Bioenergy body hails hospital move to wood
Carbon News 12 March 2019
A DECISION to replace two coal-fired boilers at Christchurch Hospital with boilers that burn wood will help to create confidence in the woody biomass market, the Bioenergy Association says.
Health Minister David Clark says that the current boilers will be replaced at a cost of $45 million. The hospital’s boiler house was damaged in the 2011 earthquake and could fail in another large earthquake.
Clark says that replacing the current coal-fired boilers with wood-fired boilers will ensure the hospital has a modern, reliable and safe source of energy.
“The new boilers will use sustainably produced wood biomass, which is a renewable resource and affordable,” he said. “The boilers are a great way to dispose of waste wood and will emit far less carbon dioxide than conventional fossil fuels.”