Burwood Landfill Gas Line

Friday 22 June 2007

Prime Minister

It’s especially pleasing to be here today at the opening of the Burwood Landfill Gas Line. The gas line is another example of the Christchurch City Council’s strong commitment to energy efficiency.

QEII used to be heated by coal. When it was built for the 1974 Commonwealth Games, a “temporary” second-hand coal boiler was installed to heat it. The boiler was not supposed to operate for another 27 years but it did.

If the old QEII boiler was in action today it would need to burn 6 tonnes of coal every day to heat the complex.

In 2001, the Council stopped burning coal at QEII. LPG boilers and heat pumps became the two cleaner heating sources for the pool.

From now, landfill gas will replace LPG. In addition, a co-generation plant will produce electricity and heat from landfill gas.

Council leading by example

Christchurch City Council has built a strong reputation (locally, nationally and internationally) and is a recognised leader in sustainable energy.

Christchurch is the only non-European city belonging to “Energie-Cités” - association of 149 European cities renowned for their sustainable energy achievements.

Provision of advice and information to citizens from the Christchurch Energy Efficiency Show Home – the only such facility and service in New Zealand.

Nation-wide, the Council has been a winner of a number of EECA’s energy-wise Awards, from the Inaugural award in 1996 to the Supreme Award in 2002.

Build on own success in sustainable energy

The Council has implemented a number of projects and management measures that have resulted in an overall 30% reduction in energy consumption and a substantial increase in renewable energy sources.

Examples of the Council activities and achievements, to name but a few, include:

New Council’s buildings have been designed and built as state-of-the-art energy efficient buildings, indeed some of them have won national awards for sustainable energy design – South Christchurch Library, for example.
The City’s water supply pumps and electric motors are the most energy efficient. The use of best energy efficient operating practices and technology in this area alone saves ratepayers $1M every year.
Our street lights and traffic lights use the best of lighting technology available. New LED traffic lights consume just 5 watts per light (compared to 35 watts lamps used before).
The City’s new major swimming complexes (Centennial, Pioneer, Jellie Park) are heated using ground-source heat pumps (no fossil fuel burnt, no boilers, no chimneys, no or minimum carbon emissions).
We improved insulation to the Council’s 2600 rental flats, so the Council’s tenants can enjoy healthier living conditions and lower energy bills.
An energy recovery system was commissioned in 2006 that transfers industrial heat from WhisperTech Ltd to the Centennial Recreation Centre across Armagh Street, so we heat the swimming pool using waste heat from our neighbour.

The Council has demonstrated considerable success in implementing renewable energy:

We generate electricity from biogas at the city waste water treatment plant, at an amount sufficient to power every second street light in the City.
We support wind energy - purchasing all electricity generated by the first New Zealand made Windflow turbine at Gebbies Pass to power the Civic Offices building.
We support solar energy - installing solar water heating systems at the Council’s elderly persons' flats, promoting solar systems from the Christchurch Energy Efficiency Show Home.
We introduced bicycles (sustainable transport) as part of the Council’s vehicle fleet.
We support the use of Biofuels - used vegetable oil is to replace diesel fuel in a number of Council’s heating boilers.

ENDS