Powerco expands its renewable gas team

At the launch of Powerco’s renewable gas trial with Manawatu Distrcit Council in March 2024

11 February 2025

As Powerco notices a distinct pickup in interest in biogas from New Zealand companies and local bodies, it has expanded its renewable gas team to five.

Head of Renewable Gas, David Hendry, says it’s really noticeable how many organisations are now recognising biogas’s potential as a viable source of renewable energy.

Since the gas supply crunch, the narrative that’s come to the fore “is that biogas represents a resilient source of energy”, he says.

While much of the interest is coming from the demand side, “there are many organisations that have large organic waste volumes that are now starting to realise the potential that anaerobic digestion can play when it comes to processing their waste at a lower cost with better environmental outcomes than what’s currently happening”.

Hendry says exporting companies in particular are often increasingly conscious of their customers’ expectations around environmental sustainability, which includes responsible waste treatment.

Companies which produce organic waste are becoming more aware of the potential for anaerobic digestion for managing their waste, having learned how widespread this is overseas.

For example, he says one organisation he had recently spoken with had investigated what was being done internationally and come back “absolutely fizzing”, asking ‘Why aren’t we doing this in New Zealand?’.

“But if we’re really going to unlock the full potential of New Zealand’s biogas, the waste and agricultural sectors need to work hand-in-hand with the energy sector.”

“We need large feedstock volumes of organic waste.”

Powerco has been working with the Manawatū District Council for over a year to investigate the commercial potential of capturing biogas from the council’s waste water and landfill operations.

Hendry says that many local bodies are already using anaerobic digestion to process their waste, but biogas was just a byproduct of that, which was mostly being flared off.

But councils are recognising they can actually turn this into a revenue stream for the council, lowering their rate burdens for ratepayers or to deploy more capital into other infrastructure, he says.

“It’s a really good news story.”