CEO Update Monday 4 July 2016
New biomass boilers at Burwood now operational Last week Canterbury DHB hosted some visitors from Wellington who have more than a passing interest and knowledge of all things energy-related. Our new boilers are believed to be the first true biomass steam boilers in New Zealand. We welcomed Kay Harrison, climate change director from the Ministry for the Environment, Jenny Lackey, general manager of strategy for EECA (The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority) along with Peter van Meer, account manager for EECA. The trio were a veritable powerhouse of all things energy-related. Tim Emson, our energy manager from Maintenance and Engineering along with Dominic van Berlo, the site maintenance manager at Burwood showed our visitors around. Between them, what they don’t know about boilers isn’t worth knowing! We started off in the old boiler-house which is coal-fired and still producing steam for heating and hot water. The old boilers were commissioned in 1964 and are coal-fired chain grate fire tube boilers. The fact they are still working is a credit to the maintenance and engineering team. We saw how the coal comes down through the overhead hoppers, is dropped down onto a moving chain grate then is burnt to create energy for steam, and at the other end of the boiler, large amounts of ash are collected. Coal is becoming more expensive with increased Emission Trading Scheme charges and sourcing high quality energy-efficient coal is becoming more challenging. Some of the photos taken on the day, show the age, and almost Steampunk qualities, of some of the old kit. Over the years modifications have been made to automate aspects of the operation of these two 2.85MW coal-fired boilers. In winter they use up to 7 tonnes of coal each day and 3-4 tonnes in summer. Once the new boilers are fully up and running these boilers will be decommissioned.
Above: David Meates takes a close look at components of the new boilers.
A Megawatt (MW) is one million watts, or enough energy to light 10,000 standard 100-Watt lightbulbs. Next to the old boiler house is the new Biomass boiler-house. This has been constructed over the past 18 months. It may not be an architectural beauty, but it’s what’s inside that counts: two brand-new high-tech biomass boilers, made in Austria by Polytechnik. These renewable energy boilers also produce steam for heating and hot water. They are streets ahead of the old coal boilers, when it comes to energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. The two new boilers are 4MW and 2MW in size. Both will be used in winter and in summer just the 2MW boiler will be used, and in spring and autumn, the 4MW. ›› Article continues on page 2
In this issue »» Facilities Fast Facts...page 5 & 6 »» Canterbury Grand Round...page 6 »» Integrated & connected mental health and addiction service opened...page 8
»» South Island volunteers acknowledged... page 9 »» ‘A tribute’ to the Orlando Regional Medical Center ER...page 10 »» UK Specialist Nurse visits to investigate how Canterbury ‘does flu’...page 11
»» Volunteers ready to serve...page 12 »» Appointment of CALD Health Manager.... page 13 »» Pharmacists go under the microscope for their patients...page 15
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