Milking Shed Makeovers
"Energy cost savings were estimated at between 10% and 16%, so an average of 9% is not far from the mark with the customer managing the implementation."
An innovative approach was taken to audit multiple sites using Field Agents to visit the sites and a specialist dairy energy engineer to operate a special energy model that evaluates all of the energy savings options available to each farm.
"This is a new approach to delivering energy management services that has potential to turn the energy services industry on its head... this really strips the cost out of delivering accurate energy saving recommendations."
ENDS
Milking Shed Makeovers
(extract from EECA News - Issue 4 - Spring 2009)
When Landcorp Farming first started dairying 10 years ago, the price of electricity was significantly lower than today. Even then, it was obvious that power accounted for a major proportion of costs, and energy consultant Joe Schyns was brought on board to help. Schyns ensured the basics were in place across Landcorp’s 27 dairy farms – including managing energy load, using tariffs strategically and matching electricity invoices to physical farm installations. But there were further gains to be made. A decade on, Landcorp undertook a serious review of its energy use – and has found ways to cut energy use by 9%, saving more than $50,000 a year. “After watching the price per kilo (of milk solids) and cost per kilo lines converging, we took steps to minimise operating costs. We broke down dairy expenditure and looked at what our big spends were per farm – not surprisingly, electricity was one of the largest items,” says procurement specialist and project manager Vaughan Griffiths. Landcorp invested in energy audits at all its farms, fi nding numerous energy-saving opportunities. As a result new technology was installed at most farms, including refrigerator heat recovery and variable drive systems on pumps to manage their energy use. Hot water pipes and cylinders were insulated at the same time, to prevent unnecessary heat loss. The installation took five months, with an average payback per farm of just over three years. Tomo Reed, account manager for the primary production sector at EECA, says farmers are increasingly aware that their electricity bills are not a fixed cost – there are options to reduce them. Dairy farmers know all too well that milking cows is an energy-intensive business. Landcorp’s energy audit focused on the milking shed as the most energy-intensive part of the dairying business.
NSL on Rural Delivery - TVNZ Interview
Rural Delivery TV Interview
How I Made It: Martin Dix, Founder of Current Cost
March 8, 2009
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/entrepreneur/article5853325.ece
Light bulb showed homeowners how to save electricity
Rachel Bridge
IF 10 people were asked to guess how much it costs to power a 100 watt light bulb left on for a year, the chances are they would all come up with different answers. It was questions such as these that inspired Martin Dix to create a monitor that records how much electricity a household uses — and what it costs. Read More...
Effluent to Energy (Radio NZ Country Life Interview with Ian)
Podcast Read More...
Scott Base 2 International Ventures - Beachhead in Canada
Today we had an interesting visit from the Neil and Gillian from Scott Base 2 International Ventures. Natural Systems Ltd is being examined for its potential to add value to the Canadian Agritechnology economy. Canada has got some pretty good stuff happening around the "Tech Triangle". Read More...
Landcorp - Research and Development
Canterbury Resource Management Awards 2008
The project aims are the generation of energy using cow manure, greater energy self-sufficiency on-farm and conversion of cow manure to fertiliser. Judges said BioGenCool is a highly creative technology using a systems approach to take diary waste and convert it to useful on-farm resources. The project is bringing together different technologies to create an integrated system within a dairy farm... Read More...
Offshore Firms Eye NZ Dairy Power from Gas
(c) 2008 Rural News Group, www.ruralnews.co.nz
A Christchurch company is sparking international interest in its BioGen system for energy recovery from dairy waste.
The system captures methane and carbon dioxide from dairyshed and feedpad effluent to fire hot water boilers and, if economic, to generate electricity. Read More...
Finding Power in Effluent
A dairying system that is turning effluent into power and fertiliser in Canterbury is expected to revolutionise the way farmers treat cow muck.
Its investors have set up a pilot plant at a Landcorp Farming dairy farm in Eyrewell that is extracting methane and carbon dioxide from effluent with biodigester technology, and using it as fuel in a co-generation plant to make electricity. Read More...
Lighting up with cow-power
The work of a Christchurch company in using biomass for electricity generation is offered as an example of a business opportunity in a report issued this morning as a curtain-raiser to a climate change conference in Auckland.
The 4th Australia-New Zealand Climate Change and Business Conference will be attended tomorrow morning by the Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand, Kevin Rudd and Helen Clark, who will give their views on climate change.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also agreed to participate in the conference by making a video address.
More than 80 expert speakers from around the world will explore current climate change issues of relevance to business, such as implementing emissions trading and investments.
At the NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development's "clean billions" breakfast at SkyCity today, a report for the Tindall Foundation will be issued in support of Stephen Tindall chairing the climate change leadership forum, which advises ministers on emissions trading.
The report says businesses will be expected to go beyond "carbon neutral" to become "carbon negative" .
It says many New Zealand firms are behind those in other countries in measuring the potential effects of pricing carbon and preparing plans to reduce it.
But it softens the blow by adding that opportunities are available for businesses and the economy which actively embrace emissions trading and make efforts to cut emissions, improve products and reduce emissions costs.
The report says businesses could make billions from new technology investments stimulated by the proposed emissions trading scheme.
Some of the main opportunities are included in biomass-like opportunities for some farmers to generate electricity from cow manure methane.
Natural Systems is already running a pilot project on a Landcorp dairy farm in North Canterbury.
Technical director Ian Bywater said a farmer with 850 cows (with feedpad) could save up to $30,000 a year in electricity costs.