A National Survey of the New Zealand Vegetable & Flower Greenhouse Industry Energy Use

Transcription

1 A National Survey of the New Zealand Vegetable & Flower Greenhouse Industry 2004 Energy Use Andrew Barber AgriLINK New Zealand & Lynette Wharfe The AgriBusiness Group Northern Flower Growers Association

2 CONTENTS List of Abbreviations... 3 Disclaimer... 3 Acknowledgements Executive Summary Objectives Methodology Boundary Definition Energy and Carbon Content Carbon Tax Greenhouse Vegetable Results Survey Returns Vegetable Industry Profile Heated Greenhouse Vegetable Industry Profile Employment Profile Energy Profile Grower Operation Level National Level Greenhouse Flower Results Survey Returns Greenhouse Flower Industry Profile Heated Greenhouse Flower Industry Employment Profile Energy Profile Grower Operation Level National Level References Appendix 1 Survey Forms

3 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Energy & Power J joule basic unit of energy kj kilojoule 1,000 joules MJ megajoule 1,000,000 joules GJ gigajoule 1,000,000,000 joules TJ terajoule 1,000,000,000,000 joules PJ petajoule 1,000,000,000,000,000 joules W watt basic unit of power = 1 joule per second kw kilowatt 1,000 watts kwh kilowatt-hour 3.6 MJ Others ha hectare 10,000 square metres kg kilogram t tonne l litre CO 2 carbon dioxide EECA Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority MAF Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry SFF Sustainable Farming Fund (administered by MAF) Vegfed New Zealand Vegetable and Potato Grower s Federation Inc. IPCC International Panel on Climate Change MED Ministry of Economic Development NFGA Northern Flower Growers Association DISCLAIMER The information contained in this report is based on the best information available at the time it was written and all due care was exercised in its preparation. Because it is not possible to foresee all uses of this information any subsequent action in reliance on the accuracy of the information contained in this report is the sole commercial decision of the user of the information and it is taken at his/her own risk. Accordingly, AgriLINK New Zealand Ltd and The AgriBusiness Group disclaims any liability whatsoever in respect of any losses or damages arising out of the use of this information or in respect of any action taken. 3

4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The financial and other contributions made by MAF s Sustainable Farming Fund, the NZ Vegetable and Potato Growers Federation and the Northern Flower Growers Association and the NZ Export Growers Orchid Association enabled this project to be undertaken and are acknowledged. Also acknowledged are the Greenhouse Growers who responded to the survey in unprecedented numbers. Such a large response has ensured a sound basis on which to conduct the analysis and prepare the detailed content of this report. 4

5 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The objective of this study was to accurately determine the energy used for greenhouse heating in the NZ vegetable and flower industry. This will allow for an impact assessment of the proposed carbon tax to be levied on all fuels in 2007 as part the measures the NZ Government will use to meet its Kyoto Treaty obligations. A postal survey was sent to greenhouse vegetable and flower growers in September Greenhouse Vegetable Industry Four hundred and five vegetable surveys were returned (67% response), of which 55 were excluded. The distribution of sampled growers between the North and South Islands is in the same proportion as the Vegfed membership (Table 4.1), 75% in the North Island and 25% in the South Island. Based on the Department of Statistics estimate of total area 60% of the area is included in the survey results. The Auckland region dominates the productive area with 57% of the total area and 60% of the heated area. Natural gas is the main fuel source in Auckland (92%) and consequently represents just under half of the total NZ heated area (49%). Coal is the next most popular fuel source at 32% and 94% of the South Islands fuel. Glass is the most popular greenhouse structure, 76% of which is less than 10 years old. Over three quarters (78%) of the protected vegetable greenhouse industry is less than 10 years old. This reflects an industry that has made significant recent capital investments. With this has come a more professional approach and the ability to invest in the most energy efficient systems. As a result of significant recent investments the industry is now dominated by a few large operations. Four operations control 42% of the area (Table 4.5). Large scale operations, of which 17 are now a hectare or more, has lifted the average heated area per operation to 6,150 m 2. However the median size of just 2,400 m 2 is a better representation of most in the industry, meaning half of the operations are 2,400 m 2 or less. Average tomato yields for the total surveyed area are 45 kg/m 2, the average per operation is slightly lower at 40 kg/m 2. 95% of the operations produce more than 28 kg/m 2 which 10 years ago was the industry average. The 350 surveyed vegetable operations employ 1,069 full time staff as well as 629 part time or seasonal workers. Depending on the true industry size up to 1,780 people could be fulltime employees. Energy use is influenced by management, regional location, the type of greenhouse, greenhouse age and the type of crop being grown. Average energy use in the North Island is 1,210 MJ/m 2 which is 50% less than in the South Island at 1,830 MJ/m 2. On a per operation basis average energy use in the North Island is 880 MJ/m 2 and 1,630 MJ/m 2 in the South Island. Generally the smaller operations are less energy intensive, possibly due to capital constraints. Based on production average energy use in the North Island is 27 MJ/kg tomato and 42 MJ/kg tomato in the South Island. Just 19% of the heated tomato area is included in these statistics as most growers did not provide their yields. It was found that there is a positive correlation between energy intensity and yield, although the correlation coefficient (R 2 = 0.22) was poor. 5

6 The type of greenhouse had a significant impact on energy use in the North Island but less so in the South Island. Energy use in North Island glasshouses was 110% higher than in double skin plastic houses, but energy use was just 10% higher in South Island glass compared to double plastic. There is no obvious explanation for this. The impact of crop type was assessed but its effect was inconsistent. Total energy use among the survey participants was 1.7 PJ from a total area of 150 ha, of which 124 ha was heated. Extrapolated to a total industry size of between 200 and 250 ha total national energy use would be between 2.2 and 2.8 PJ. Greenhouse Flower Industry One hundred and fifty flower surveys were returned (86% response), of which 6 were excluded. The North Island dominates the returns with 90%. The survey is thought to be representative of the professional flower growers, although there is no way of determining if this has been achieved. The average area of all 142 growers was 5,110m 2. The average area among the 61 operations that heated was 6,020 m 2, with a median of 4,000 m 2. Coal is the main fuel source at 35% followed by natural gas at 26%, waste oil at 20% and diesel at 15%. There is an even split among new and old greenhouses (greater or less than 10 years). Double skin plastic is the most popular greenhouse type (44%) followed closely by glass (40%) and then single skin plastic (13%). The spread of different sized operations is relatively even across the industry. The largest single group representing 23% of the growers is between 1,000 to 2,000 m 2, but they represent only 5% of the total area. Thirty percent of the operations were 7,500 m 2 or larger and controlled 64% of the heated area. The 142 surveyed flower operations employ 466 full time staff as well as 486 part time or seasonal workers. The 61 heated operations employ 298 full time staff at an average of 5 per operation, with the largest employing 28 full time staff. The biggest influence on energy use is management, followed by crop and greenhouse type. The results showed that the influence of regional location was varied. The highest energy demanding crop was roses at 1,400 MJ/m 2 and was higher in the North Island compared to South Island. Orchids were the next highest energy demanding plant at 840 MJ/m 2. As expected the type of greenhouse has an effect on energy use with 20% more energy being used in glass compared to double skin plastic. There were insufficient operations to compare the effect of greenhouse type in isolation to the other variables of location and crop type. Total energy use among the survey participants was 0.3 PJ from a total area of 73 ha, of which 39 ha was heated *. Extrapolated to a total industry size of 100 ha and 150 ha total national energy use would be 0.44 PJ and 0.66 PJ respectively. * Overestimated by approximately 7%, due to the method required to calculate national energy use. 6

7 2.0 OBJECTIVES The first objective of this project is to establish the true size and characteristics of the New Zealand heated greenhouse industry. Figures are currently available on the total protected cropping area but this needs improving by being able to segment these into heated and unheated greenhouses, the type of covering material, energy source, crop types, and the number of employees. The second objective is to accurately benchmark energy use. These results will establish a set of industry benchmarks which future performance can be tracked against, as well as help quantify the environmental benefits of implementing energy efficiency measures. As the greenhouse industry is a significant user of energy in the agricultural sector this information will assist the New Zealand Government to more accurately account for greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiency initiatives. 7

8 3.0 METHODOLOGY To collect the necessary information from each greenhouse operation a survey form was developed in consultation with growers. The survey covered crop production area and yields, staff numbers, heating source and the quantity of annual fuel use, the area and age of each greenhouse type. A copy of the survey forms, a vegetable and a flower version, is attached as Appendix 1 The data for the vegetable sector was collected from a postal survey of all known vegetable greenhouse growers on Vegfed s membership list. For the flower industry, the Northern Flower Growers Association compiled a list of known large operators from around New Zealand plus the survey was sent to members of the New Zealand Export Growers Orchid Association Inc. 3.1 Boundary Definition The boundaries for this study were defined as the physical boundaries of the greenhouse. This meant that only the energy used for heating, i.e. environment control (refer Section 4.2 for a description), was considered. This excluded transport and packing shed operations. Electricity use, other than where it was used for heating, was also excluded. In the pilot survey electricity use for such operations as motors and lighting was found to be on average just 4% of total energy use. It was decided that for a postal survey trying to collect the electricity use would be too difficult and would be likely to result in a lower return. While electricity and transport will also attract a carbon tax, the energy component in these activities is beyond the scope of this study. Other indirect energy inputs such as fertiliser and agrichemicals have energy embodied in them and will also attract a carbon tax via their manufacturing, transport and packaging, but again this was beyond the scope of this study. 3.2 Energy and Carbon Content The energy and carbon values are the same as used in the pilot survey (Barber, 2003) and are summarised in Table 3.1. Table 3.1 Energy and Carbon Values Fuel Energy Units Carbon (g/mj) CO 2 (g/mj) Coal (sub-bituminous) 21.1 a MJ/kg 24.9 b 91.2 Diesel 35.4 a MJ/l 20.2 b 74.1 Waste oil 38.7 a MJ/l 20.1 b 73.7 Gas 3.6 MJ/kWh 14.3 b 52.3 Electricity 3.6 MJ/kWh 11.8 c 43.1 Data source: a NZ Energy Data File July 2002 (MED) b NZ Greenhouse Gas Emissions c Per comm. Ted Jamieson EECA,

9 3.3 Carbon Tax The carbon tax is based on the rate of $25/t CO 2. The Government has indicated that the emissions charge is to be set at the world price but capped at $25/t. The rate of carbon tax for each fuel type has been calculated using the energy and carbon content figures from Table 3.1 and the carbon tax rate of $25/t CO 2. Table 3.2 Carbon Tax by Fuel Type Fuel Units CO 2 (kg/unit) Carbon Tax ( /unit) Coal (sub-bituminous) kg Waste oil l Diesel l Gas kwh Electricity kwh

10 4.0 GREENHOUSE VEGETABLE RESULTS 4.1 Survey Returns Six hundred and eight surveys were sent to all known greenhouse vegetable growers, regardless of whether or not it was known they used energy for heating their crops. Four hundred and five surveys were returned, a 67% response. Fifty five of these were excluded either because the greenhouses were no longer used or there was insufficient data provided. The regional distribution of vegetable operations that responded to the survey is given in Table Vegetable Industry Profile The industry profile is described in two parts. Section 4.2 describes the total greenhouse industry both heated and unheated and Section 4.3 describes that part of the industry that use heating for climate control. Where heating is used for environmental control it manipulates both temperature and humidity. This makes it an essential management tool for controlling plant growth, improving fruit yield and quality, and disease suppression which consequently almost eliminates the need for fungicides. The average greenhouse area (both heated and unheated) is 4,360 m 2 ; however the median which is less sensitive to extremes than the mean and makes it a better measure for highly skewed distributions is just 2,000 m 2. Table 4.1 Number of Surveyed Heated and Unheated Greenhouse Vegetable Growing Operations Government Region Tomato Capsicum Cucumber Other Vegetable Total Grower Crops 1 Operations 2 Distribution (%) Northland Auckland Waikato Bay of Plenty Gisborne Hawke's Bay Taranaki Manawatu-Wanganui Wellington North Island Vegfed membership NI Tasman / Nelson Marlborough Canterbury Otago Southland South Island Vegfed membership SI New Zealand Vegfed postal list NZ Other vegetable crops included in decreasing order of area are lettuce, aubergine, herbs, beans, vegetable transplants etc. 2 The number of operations does not equal the sum of the crops grown as some operations grow more than one crop. 10

11 Figure 1 Number of Surveyed Greenhouse Vegetable Growers by Region Number of Operations Other crops Cucumber Capsicum Tomato Northland Auckland Waikato Bay of Plenty Gisborne Hawke's Bay Taranaki Manawatu/Wanganui Wellington Tasman/Nelson Marlborough West Coast Canterbury Otago Southland Table 4.2 Surveyed Greenhouse Vegetable Growing Area (ha) Government Region Tomato Capsicum Cucumber Other Total Area 1 Grower Distribution (%) Northland Auckland Waikato Bay of Plenty Gisborne Hawke's Bay Taranaki Manawatu- Wanganui Wellington North Island Dept of Stat. NI Nelson / Tasman Marlborough Canterbury Otago Southland South Island Dept of Stat. SI New Zealand Dept of Stat. NZ The Department of Statistics Total Area does not include Other. 11

12 Based on the three main vegetable crops 52% of the total NZ greenhouse area responded to the survey. This leaves potentially 121 ha unaccounted for (excluding other vegetables, which the Dept of Stat. does not record). Figure 2 Surveyed Greenhouse Vegetable Area by Region Area (ha) Other crop Cucumber Capsicum Tomato Northland Auckland Waikato Bay of Plenty Gisborne Hawke's Bay Taranaki Manawatu/Wanganui Wellington Tasman/Nelson Marlborough West Coast Canterbury Otago Southland Auckland has more than twice as many growers as the next largest region Northland (Figure 1) and dominates the industry by accounting for more than five times as much area than the next largest region Canterbury (Figure 2). The North Island accounts for 77% of NZ s vegetable production area, 57% is in Auckland alone. The five largest regions, Auckland, Canterbury, Tasman / Nelson, Northland and Waikato account for 85% of NZ s total production area. 12

13 4.3 Heated Greenhouse Vegetable Industry Profile Not all greenhouses are heated. For the purpose of this report all further findings have been based on the heated greenhouse industry, whose profile is described below. The definition of a heated greenhouse was an operation that used heating for environmental control (see Section 4.2). This excluded those greenhouses that either do not heat or only use heating for frost protection. Table 4.3 Number of Heated Greenhouse Vegetable Growing Operations Government Region Tomato Capsicum Cucumber Other Total Operations 1 Grower Distribution (%) Northland Auckland Waikato Bay of Plenty Gisborne Hawke's Bay Taranaki Manawatu- Wanganui Wellington North Island Tasman / Nelson Marlborough West Coast Canterbury Otago Southland South Island New Zealand The number of operations does not equal the sum of the crops grown as some operations grow more than one crop. Overall 83% of the cropped area is heated. 85% of the tomatoes were heated, 94% of the capsicums, 83% of cucumbers and 56% of other vegetable crops, which mainly included lettuce, aubergines, and herbs. Auckland has 60% of the total heated area. The main heating source is natural gas which accounts for just under half (49%) of energy use in NZ greenhouses. Coal is the next most popular energy source at 32% (69% of which is in the South Island), followed by diesel at 9%. 13

14 Figure 3 Distribution of Heated Vegetable Greenhouses Area (ha) Other heating Electricity Diesel Oil Coal Propane Natural Gas Northland Auckland Waikato Bay of Plenty Gisborne Hawke's Bay Taranaki Manawatu/Wanganui Wellington Tasman Nelson Marlborough West Coast Canterbury Otago Southland Table 4.4 Heated Greenhouse Vegetable Growing Area by Fuel Type (ha) Government Region Natural Gas Propane Coal Oil Diesel Electricity Total Northland Auckland Waikato Bay of Plenty Gisborne Hawke's Bay Taranaki Manawatu- Wanganui Wellington North Island Tasman / Nelson Marlborough West Coast Canterbury Otago Southland South Island New Zealand

15 Figure 4 Distribution of Fuel Types in the NZ Greenhouse Vegetable Industry Propane 4% Oil 3% Electricity 3% Diesel 9% Natual Gas 49% Coal 32% A significant factor affecting the energy use is the type and age of a greenhouse. Figure 5 shows the heated area of each covering material as well as the age of these structures. Figure 5 Heated Vegetable Greenhouse Type and Age 90 Heated Greenhouse Age Area (ha) Area (ha) >10 yrs <10 yrs Glass Single Plastic Double Plastic Rigid Sheets Generally the greenhouse industry can be described as one that is dominated by larger operations which are becoming larger and smaller operations becoming uneconomical and consequently exiting 15

16 the industry. Figure 6 and 7 bears this out where 9% of the operations have 57% of the area and the 4 largest operations that each have more than 3 hectares operate 39% of the industry. Figure 6 Number of Heated Vegetable Greenhouses by Size Number of Operations < 999 m2 1,000-1,999 m2 2,000-2,999 m2 3,000-3,999 m2 4,000-4,999 m2 5,000-7,499 m2 7,500-9,999 1ha - 2 ha 2ha - 3 ha >3 ha 16

17 Figure 7 Distribution of Total Area by Greenhouse Size Area (ha) < 999 m2 1,000-1,999 m2 2,000-2,999 m2 3,000-3,999 m2 4,000-4,999 m2 5,000-7,499 m2 7,500-9,999 1ha - 2 ha 2ha - 3 ha >3 ha Table 4.5 Distribution of Total Area by Greenhouse Size Operation Size No. of Operations Total Area (ha) < 999 m ,000-1,999 m ,000-2,999 m ,000-3,999 m ,000-4,999 m ,000-7,499 m ,500-9, ha - 2 ha ha - 3 ha >3 ha Total The average heated greenhouse area is 6,150 m 2 with a median of 2,400 m 2. The industry average tomato yield is 45 kg/m 2 /yr, up 17 kg s from the 28 kg average in 1993/94. The per operation average is slightly lower at 40 kg/m 2 /yr. 95% of operations now produce more than 28 kg/m 2 /yr. Average tomato production in unheated greenhouses is just 24 kg/m 2 /yr, which is significantly less (at the 1% level) than in heated greenhouses. 17

18 Table 4.6 Production Indicators per Operation Survey Mean Median Operation Mean ± 95% Confidence Interval Range Heated Greenhouse area (m 2 ) 2,400 6,150 ± 2, to 207,000 Tomato area (m 2 ) 2,400 6,920 ± 3, to 168,310 Tomato yield (kg/m 2 ) ± to 60 Capsicum area (m 2 ) 2,890 8,600 ± 6, to 75,000 Capsicum yield (kg/m 2 ) ± to 33 Cucumber area (m 2 ) 2,100 3,240 ± 1, to 20,000 Cucumber yield (kg/m 2 ) ± to 120 Addendum Note: cucumber yield is shown as kg/m 2 this should have been number per m Employment Profile The 350 surveyed operations employ 1,069 full time staff, 402 part time staff, and 227 seasonal workers. The 196 heated operations employ 903 full time staff at an average of 5 per operation and ranging between 1 and 150 per operation. 4.5 Energy Profile Grower Operation Level The annual total energy input (excluding solar) into a greenhouse system can either be expressed as energy intensity in MJ/m 2 or by incorporating the operation s productive output it can be expressed as energy productivity in MJ/kg output. The average energy indicators for the surveyed operations are shown in Table 4.7. Table 4.7 Total Energy Intensity (MJ/m 2 ) Survey Mean Operation Median Operation Mean ± 95% Confidence Interval Range Count % of Total Heated Area 1 North Island 1, ± , South Island 1,770 1,600 1,600 ± , New Zealand 1,360 1,100 1,170 ± , Not all survey participants provided their energy use figures. The average energy intensity is 1,360 MJ/m 2. The average energy intensity per operation is slightly less at 1,100 MJ/m 2. The reason for this is that the larger operations which tend to use more energy and achieve a higher average yield, have a greater influence on the total surveyed energy use. The results in Table 4.8 show the energy use based on tomato production. 18

19 Table 4.8 Total Energy Input for Tomatoes (MJ/kg tomato ) Survey Mean Operation Median Operation Mean ± 95% Confidence Interval Range Count % of Total Heated Tomato Area 1 North Island ± South Island ± New Zealand ± Most survey participants did not provided their yields. There is a positive trend between energy intensity and yields; however the correlation coefficient is not that high. Figure 8 Relationship between Energy Intensity and Tomato Yield 3,500 3,000 2,500 Energy Input MJ/m2 2,000 1,500 R 2 = , Yield kg/m2 19

20 There are four main influences on greenhouse energy use: 1. Management 2. Regional location 3. Greenhouse type and 4. Greenhouse age Management undoubtedly has the greatest influence on how much heat is used in a greenhouse. Regional location has the next greatest affect. Average energy use between the North Island and South Island is significantly different (at the 1% level). Average energy use in the North Island is 1,210 MJ/m 2 compared to 1,770 MJ/m 2 in the South Island, making it 50% higher (Table 4.7). Due to the large sample size it is possible to analyse the effect of location and greenhouse type. Table 4.9 shows the influence of these two factors. Table 4.9 Energy Intensity by Region and Greenhouse Type (MJ/m 2 ) Region Glass Single Plastic Double Plastic North Island 1,350 1, South Island 1, ,750 New Zealand 1, ,230 11% of the area (13.2 ha) was excluded from the greenhouse type analysis (Table 4.9) as they did not meet the criteria that one type of greenhouse structure had to account for 75% or more of an operation. For greenhouse vegetables the decision on what type of structure to build is usually between glass and double skin plastic. In making this decision there are a myriad of considerations, of which heating efficiency is just one. Other considerations include light levels and light quality, control of the aerial environment, capital investment and the ability to raise finance, structural durability and familiarity. No two circumstances will ever be the same and so long as there are at least two growers there will probably always be widely held differing opinions on what is the best type of structure. Table 4.10 Energy Intensity by Region and Crop Type (MJ/m 2 ) Region Tomato Cucumber Capsicum Other North Island 930 1,120 1, South Island 1,800 1,710 1,420 1,220 New Zealand 1,230 1,300 1, % of the area (25.2 ha) was excluded from the crop type analysis (Table 4.10) as they did not meet the criteria that one type of crop had to account for 75% or more of what is grown by an operation. The energy intensities are biased slightly lower than would normally be expected (approximately 5% to 15%) as the two largest operations from the North and South Islands, which both have higher than average energy intensities, are excluded as they grow a mix of crops and so do not meet the single crop type criteria. 20

21 Table 4.11 Energy Intensity by Region, Greenhouse Type and Crop Type (MJ/m 2 ) Tomato Cucumber Capsicum Other North Island Glass 990 1,570 1,980 Double Plastic 510 1, South Island Glass 1,730 1,860 1,300 1,800 Double Plastic 1,970 1,660 1,430 1,270 32% of the area (31.1 ha) was excluded from the greenhouse type and crop type analysis (Table 4.11) as they did not meet the criteria that one greenhouse type and one crop type had to account for 75% or more of the operation. Like in Table 4.10 the figures are biased slightly lower due to the exclusion of some larger operations National Level Based on the energy intensities described in Table 4.5 it is possible to calculate the total energy use for the survey group (Table 4.12) and extrapolate this up to the industry (Table 4.13). Table 4.12 Total Energy Use in PJ of the Survey Group Region Glass Single Plastic Double Plastic Total North Island South Island New Zealand There is no accurate industry census to show the true industry size, although it will be somewhere between the 150 ha captured by this survey and the 250 ha from the latest Department of Statistics Census (2000). The Department of Statistics census is thought to overestimate the true size of the industry. Table 4.13 shows a range of different industry size scenarios and the associated total energy use. Table 4.13 Total Energy Use for Different Greenhouse Vegetable Industry Size Scenarios Total industry size (ha) Heated industry size (ha) Total Energy Use (PJ)

22 5.0 Greenhouse flower results 5.1 Survey Returns There was a 100% response from the 76 flower surveys sent to the orchid growers. Of the 98 surveys sent by the Northern Flower Growers Association 74 were returned or a 76% response. Six respondents were excluded because the greenhouses were no longer used. 5.2 Greenhouse Flower Industry Profile There is no national database of flower growers so the survey was sent to a list of growers complied by the Northern Flower Growers Association of known larger operators from around New Zealand plus members of the New Zealand Export Growers Orchid Association Inc. The results are considered representative of the professional flower growers who derive the majority of their income from flower growing. The survey profile is described in two parts. Section 5.2 describes both the heated and unheated respondents and Section 5.3 describes those respondents that use heating for environment control (see Section 4.2 for a description of environment control). The average surveyed greenhouse area was 5,110 m 2. This is higher than for vegetables, which reflects that the survey was targeted at professional flower growers so does not include a large number of smaller part time growers as were captured by the vegetable survey. Table 5.1 Number of Surveyed Heated and Unheated Greenhouse Flower Operations Government Region Orchid Rose Lily Other Flowers 1 Total Operations 2 Grower Distribution (%) Chrysanthemum Northland Auckland Waikato Bay of Plenty Gisborne 0 Hawke's Bay Taranaki Manawatu- Wanganui Wellington North Island Tasman / Nelson Marlborough 0 Canterbury Otago Southland 0 South Island New Zealand Other flowers included in decreasing order of area gerbera, carnation, alstra, potted plants, freesia, sandersonia, etc. 2 The number of operations does not equal the sum of the crops grown as some operations grow more than one crop. 22

23 Figure 9 Number of Surveyed Greenhouse Flower Growers by Region Number of operations Other flowers Lillies Chrysanthemums Roses Orchids Northland Auckland Waikato Bay of Plenty Hawkes Bay Taranaki Manawatu/Wanganui Wellington Nelson/Tasman Canterbury Otago Table 5.2 Surveyed Greenhouse Flower Area (ha) Government Region Orchid Rose Lily Grower Other Flowers 1 Total Area 2 Distribution (%) Chrysanthemum Northland Auckland Waikato Bay of Plenty Gisborne Hawke's Bay Taranaki Manawatu- Wanganui Wellington North Island Tasman / Nelson Marlborough Canterbury Otago Southland South Island New Zealand Other flowers included in decreasing order of area gerbera, carnation, alstra, potted plants, freesia, sandersonia, etc. 2 The total area does not equal the sum of the crops grown as some operations grow more than one crop. Figure 10 Surveyed Greenhouse Flower Area by Region 23

24 Area (ha) Other flowers Lillies Chrysanthumums Roses Orchids Northland Auckland Waikato Bay of Plenty Hawkes Bay Taranaki Manawatu/Wanganui Wellington Nelson/Tasman Canterbury Otago 24

25 5.3 Heated Greenhouse Flower Industry Not all greenhouses are heated. For the purpose of this report all further findings have been based on the heated greenhouse industry, whose profile is described below. The definition of a heated greenhouse was an operation that used heating for environment control. This excluded those greenhouses that either do not heat or only use heating for frost protection. Table 5.3 Number of Heated Greenhouse Flower Growing Operations Government Region Orchid Rose Chrysanthemum Lily Other Flowers Total Operations 1 Grower Distribution (%) Northland Auckland Waikato Bay of Plenty Gisborne Hawke's Bay Taranaki Manawatu- Wanganui Wellington North Island Tasman / Nelson Marlborough West Coast Canterbury Otago Southland South Island New Zealand The number of operations does not equal the sum of the crops grown as some operations grow more than one crop. Overall 51% of the greenhouse flower area is heated. 54% of the orchids were heated, 72% of the roses, 96% of the chrysanthemums, 57% of the lilies, and 48% of other flower crops. Auckland has 60% of the total heated area. The main heating source is coal which accounts for 34% of energy use in surveyed greenhouses. Natural gas is the next most popular energy source at 26%, followed by waste oil at 20% and diesel at 15%. 25

26 Figure 11 Distribution of Heated Flower Greenhouses by Area (ha) Area (ha) Electricity Diesel Oil Coal Propane Natural Gas 5 0 Northland Auckland Waikato Bay of Plenty Hawkes Bay Nelson/Tasman Canterbury Otago Table 5.4 Heated Flower Growing Area by Fuel Type (ha) Government Natural Region Gas Propane Coal Oil Diesel Electricity Total Northland Auckland Waikato Bay of Plenty Gisborne Hawke's Bay Taranaki Manawatu- Wanganui Wellington North Island Tasman / Nelson Marlborough West Coast Canterbury Otago Southland South Island New Zealand

27 Figure 12 Distribution of Fuel Types in the NZ Greenhouse Flower Industry Electricity 4% Propane 0% Diesel 15% Coal 35% Oil 20% Natual Gas 26% A significant factor that can affect energy use is the type and age of a greenhouse. Figure 13 shows the heated area of each covering material as well as the age of these structures. Figure 13 Heated Flower Greenhouse Type and Age Area (ha) Area (ha) 10 8 >10 yrs <10 yrs Glass Single Plastic Double Plastic Rigid Sheets Unlike in the vegetable industry there is an even mix of new and old greenhouses. 27

28 Generally the flower industry has a lower investment in greenhouse structures than in the vegetable industry. Many of the older greenhouses that become uneconomical for vegetables are taken over by flower growers with the intention of producing a higher value crop. Plastic houses, both single and double skin, make up a much bigger part of the flower industry than in the vegetable industry, possibly because they are less capital intensive. The spread of different size operations across the industry is relatively even, with the largest single group between 1,000 to 2,000 m 2 ( ha). Sixteen operations are between 0.75 to 2 hectares and represent just under half of the total area (49%). Figure 14 Number of Heated Greenhouse Flower Operations by Size Number of Operations < 999 m2 1,000-1,999 m2 2,000-2,999 m2 3,000-3,999 m2 4,000-4,999 m2 5,000-7,499 m2 7,500-9,999 1ha - 2 ha 2ha - 3 ha >3 ha 28

29 Figure 15 Distribution of Total Heated Greenhouse Flower Area by Operation Size Area (ha) < 999 m2 1,000-1,999 m2 2,000-2,999 m2 3,000-3,999 m2 4,000-4,999 m2 5,000-7,499 m2 7,500-9,999 1ha - 2 ha 2ha - 3 ha >3 ha Table 5.5 Distribution of Heated Greenhouse Flower Area by Operation Size Operation Size No. of Operations Total Area (ha) < 999 m ,000-1,999 m ,000-2,999 m ,000-3,999 m ,000-4,999 m ,000-7,499 m ,500-9, ha - 2 ha ha - 3 ha >3 ha Total The average heated greenhouse flower area is 6,020 m 2, with a median area of 4,000m 2. 29

30 5.4 Employment Profile The 142 surveyed operations employ 466 full time staff, 205 part time staff, and 281 seasonal/casual workers. The 61 heated operations employ 298 full time staff at an average of 5 per operation and ranging between 1 to 28 per operation. 5.5 Energy Profile Grower Operation Level The annual total energy input (excluding solar) into a greenhouse system can has been expressed as energy intensity in MJ/m 2. The average energy indicators for the surveyed operations are shown in Table 5.6. Table 5.6 Total Energy Indicators (MJ/m 2 ) Indicator Total Survey Mean Operation Median Operation Mean ± 95% Confidence Interval Range Count North Island ± , South Island ,120 ± ,768 8 New Zealand ± , The average energy intensity for an operation is 880 MJ/m 2. The average energy intensity per operation was similar at 840 MJ/m 2. It would normally be expected that the regional location has a significant impact on energy use, however the survey results are variable with average energy use in the North Island at 910 MJ/m 2 compared to 660 MJ/m 2 in the South Island, yet the operation average is the reverse with 760 MJ/m 2 in the North Island and 1,120 MJ/m 2 in the South Island. Greenhouse type can have a significant effect on energy use and that appears to hold true in these survey results. Overall energy use was 20% less in double skin plastic houses compared to glass. Single plastic houses, which have the lowest capital investment had the lowest energy input, which probably reflects the lower capital investment in heating systems rather than the energy characteristics of the house. 30

31 Table 5.7 Energy Intensity by Region and Greenhouse Type (MJ/m 2 ) Region Glass Single Plastic Double Plastic North Island 1, South Island 1, Total 1, Sample size = 1 65% of the heated area was included in the analysis in Table 5.7. The remaining operations were excluded due to these operations not having one dominant type of structure that accounted for 75% or more of the operation. Table 5.8 Energy Intensity by Region and Crop Type Region Rose Orchid Chrysanthemum Lillie North Island 1, South Island 1, New Zealand 1, Sample size = 1 Other Roses are consistently the most energy intensive crop. An analysis was completed that removed the effect of greenhouse type and the results were the same National Level Based on the energy intensities described in Table 5.7 it is possible to calculate the total energy use for the survey group (Table 5.9) and then extrapolate the results to different industry size scenarios (Table 5.10). Table 5.9 Total Energy Use in PJ of Survey Group Region Glass Single Double Total North Island South Island Total

32 Table 5.10 Total Energy Use for Different Industry Size Scenarios Total industry size (ha) Heated industry size (ha) Total Energy Use (PJ)

33 6.0 REFERENCES Barber, A., Greenhouse Energy Use and Carbon Dioxide Emissions. MAF Technical Paper No: 2003/03 Holland, B., Welch, A.A., Unwin, I.D., Buss, D.H., Paul, A.A & Southgate, D.A.T., The Composition of Foods. MAFF and the Royal Society of Chemistry. IPCC, IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Reference Manual. International Panel on Climate Change, United Nations, New York. Longley, B., Financial Survey of Greenhouse Tomato Growers. Report for New Zealand Vegetable and Potato Growers Federation Inc., Wellington. MED, New Zealand Energy Data File July Ministry of Economic Development. Wellington, New Zealand. MED, New Zealand Energy Greenhouse Gas Emissions Ministry of Economic Development, Wellington, New Zealand. USDA and ARS, Nutrient Data Laboratory. United States Department of Agriculture and Agricultural Research Service. Wells, C., Total Energy Indicators of Agricultural Sustainability: Dairy Farming Case Study Final Report. Report for MAF Policy, Wellington. 33

34 APPENDIX 1 SURVEY FORMS Greenhouse Vegetable Industry 1. Survey completed by: Contact phone number: 2. I am a greenhouse vegetable owner or operator YES Go to question 3 NO Please answer the rest of question 2 and return the survey The greenhouse is now being operated by someone else. YES NO The greenhouse is now operated by: Contact phone number (if known): 3. Please complete for each crop you grow: Area Yield per year Growing media m 2 or ft 2 (optional) Tomato kg/m 2 Cucumber fruit/m 2 Capsicum, kg/m 2 Other /m 2 (please specify) 4. How many workers do you have, including family members? Full time Part time Seasonal Casual 5. To progress discussions with Government about the Carbon Tax more detailed information about energy and production costs will be needed. Are you willing to take part in a more detailed survey? YES NO 6. Do you heat your greenhouse? YES Go to question 7 NO Go to question 9 34

35 7. Why do you heat your greenhouse? 8. Heating Source(s) Frost protection Environment / climate control Production area of each heating source m 2 or ft 2 Approximate Annual Fuel Use (if known) Heater/Boiler size (if known) kw or MW or BTU (circle units used) Natural Gas kwh or GJ Propane /LPG m 3 Coal Oil Diesel Electricity (for heating) tonnes litres litres kwh Other - Specify: 9. Tick which region(s) your greenhouse(s) is located. Region Tick Region Tick Region Tick Northland Hawke's Bay Tasman Auckland Taranaki Nelson Waikato Manawatu - Wanganui Marlborough Bay of Plenty Wellington West Coast Gisborne Canterbury Otago Southland EVERYONE please complete Question 10 on the last page. 35

36 10. Greenhouse structure information Please fill in the table for each type of greenhouse structure you operate. Type of Greenhouse Structure Area m 2 or ft 2 GLASS Less than 10 years old More than 10 years old SINGLE SKIN PLASTIC Less than 10 years old More than 10 years old DOUBLE SKIN PLASTIC Less than 10 years old More than 10 years old RIGID PLASTIC Less than 10 years old More than 10 years old 36

37 Greenhouse Floriculture Industry 1. Survey completed by: Contact phone number: 2. I am a greenhouse owner or operator YES Go to question 3 NO Please answer the rest of question 2 and return the survey The greenhouse is now being operated by someone else. YES NO The greenhouse is now operated by: Contact phone number (if known): 3. Please complete for each crop you grow: Please specify flower type Area m 2 or ft 2 4. How many workers do you have, including family members? Full time Part time Seasonal Casual 5. To progress discussions with Government about the Carbon Tax more detailed information about energy and production costs will be needed. Are you willing to take part in a more detailed survey? YES NO 6. Do you heat your greenhouse? YES Go to question 7 NO Go to question 9 7. Why do you heat your greenhouse? Frost protection Environment / climate control 37

38 8. Heating Source(s) Production area of each heating source m 2 or ft 2 Approximate Annual Fuel Use (if known) Heater/Boiler size (if known) kw or MW or BTU (circle units used) Natural Gas kwh or GJ Propane /LPG m 3 Coal Oil Diesel Electricity (for heating) tonnes litres litres kwh Other - Specify: 9. Tick which region(s) your greenhouse(s) is located. Region Tick Region Tick Region Tick Northland Hawke's Bay Tasman Auckland Taranaki Nelson Waikato Manawatu - Wanganui Marlborough Bay of Plenty Wellington West Coast Gisborne Canterbury Otago Southland EVERYONE please complete Question 10 on the last page. 38

39 10. Greenhouse structure information Please fill in the table for each type of greenhouse structure you operate. Type of Greenhouse Structure Area m 2 or ft 2 GLASS Less than 10 years old More than 10 years old SINGLE SKIN PLASTIC Less than 10 years old More than 10 years old DOUBLE SKIN PLASTIC Less than 10 years old More than 10 years old RIGID PLASTIC Less than 10 years old More than 10 years old 39