Primary production

New Zealand's largest dairy operation Landcorp Farming is saving $50,000 a year on energy costs after cuttings its farms' energy use by 9%.

During 2009, Landcorp carried out energy audits and put the recommendations into practice on 21 of its 27 dairy farms. The recommendations included heat recovery from refrigeration, variable speed drives and insulating hot water pipes and cylinders.

Read the case study below to find out more.

Wood used for energy does not fit well with a payment system that works using non-energy (eg. volume or weight). The energy content of wood is closely related to moisture content, and this can vary substantially, depending on the origin and storage history of the material. This study looks to determine the effects of moving from a weight-based payment system to a specific energy-content-based payment system at a large industrial site, using woody biomass as a fuel source on a large scale.

For many businesses, refrigeration systems consume large amounts of electricity, thereby contributing greatly to operating costs. Improvements to technical aspects of operations have the potential to reduce energy use by up to 40%, whilst simple improvements in operational practices can reduce energy use by 15%.

Aimed at refrigeration operators, this guide outlines system changes that can be made to improve the performance of equipment, reduce operating costs and improve profitability.

This case study looks at how four different New Zealand businesses - Tegel Foods, Craggy Range, Clive Scouring and Southern Lakes Laundries - have applied heat recovery technology recently. There are lessons here for businesses in many other fields - particularly for food and beverage manufacturers but anywhere heat or cooling is required in a reasonably large quantity.