Cromwell winemaker Matt Connell has been rationing use of his last bottle of carbon dioxide. Photo / Shannon Thomson, Otago Daily Times
Cromwell winemaker Matt Connell has been rationing use of his last bottle of carbon dioxide. Photo / Shannon Thomson, Otago Daily Times
A Cromwell winemaker on his last bottle of carbon dioxide says “Kiwi ingenuity” will get businesses through a shortage affecting a range of industries.
Dairy, beer and wine producers are among those affected by the temporary shutdown of Taranaki’s Kapuni gas treatment plant, after normal checks picked up a safety valve releasing ammonia late last year.
Todd Energy chief executive Mark Macfarlane said the plant would be able to operate at 30 per cent capacity in about two weeks in its staged restart.
There would be another weeks-long shutdown at the end of summer, and it would not be until the end of the year before the plant was again at 100 per cent capacity, he said.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Ministry for Primary Industries, and Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet are among the government agencies working to understand and track the effects of the shutdown of the country’s only domestic producer of food-grade CO2.
Initially, smaller producers appear to be bearing the brunt of the disruption.
Matt Connell Wines director Matt Connell said CO2 was largely used to purge tanks of oxygen and protect the wine.
Central Otago winemakers could use a different gas, but CO2 was preferred and it was a concerning time.
“We’ve been having weeks without having any [CO2] and then a couple of bottles show up and if you’re not the first to the gas depot, you don’t get any.
“That makes it challenging,” he said.
He came back from holidays because the winery was busy and went to the depot, where he “literally got the last bottle they had there on the day”.
“We’ve sort of made that last a little bit over the last couple of weeks and we’re on the last of it now — after that we’ll be changing to another gas.
“We’ve started thinking about what we’re going to do about harvest time if we’ve got limited supply of it.
“All our tanks, but our white wine tanks [in particular], are giving off CO2 when they ferment, so we can trap some of that, and set up lines so it feeds into the next tank along to purge that tank before we fill it.
“Kiwi ingenuity will come into the fore a little bit during that time, trying to keep what we can keep in the winery.”
New Zealand Winegrowers chief executive Philip Gregan said the industry group was watching the supply situation carefully to ensure gas was available to wineries.
Philip Gregan. Photo / Richard Robinson
“Wineries have been notified of price increases as a result of the constrained supply.”
A Lion spokeswoman said the company, which owns Speight’s and Emerson’s, was mostly CO2 self-sufficient and technology was already in place that recaptured CO2 produced during fermentation in Auckland.
“However, we do rely on supplied CO2 to some extent, particularly for our craft breweries.
“At this stage, we are not significantly impacted, but we are monitoring the situation closely.
“CO2 supply is one of several factors adding cost pressure for our industry.”
Emerson’s Brewery founder Richard Emerson was philosophical.
“We’ve had many disruptions in the past 30 years and have taken the challenges on board in a positive way and this is just one of those occasions where we will put our thinking caps on.”
Richard Emerson.
Fonterra New Zealand manufacturing director Alan Van Der Nagel said the dairy company used CO2 in manufacturing operations and packaging.
“We’re working with all relevant parties on remediation activities. However, our ability to collect and process milk has not been impacted.”
A Westland Milk Products spokeswoman said the company was managing supply and consumption carefully and did not expect the shutdown to be an issue.
Oceania Dairy Ltd said the company had done adequate planning and preparation to ensure daily production and operations were not affected.
An MBIE spokeswoman said government efforts were focused on facilitating key sectors and suppliers to work together to understand steps the industry could take to mitigate potential impacts.
“We are actively working with CO2 suppliers to understand whether there is a role government can play in supporting them to increase import supply.
“We understand the sector has been investigating opportunities to strengthen the domestic CO2 market since the closure of the refinery.”
Gas distributors had indicated customers with critical uses for carbon dioxide, such as medical facilities and water treatment facilities, would be prioritised, she said.
