Potato processor McCain Foods sets decarbonisation milestone in Timaru plant (New Zealand)

Timaru’s McCain vegetable processing factory in New Zealand is now producing french fries using a boiler system powered by woodchips instead of coal, seeking to minimise waste by 20 per cent and position itself as an industry leader.

The NZ Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry Fund (GIDI) contributed NZD 2.876 million (USD 1.8 million)towards McCain’s NZD 5.6 million (USD 3.58 million) conversion project.

Megan Woods, Energy and Resources Minister:
 

"By converting their coal boiler to burn domestically sourced woodchips, made possible by government co-funding, McCain will reduce carbon emissions by approximately 30,000 tonnes per year, the equivalent of taking 11,000 cars off the road."

In addition to the conversion, McCain Timaru has also put in place a heat recovery system that uses mechanical vapour recompression to lower the need for steam.

Climate Minister James Shaw says initiatives like this one are essential to the nation’s Emissions Reduction Plan and a significant step towards reaching net-zero.

Megan Woods:
 

"This kind of project – converting large-scale industrial processes to clean energy alternatives – is a great example of what can be done when the government partners with industry to make big things happen quicker."

The technology recovers waste heat from the fryer for use elsewhere in the facility, reducing total energy consumption and fuel use by more than 37,000 GJ/year, nearly equivalent to the electricity consumed by 1400 families.