CREATE CLEAN INDUSTRY SPEAKS
HOW DO WE KEEP THE RED
MEAT INDUSTRY, GREEN?
Wiley, the project delivery company’s, business and engineering manager,
Peter Thomson has fulfilled multi-disciplinary roles to deliver innovative
facility solutions across meat industry projects internationally.
New Zealand’s meat industry is one
the goal under the Paris accord
of the cleanest in the world. Having
was an 11% reduction). With these
always been a leader in terms of
successes, and one of the world’s
being environmentally conscious. In
most advanced meat processing
recent years the industry has been
industries, what are the opportunities
making continuous efforts towards
for the NZ red meat industry when it
carbon neutrality.
comes to sustainability and keeping
With a strong emphasis on
green?
sustainability in industry and recent
Technology and Industry 4.0 will
related media coverage, growing
shortly begin to play a large part
environmental concerns and social
in the way facilities are operated.
pressure, the New Zealand red
Connected devices and the data
meat industry will need to seek
they create will bring countless
methods of sustainability across
opportunities to increase output
all areas of processing to retain
and find efficiencies through diverse
market position. This begins on the
areas. The simple win for operators
processing floor, from LED lights,
will be dramatic shift in energy
hot / cool room usage, processing
consumption leading to savings in
equipment and flow efficiencies to
operational costs. From sensored
energy conservation and generation
lights, only activated on when there
options including solar, batteries
is movement in an area, to staggered
for storage and energy capture
engagement of cooling systems to
and redistribution, with covered
eliminate peak demand, and other
anaerobic lagoons (CAL’s) for biogas
autonomous systems designed
capture and distribution.
to eliminate wasted energy from
The 2018 Beef + Lamb New
an operation, these devices and
Zealand report highlighted that New
systems will monitor use to mitigate
Zealand’s existing focus is evident
spikes and align energy use with
with emissions 30% below 1990 for
output and revenue.
the beef and sheep industry (levels,
From the processing floor and i4.0
impressive when considering that
we move on to producing energy.
When considering the coupling of
batteries with renewable energy
generation, the opportunity
exists to significantly decrease
electrical consumption and cost for
manufacturers.
This general approach to ensure
economically viable adoption of
energy sustainability measures is to
follow three principles in order:
1. Audit, assess and minimise
current energy usage – eliminate
waste
2. Identify and engineer renewable
options that minimise current
costs (accessing peak shaving,
purchase energy from green
sources, adopt simple green
energy solutions like roof mounted
solar)
3. Adopt facility scale green energy
generation solutions including
batteries to allow for time shifting
of self-generated green energy
Preliminary calculations suggest
simple reduction in peak demand
could have the potential to save
manufacturers up to 30% on their
monthly electricity costs and with a
low capital cost this is a logical area
to seek out.
Peter Thomson, business and
engineering manager at Wiley,
the project delivery company.
Other types of energy storage
solutions that can assist in managing
peak demand and reducing
environmental impact, include biogas
that can be held under a pond cover
(covered anaerobic lagoon) and
thermal energy that can be stored
in the forms of insulated hot water
tanks or even ice.
With innovation playing a key role
in moving the country beyond the
current plateau and competing on
the international stage, integrating
these strategies into business
plans will likely be more important
than delivering the next upgrade to
automated boning or refrigeration.
It is when an industry embraces
change that it can truly deliver
sustainability, both economically and
environmentally.
18 NOVEMBER 2019