Foresta, an Australian listed company, announced the signing of a 30-year lease on a property in Kawerau, in the Bay of Plenty with plans to build New Zealand’s first low emissions fossil free fuel plant. Source: Timberbiz
It plans to invest $300 million building the plant which will employ more than 100 people. The plant would produce low-impact torrefied wood pellets. The plant is subject to resource consent being granted.
The production process produces torrefied “black” wood pellets heated to between 200C and 300C in the absence of oxygen. Foresta said black wood pellets had the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions when used as replacement for coal, as well as to reduce emissions from shipping for every log not being exported.
Foresta chairman Henry Cheng said that with the phasing out of industrial coal boilers by 2037, the company was placed to provide locally produced black wood pellets. Annual initial production of 65,000t of pellets would require about 200,000t of logs or about 330ha of forestry supply a year. Seven million tonnes of pine feedstock would be used to produce two million tonnes of black wood pellets.
New Zealand uses around two million tonnes of coal a year for electricity generation, industry and heating.
Supply agreements are under way with owners of sustainably managed pine plantations. The company says it does not intend to use forestry waste or slash but has identified 2000 pine forest owners within 100km of its proposed plant.
Recently Foresta signed a harvesting contract with Silvertree Biomass Solutions for around 243,000 tonnes per annum of logs, stumps, and other approved biomass, fulfilling the entirety of Stage 1a’s raw feedstock requirements for the proposed integrated manufacturing facility in New Zealand.
This strategic partnership underscores Foresta’s commitment to fortify its raw material supply chain, by securing the forest cutting rights the company said in a statement.
“We recognise that harvesting and delivery costs represent a significant portion 50%-90% of our biomass supply expenses. This contract with Silvertree not only secures our supply chain but also ensures cost efficiency, contributing to our commitment to sustainable operations.”
The planned plant will also produce natural, pine-based chemicals (rosins and terpenes) from pine trees which can replace petroleum-sourced chemicals.
