Biogas plant in Eastern Germany will be the world's largest

image: WELtec BioPower

The renewable energy industry is changing so rapidly that calling something the “world’s largest” is setting yourself up to be corrected only a few weeks later. In any case, as of today, a new biogas plant in Konnern, Germany can now claim that it is the largest biogas plant to feed gas directly into a national grid...when it begins operations at the beginning of 2009. Ah, qualifying statements. We’ll see if it gets one-upped before then, but here are the details, via Renewable Energy World:
Biomethane Fed Into Natural Gas Supply
This new plant, when operational, will feed 15 million cubic meters of biomethane into Germany’s national gas grid. Normally, biogas contains about 60% methane and 40% carbon dioxide, but through filtering technology at the Konnern facility the CO2 will be filtered out so that the methane content of the biogas is similar to that of natural gas. Thus the biomethane can be put into the same pipelines that carry natural gas.

Corn to be Used as Feedstock
One environmental/social catch in this system is the source of the raw materials used to make the biogas. Apparently neither agricultural waste products not animal waste will be used in the system, rather thirty local farmers will be supplying 120,000 tonnes per year of raw materials, mostly corn, to the facility. This is sure to justly raise the question of the importance of using agricultural lands to feed people before our collective energy addiction.
Though it most likely won’t calm food versus fuel critics, Andrea Horbelt of the German Biogas Association says, “Research is just beginning to look at the many types of plants that could be used to produce biogas. We are confident there will be many alternatives to using crops such as corn.”
Smellier Solutions Could Calm the Food v. Fuel Debate
Given that human excrement has been been used in Uganda to make biogas, and cow dung is being used for the same purpose in California , I just can’t get the Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome images out of mind. Tina Turner with a crossbow and Master-Blaster are just burnt into my brain.

source: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/worlds-largest-biogas-plant-germany.php

Biogas plants will need 5.5mt of feedstock by 2013

A new study from Enagri has revealed that a combination of announced and operational biogas plants across the UK could need at least 5.5 million tonnes of feedstock by the end of 2013.

The Directory of UK Biogas Plants 2011, the first comprehensive survey of anaerobic digestion (AD) projects in the UK, will be launched at this year's Cereals 2011.
Despite concerns about the low uptake of the Feed-in-Tariff by biogas plants, the study showed there could be around 150 on-farm and waste-fuelled biogas plants in the country in two years time.
There is also considerable growth and expansion in the utilisation of sewage gas to produce renewable energy at water treatment plants.
An analysis of published information on feedstocks shows large regional differences, together with the fact that the more than 680,000t of feedstock a year has not yet been disclosed by developers. Of this, the greatest concentration of unknown fuels is in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and central Scotland.

Energy crops grown specifically for use in digesters account for just 5% of identified feedstock and are most popular in the East Midlands, while waste from animal husbandry (including slurry, manure and poultry litter) accounts for around 6%, with the main concentration of developments in Dorset and the south west.
Municipal waste could account for half of all the feedstocks used and there is particularly strong demand for this in the urban north west and the south east.
Surprisingly potential demand from projects in Kent could see the county treating the greatest quantity of waste, with demand forecast to reach 750,000 tonnes a year if announced projects go ahead.
"The geographical differences in feedstock are interesting," said Enagri's managing editor Richard Crowhurst. "They show that, on the whole, developers are looking to build plants which utilise the most abundant feedstock in the region, with some of the biggest municipal waste fuelled plants."
In terms of which companies are behind which projects, the picture is less clear. Some companies build and operate plants while others hand over the running to another company.
"Biogen Greenfinch is the clear leader in the UK market," said Mr Crowhurst. "They have provided, or are providing, technology for 15 plants, although this figure includes seven or eight from Greenfinch before the two companies merged, and the company operates a number of these plants themselves."
Many companies have pipelines of projects, but due to the difficulties of obtaining planning permission and financing, many are not announced until a formal planning application is submitted.
As well as Biogen Greenfinch, Community Renewable Energy North West (CoRE), Future Biogas, Agrivert and Farmgen are forging ahead with new developments. The major technology providers include Edina, Monsal, WELtec BioPower, Biogas Nord and Biogas Hochreiter.
The report includes information on 69 on-farm biogas plants, 83 waste treatment AD plants and lists more than 50 plants in operation at water treatment works.