Geothermal Energy

In January 2007, Fletcher Wood Solutions turned off the natural gas and switched on its geothermal energy for kiln-drying at its Taupo, New Zealand manufacturing facility.  New Zealand is the world leader in geothermal energy use, which has created this unique opportunity for FWS. Fletcher Wood Solutions has a strong  history of environmental responsibility, and the conversion to geothermal energy was just a continuing evolution of our efforts to become more eco-friendly.  FWS specifically sited the Taupo plant in the middle of geothermal energy country, with a view to accessing the heat from the earth in the future. New Zealand has 12 main geothermal areas, but most of them are low temperature, which is less suited to kiln drying. We located in the Taupo volcanic zone, where a number of the high-temperature geothermal fields are found. Taupo geothermal temperatures can range up to 500 F, although supplied fluid temperatures are typically less than this. It took a year of planning to make the switch to geothermal. The local electricity supplier, Contact Energy, had to drill new geothermal wells near the plant and install piping and heat exchangers, while FWS modified its kilns and other equipment. The total cost was just over 8 million U.S. dollars. The use of geothermal energy is expected to cut costs as well as emissions-annual savings are expected to run some $800,000. Geothermal heat generation provides us with a robust and highly effective energy source into the future helping us to remain among the most competitive manufacturers in the industry. Geothermal energy is a clean, renewable resource that does not consume any fuel or produce significant emissions. After use in heat exchangers the geothermal fluid is re-injected back into the earth, thereby helping maintain the field and minimizing emissions. FWS plans to use geothermal energy for heating its factories and will incorporate the technology into other aspects of our processing operations.