Burning Down the House?

NZ’s early prosperity was said to have been borne on the sheep’s back – now they’re threatening to power us into the 21st Century: NZ’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority has hit upon a novel way of powering our nation: the Authority proposes to use 120,000 of the 150,000 tonnes of animal fat produced by the meat industry a year as bio-diesel. Transport expert Elizabeth Yeaman claims that tallow is “very clean-burning, far more so than ordinary diesels,” and the fact NZ already has the resource in abundance makes its use a financially desirable option. Meridien Energy is already looking at using the environmentally sound fuel to power the machinery needed for its $1.3 billion hydro-electric scheme.