomass from existing plantation forests, species options and drivers for change in energy supply.

Access a summary of the five reports here

Go to the BKC web-site for full reports here

Advantages of Bioenergy

The advantages of bioenergy are:

• It produces zero net emissions of greenhouse gases, enabling both industry and government to work towards meeting New Zealand's Kyoto commitments.
• It is suitable for electricity supply, process heat, low temperature heat and transport fuels.
• It is renewable, abundant and a natural energy source.
• It can be in solid, liquid or gaseous form.
• It is a storable form of renewable energy, capable of being transported and utilised 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• It is capable of providing energy on a small-scale through to large-scale, centralised production.
• It will create localised employment opportunities for rural communities.
• It enables a reduction in the volumes of waste to landfill, thus helping councils to meet their zero-waste commitments.

A major driver for the bioenergy sector is the opportunity to provide wealth for forest owners and waste minimisation. Currently throughout New Zealand there are large amounts of organic material that is wasted. In particular is the 20% of forest residues that are currently thrown away. Nearly all this organic material being wasted could be used as a feedstock and turned into energy. We have the technology to convert this material into energy so what is stopping us - attitudes and practices. We need to change our thinking about waste. Rather than seeing it as a problem we need to start looking at it as an opportunity. Wealth creation and waste minimisation make some sense for NZ Inc.

The Future for Bioenergy in New Zealand

As concerns grow over the impact of fossil fuel use on the climate, and the reserves of fossil fuels, including natural gas, bioenergy has a prominent role to play in the provision of clean burning fuels that also encourage planting of carbon sinks. New Zealand is in a good position to utilise its biomass resources for bioenergy production.

Overseas many countries are already forging ahead with bioenergy fuels for example co-firing wood and straw with coal, blending ethanol with petrol and diesel, and anaerobic fermentation of organic residues to produce biogas. New Zealand can do the same and does so already in some certain cases. With the appropriate identification of opportunities, New Zealand can further develop bioenergy technologies to meet its energy requirements in a sustainable and environmentally sound way.

Small localised power stations are a promising future for the electricity supply industry. These will cut down on transmission losses and contribute to minimising the costs of reinforcing or upgrading electricity distribution systems. They may also increase reliability of supply and replace the need for future large centralised power stations. Compared to centralised power plants consuming fossil fuels, bioenergy plants can provide energy for local customers, using local fuels, thus providing local employment and profits.

The development of a strong home market will be essential to the success of New Zealand businesses in taking a share of the very substantial world-markets for bioenergy product packages and fuel exports in the future.

Who's Who in the Bioenergy Industry

Note: The companies list above are Corporate or Associate Members of the Bioenergy Association. A number of individuals also belong to the association and they are listed on the membership register.

Consultants

Company Name/ Contact	Core Skill	Core Product	Leading Edge
Waste Solutions Contact: Jurgen Thiele email website	details to come	details to come	Waste Solutions Ltd is a leading supplier of waste energy & biogas system design services and of carbon emission abatement schemes in Australasia.
AECOM Contact: Warwick Cutfield Email website
Beca Carter Contact: Humphrey Archer Email website
Living Energy Contact: Rob Mallinson Email website
Allan Estcourt Consulting website
Distributed Energy and Waste Solutions (DEWS) Email
East Harbour Energy (EHE) website
Empower Consultants website
Fuel Technology website
Home Heating Association website
Jaakko Poyry Consulting website

Energy Companies

Company Name/ Contact	Core Skill	Core Product	Leading Edge
Energy for Industry Contact: Grant Smith Email website	details to come	details to come	EfI is well placed to cater for all industrial heat and power applications.
Cityfirewood Website

Equipment Manufacturers and Technology Suppliers

Company Name/ Contact	Core Skill	Core Product	Leading Edge
RCR Energy Ltd Contact: Philip Gedye Email website	details to come	details to come	RCR Energy is a full scope provider in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands. With a comprehensive range of in-house and licensed combustion technologies and agencies for global brands of boilers, burners and ancillary products, RCR Energy is well placed to cater for all industrial heat and power applications.
Switch Contact: Dougal Ferguson Email website	details to come	details to come	Switch specialises in importing and distributing renewable heating solutions for home, commercial and industrial customers. Switch forcuses on heating systems which use wood pellet fuel, but also imports and distributes the Apricus range of evacuated tube solar water heating, and can integrate these into a complete renewable heating system. The Switch range of products is available from their nationwide network of retailers.
Waste Solutions Contact: Jurgen Thiele Email website	details to come	details to come	Waste Solutions Ltd is a leading supplier of waste energy & biogas system design services and of carbon emission abatement schemes in Australasia.
Brightwater Engineers website
Clarke Energy Contact: Martin Smith Email website
Living Energy Contact: Rob Mallinson Email website
Nu-Way Energy NZ Ltd Contact: Paul Bowie Email website
Spark Biomass Energy website
Parkwood Pellet Fires website
Vortex Engineering website

Fuel Supply

Company Name/ Contact	Core Skill	Core Product	Leading Edge
Gull New Zealand Contact: Dave B Email website	details to come	details to come	Gull New Zealand retails 2 grades of biofuel in New Zealand (both E10) and operates a biofuel facility in Queensland as well as retailing biodiesel in West Australia.
Lanzatech Contact: Sean Simpson Email website	details to come	details to come	Lanzatech was founded in early 2005 to develop, and commercialise proprietary technologies for the production of lowest cost fuel ethanol from the carbon monoxide in low-hydrogen waste gases produced by the steel industry. The company is now ready to undertake the next stage on this critical path, the pilot-scale demonstrationof its fuel ethanol production from both biomass syngas and industrial waste gas feedstocks. A pilot plant design has been develpped that will allow ethanol production from each of these feedstocks to be demonstrated at scale over the next 12 months.
Natures Flame Contact: Eric Gillan Email website	details to come	details to come	Nature's Flame is the leading producer of wood pellets in New Zealand, with a record for producing consistently high quality pellets for over four years. The pellet fuel is made from untreated waste wood from local sources, and this is constantly monitored to ensure strict standards are maintained. Wood Pellet Fuel are made for burning in specially designed applicances such as fires for the home or larger scale boilers. Wood Pellet Fuel has very low emissions and is virtually smokeless when burned. Nature's Flame has two fully operational pellet mills in Rolleston and Rotorua, and a third factory currently being built in Taupo. Wood Pellet Fuel can be delivered nationwide in 20KG bags, 1 tonne bulk bags, and in certain areas of the country, in loose bulk form.
Ecodiesel Limited Contact: Gary Brockett Email website
Ernslaw Bioenergy Contact: Murray Cowan Email Website
LentiKat's a.s. Contact: Alzbeta Bouskova Email website
Materials Processing Contact: Peter Fredricsen Email website
NZ Ester Fuels Limited Contact: Andre Hamman Email website
Wastepro Solutions Contact: Theo Greyling Email website
NZ Renderers Group website

Investor/Owner/Operator

Operating Utility

Organisation/Government

Company Name/ Contact	Core Skill	Core Product	Leading Edge
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority Contact: Shaun Bowler Email website	details to come	details to come
Consulate & Trade Office of Canada Email

Researcher/Education

Company Name/ Contact	Core Skill	Core Product	Leading Edge
Canterbury University Contact: Shusheng Pang Email website	details to come	details to come
CRL Energy Contact: Tony Clemens Email website
Massey University Contact: R E Sims Email website
Scion Contact: Mike Jack Email website
Solray Energy Contact: Chris Bathurst Email website
Waiariki Institute of Technology Contact: Jonathon Hagger Email website

Wood Processor

Company Name/ Contact	Core Skill	Core Product	Leading Edge
Carter Holt Harvey Kinleith Contact: Christopher Brown Email website	details to come	details to come
Findlater Sawmilling Email
Waiariki Institute of Technology Contact: Jonathon Hagger Email website

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