As BayBuzz reported back in August, the Regional Energy Transition Acceleration study (about to be released) sponsored by NZ’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), finds that Hawke’s Bay has a compelling opportunity to kick its process heat fossil fuel addiction and replace it with woody biomass.  

Their research identifies that there is more than enough readily-available waste and low-value woody biomass from commercial forestry to replace all our regional industrial natural gas and coal burning.  And that it would be economic to do so even before the recent gas price and supply crisis.  

Subsequently in speaking to local HB Forestry Group members, it has become clear that the economics of this transformation are compelling enough to make biomass supply a more attractive proposition than current export log prices, which points to a much larger opportunity.

Excitingly, this is the first indication of a viable opportunity for a regional green energy transformation at regional scale. Whilst we have some wind generation capacity and precedent at Harapaki, expert opinion seems to lead more towards solar and biomass as HB’s biophysical competitive strengths. Moreover, woody biomass recovery aligns with the sort of best-practice future production forestry we need to see in our region, leading into more resilient hill-country soils and less flood-damage to our roads and bridges.  

And the same infrastructure required to support a regional industrial energy biomass economy would also support Hawke’s Bay to become a leader in renewable liquid fuels, such as Scion is currently developing for the shipping industry.

Enteric (produced by animals) methane aside, stationary energy accounts for about 30% of our regional carbon footprint.  EECA have demonstrated a viable opportunity to  develop a regional biomass energy economy, based around forestry waste that, coupled with the development of local wind and solar generation, could completely eliminate these emissions.  

Beyond that, it is not fanciful to expect that the spare capacity in local biomass could become a regional energy export opportunity, perhaps offsetting some of our hard-to-abate heavy transport emissions.

As Chair of the combined HB councils’ Climate Action Joint Committee, I see an important role for that committee in helping to catalyse this change. Together with the HB Regional Economic Development Agency, EECA are already working on steps towards implementation, with dual supply-side & demand-side workshops organised for early November this year.  

The Climate Action Joint Committee can promote, advocate and influence policy to aid this energy transition – as I like to put it – ensuring that local government is either actively helping or getting out of the way. This can include ensuring supportive provisions are incorporated into the current Reginal Policy Statement (Kotahi Plan), which then must be given effect to by our local councils, as well as advocating to central government for supporting and enabling national policy settings such as within the ETS (e.g., free credits to front-load energy infrastructure development).

EECA have shown that biomass for industrial energy in HB is already economically viable, but it needs a coordinated approach across multiple biomass suppliers, energy users, technology providers and local government. Ensuring that we have a supportive planning regime will be an important task for the Climate Joint Committee, as having the right enabling regional planning provisions can take years off project timelines and save huge costs in consenting & compliance.

The woody biomass fuel economy is not without its challenges. In particular, we need to ensure clean air standards, the stability of our hill-country soils and an appropriate balance between forestry and farming land use. But I believe that it is the most compelling and encouraging opportunity in our regional response to climate change yet.