Ashburton Hospital powers down coal, switches to efficient energy

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:

Coal boilers at Ashburton Hospital were shut down for the final time on Monday, switching to a new $9.4m state-of-the-art energy centre.

Ashburton and rural health site maintenance manager Dan Wilson, who flicked the switch for the last time, said he was happy to shut down the boilers, which had been on the verge of complete failure for years.

There were months when there was a system failure every night, he said.

“It wouldn’t have lasted another winter I believe.”

Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora facilities and engineering manager Terry Walker said the project was conceived in 2018 when the boilers were perceived to be on the brink of failure, and Wilson had done a brilliant job keeping them going until now.

Two of the coal boilers have heated Ashburton Hospital for more than 60 years and a third was added in 1985.

Taking their place is a new heat pump system powered by water sourced from aquifers beneath the hospital grounds, which will provide heating and hot water to all buildings on site.

It draws water in from two extraction bores, using a refrigerant cycle to turn the heat into electricity, before returning the water to the ground.

A new diesel boiler has been installed in the energy centre to supply a backup heating source in case of a power outage.

The annual estimated running costs of $215,000 will be 50% lower than the coal boilers, and the changeover reduces the hospital’s carbon emissions by around 2385 tonnes per year, which is akin to taking 840 petrol-driven cars off the road.

Its life span was estimated to be 20-25 years, Walker said.

The $9.4m project was part-funded with $2.4 million from the Government’s state sector decarbonisation fund.

With the boilers now decommissioned, the plans for the future of the coal boiler building were under consideration, Wilson said.

Canterbury rural health general manager Berni Marra also acknowledged Wilson’s efforts for keeping the boilers going, and noted how lucky Ashburton was to be the first hospital in New Zealand to have the ground source heat pumps.

The project was one of 19 coal boiler replacements undertaken by Health NZ since 2020 and was the last Health NZ coal boiler to be replaced in Canterbury, which made it a significant milestone in the decarbonisation programme, Marra said.