The co-op previously used boilers that ran on wood biomass.
Kelly asked why Fonterra had opted for electricity at Edendale.
“When it comes to our decarbonisation plans, we look at converting or replacing boilers, and we look at a range of different energy options,” Mulvihill explained.
“We need to make sure we’ve got a secure energy supply and the move out of coal is done in the most cost-effective way.
“We also need to make sure we have an energy supply that can meet our processing demands.”
Edendale isn’t the only site to move away or lower its coal usage.
Mulvihill said a new wood biomass boiler at Fonterra’s Waitoa site was already having a positive effect.
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“Our Waitoa manufacturing site in the Waikato now uses only about half the coal it was using a year ago.”
Meanwhile, another wood biomass boiler at the Stirling site in Otago had achieved a “great milestone” for the co-op, she said.
“This is our first site with 100 per cent renewable thermal energy.”
Progress doesn’t stop there either.
“We’re in the process of converting the coal boilers at the Hautapu site in the Waikato to wood pellets,” Mulvihill said.
The Hautapu site conversion is on track to be completed in the middle of this year.
Mulvihill said Fonterra expected to further reduce emissions “through a combination of energy efficiency initiatives, as well as fuel switching at those six sites that still use coal”.
She said this was all part of Fonterra’s ultimate goal which was to stop using coal by 2037.
