Ōtaki College: Wood Gasification for Heating

Ōtaki College has a large gas boiler for heating parts of the school.  The possible conversion from a gas-fired to a wood-fired boiler has been explored, mainly as a way to shift from use of fossil fuel and reduce carbon emissions.  It was not economic to do so given the current boiler has an estimated further life of 10 years.  An alternative is to explore installation of a wood fuel ‘gasification’ system which would convert the wood to gas which would also feed the boiler. 

Site assessment work has been carried out to establish the feasibility of accommodating such a system and its fuel store on site. This is an on-going project.