Work begins on gas pipeline

(27/09/2005) Work has begun on a 2km pipeline to pump gas from the York Valley landfill to Nelson Hospital for heating.

The $1 million project, aimed at cleaning up Nelson's air, is being carried out by Energy for Industry, formerly Meridian Solutions.

Energy for Industry was awarded 28,000 "emissions units" by the Government to create the system, which it will sell. The worth of the units is estimated at $420,000.

The scheme will involve pumping gas produced by the landfill along the pipeline to the hospital, where it will fuel the hospital's boiler.

The hospital area is one of Nelson's most polluted, and the scheme will help reduce air pollution by lessening the hospital's reliance on coal for heating.

It is also expected to save the hospital about $48,000 a year in heating costs.

Adcock and Donaldson team supervisor Wayne Russ said work on directional drilling in 100m sections between the hospital and the landfill, along Campbell and Brunner Sts, began about a week ago.

Laying of the plastic pipeline would begin in early November.

Energy for Industry business development manager Andrew Cooper said the scheme should be up and running before Christmas.

A boiler for the hospital was currently being made in Christchurch, while other equipment needed to treat and compress the gas before it went into the pipeline was likely to be on site by November.

 

Article and photo courtesy of The Nelson Mail.

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