Local wood pellet initiative ready for wider market

July 23rd, 2011
[by David Armstrong]

Darryl Wilson has developed a wood pellet production unit that uses waste sawdust to make an efficient, non-fossil fuel for wood burners, and is now preparing to take the pellets to market.

The CEO of local tourism operator Wilson's Abel Tasman has used his engineering background to develop the machine in Motueka, and its output is now being sold nationally by those Mitre 10 hardware stores which are supplied by a particular Motueka lumber yard.

After 15 months of development and trials, the machine is now being used full-time by a paid operator in the lumbar yard, and Darryl wants to start marketing the wood pellets in Motueka and the Nelson-Tasman region.

He will start the marketing drive with his participation in the anti-fossil fuel protest ride in Motueka next Saturday, when his team will have pellets on display and for sale at the end of the bike ride from Toad Hall to Damien O'Connor's office.

The pellet idea arose from Darryl's concern about fuel supplies to his company's beachfront lodges in Abel Tasman National Park. He recognised that solar power installed at the lodges still required back-up systems using fossil fuels in order to supply the levels of comfort expected by the modern traveller when the sun is not shining.

He says Wilson's Abel Tasman is a company that strives to benefit the community with sustainable practises. "When you're thinking globally and acting locally with regards to fossil fuels, it's all about local communities taking responsibility for supplying their own energy requirements."

As well as importing affordable solar heating systems for friends and family, he identified an under-utilised resource of sawdust in the region, considered a waste product by the forestry industry.

Sawdust can be compressed into pellets that are then fed into special boilers or fires, providing a controllable source of carbon neutral heat with low particle emissions. In the past, the region's wood pellet production has relied on transporting sawdust 500km to large production facilities in Christchurch where it is processed, then re-distributed to regional outlets.

Darryl's goal was to "utilise the plentiful by-product of our regional forestry industry by developing local processing facilities". He built a mobile wood pellet production unit on a trailer that can be moved into a convenient location for sawdust producers to turn their waste product in into a source of carbon-neutral energy.

Darryl installed his wood pellet machine at a wood processing yard in Motueka, using sawdust directly from the timber mill. He says that with fine tuning of the machinery, independent tests show the locally produced pellets burn hotter with less ash output than other pellets tested. This makes them more economical and cleaner burning.

The machine is now providing one full-time job. Darryl has been testing the machine along with other power units using sustainable energy sources at his new Riwaka home, and says it's now ready for a wider market exposure.

He says that although the pellets are designed to be used in special pellet burners, they are also useful to boost the heat output in ordinary wood burners if added into the furnace mix. Another use of the pellets is for kitty litter.

Comment by Mark Scales:
[Posted 24 July 2011]

Well done Darryl! An entrepreneur with a green credentials, the best blend of both worlds.

>> , to be added to the page. [If this link doesn't work, use this form instead]

[ Return ]
[ Other news articles ]

We wish to thank these local community-minded businesses who generously sponsor our site. They recognise the value of supporting this community asset, and in return Motueka Online is pleased to use and recommend their services whenever appropriate.

Ray White Motueka, Parkes Automotive, Motueka Floral Studio, Nelson Building Society