15 December 2011

Anaerobic Digestion News: Renewables Have No Prospect of Becoming Economical...

Anaerobic Digestion News: Renewables Have No Prospect of Becoming Economical...: Believe it or not, that headline is a direct quote from a new report from the right wing Adam Smith Institute, titled " Renewable Energy: V...

06 December 2011

Strong Criticism Given of Anaerobic Digestion Industry Safety Standards for Its Workforce

The experienced process industry supplier Landia feels so strongly about a lack of Biogas safety within the biogas industry that it has issued a press release on the subject. "Standards demand attention" – say Landia.

Pain like this and far worse will be the harsh reality for Anaerobic Digestion plant workers and management if the young industry does not pay more attention to safety on its sites.

Landia says it and several other established pump and mixer manufacturers are seriously concerned about health and safety at biogas plants, which they claim range from excellent to poor, to non-existent. The following is a quote from their press release:

To date in the UK it is fortunate that there has only been one biogas fatality, when a 29-year-old man was overcome by methane fumes at a farm anaerobic digester unit, but according to Landia, the thirst of the young industry to grow and become profitable has moved far faster than basic health & safety regulations.

“Our experience at some sites, quite frankly, has been a joke”, states Landia’s Paul Davies. “Recently we were asked to work up 8-metre ladders with large drills, which we explained we couldn’t and wouldn’t even consider doing because it’s totally unsafe – and is of course against all health and safety laws and Construction (Design and Management) Regulations. It wasn’t that the customer was trying to cut corners; they simply didn’t know. Maybe this is to be expected in a young industry? – but if that’s the case there needs to be some immediate training and education”.

Davies points to Landia’s 97% pass rate for UVDB VERIFY Approval, but says this exacting standard, which covers all areas of Health & Safety, Quality and Environment, Management Systems and On-Site actions, isn’t recognised by the AD industry. He says that promotion and direction from trade associations needs to be significantly improved, with a minimum standard implemented very soon.

Landia’s UK & Eire Director Hugh Vaughan added: “This isn’t just another ‘what if’, or one of those ‘perish the thought’ plugs for safety or insurance. What Landia have witnessed both in the UK and abroad is frightening. So far it’s just pure good fortune that serious accidents haven’t happened”.

He continued: “Apart from shouting out a suitable four-letter warning or such like, there isn’t much you can say when, with your own eyes, you see somebody perched on the edge of a high top rail of a tank whilst he’s unclipping a membrane cover that happens to be partially inflated. Or young workmen walking over the top of a partially unclipped membrane when the digester is full!

“Don’t take a chance. Consider the consequences before placing that biogas order, and make sure those you’ve chosen to work with a company that has a proper understanding of how a biogas plant works, how to maintain it, and how to do it safely”.

Read more at Landia's web site, click here.

Is it possible that Farming Industry and other AD Plant clients are not aware of their responsibilities for Health and Safety in the way in which other industries are? Managers and indeed anyone commisioning contractors to come onto the site of an Anaerobic Digestion Plant within all small businesses are responsible for ensuring that they provide all necessary H&S information to the Contractor. They must also ensure that their appointed contractors have demonstrated to them their competence for carrying out such works safely, before they award work to them.

This should include providing a Method Statement and Working Methods for the work to be done, and which must include DSEAR Compliance where any explosion risk is also potentially present. For DSEAR advice contact info@anaerobic-digestion.com and ask for DSEAR compliance information for AD Plants.

07 November 2011

Anaerobic Digestion News: Carr Farm £2.5M Green Energy Project Reaches Miles...

Anaerobic Digestion News: Carr Farm £2.5M Green Energy Project Reaches Miles...: Image: Courtesy Farmgen With all the worldwide business news being so bleak at the moment it is easy to forget that the Anaerobic Diges...

29 October 2011

Anaerobic Digestion News: Sewage Sludge Reuse: Come On OFWAT the Time for an...

Anaerobic Digestion News: Sewage Sludge Reuse: Come On OFWAT the Time for an...: By Steve Last: Renewable Energy News Beckton Sewage Works, London We know that until quite recently what to do with sewage sludge was ...

25 October 2011

Anaerobic Digestion News: Feces-Powered Motorcycle? Bullsh*t What Do You Thi...

Anaerobic Digestion News: Feces-Powered Motorcycle? Bullsh*t What Do You Thi...: Let us put the record straight! A three-wheeled motorbike that runs on the rider's feces? It sounded much too unsanitary to be true. Sure e...

18 September 2011

Five Major Reasons Why You Should Support Anerobic Digestion

Perhaps you've been in circumstances that led you to imagine that perhaps you might like to support anerobic digestion? Many individuals have gone beyond just answering yes, and have really started to take some action.



The great majority of folks just consider it quickly, then never do anything at all about it The majority never get moving because they don't know how simple it sometimes is to do. Others imagine that it would probably take a lot of work, which makes them to lose interest. Others just consider it too low a concern to be seriously worth disturbing with. Hold it! Just hang on a minute now...

Are those reasons really satisfactorily good to base a weighty decision on? Did the explanations for receive a fair hearing? Did both the Pro as well as the Con side get considered? The positive things don't appear to have been totally thought through... Learn tips to understand the intricacies of biogas production by visiting this anerobic digestion website at www.anaerobic-digestion.com.

Maybe that truly requires a tad bit more thought... May be we ought to consider say, 5 reasons explaining why maybe you need to support anerobic digestion and then work out how things might look from that point of view. To start, it is a strategy of making power from natural byproducts.

Right, I really can understand your comment this material is pungent and upsetting, whatever anybody does with it'll likely make more smells so just bury it in a rubbish heap.

I cheerfully concede that is a good point. However we need to also look at this, what could actually be better than to use it for a good purpose? Also, if the processing is done within a building and all smells are removed from the exhaust air from the building what odours could that make?

In addition, it is really important to recollect the odours which happen when the digestate is spread as compost on the land are hugely less than spreading the muck without digesting it first.

2nd , anaerobic digestion produces green energy which oes not add to global warming gases in the atmosphere. That's as the CO2 it produces is an element of the natural cycle that has carried on since the planet was made.

That is actually the rationale that, as many have mentioned it is known as "renewable" and it is also referred to as alternative power ( alterative to normal fuel power from coal and oil - normal fuel ). 3rd , the energy we make is secure. Once the plants to supply biogas are built and working no oil crisis in the Middle East or maybe war, can interrupt our energy supplies.

And such interruption sadly looks very likely to occur at this time! 4th , the pricetag can really be less to supply biogas fuel than purchasing oil at current costs. And fifth, the anaerobic digestion plants themselves provide roles for the area folk to run them and to maintain them.

Now, take a quick look at all those reasons and evaluate them. You'll be in a position to observe that a forceful case can be made for beginning to look for approaches to support anerobic digestion. Stop for one minute and consider all that. Do you not think that perhaps, just maybe, you actually should support anerobic digestion?

24 August 2011

What Is The Likely Future Scale Of Replenishable Energy In Climate Change Mitigation?

Like them
or not, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has done more thinking about climate change and how society might change its habits to avoid the worst effects of rising temperatures than any other group of people, so I would suggest that the Anaerobic Digestion Community should take note of what the IPCC publishes.

That's why I was interested when on 9 May this year, the IPCC released a special report on the role of renewable energy in mitigating climate change. In this article, which is based on an interview with Georgie Weedon and published in Nature Climate Change (Vo. 1, June 2011), we have summarised the notes which were published when he spoke to Ottmar Edenhofer, chair of the working group behind the report, about its key findings and implications.

The report was commissioned by a number of world governments who asked the Intergovernmental Panel on Global Warming to offer an evaluation of the potential role of renewables in offsetting global warming. The report investigates the role of numerous technologies like wind, biomass, solar and geothermal energy in the worldwide energy mix, and it also examines the amount to which the deployment of replenishable energy is consistent with energy security, climate policy, and also with accelerating human development, particularly in developing nations.

The main conclusions of the report are that by the middle of the century, the proportion of renewables in the worldwide energy mix may be from thirty percent to round about eighty percent. Also, though renewables will play a crucial role, there's more than one way to achieve a low-carbon economy. The report formulates alternative paths to make certain shareholders and policymakers actually understand the choices.

It proves that improving energy security and human development, and implementing climate policy are all consistent with impressively large scale deployment of renewable power. But, quite naturally it's up to our statesmen and shareholders in a large number of businesses worldwide to choose what extent they develop the potential identified.

Biomass is considered by some as of arguable benefit, due to the demand it places on land use. To what degree the usage of biomass is supportable is a contrary issue.

I suppose that most of all I was disappointed that in this discussion and presumably therefore within the report as well, there was no distinction made between anaerobic digestion of waste biomass, and biomass from food crops. It was disappointing that the point was not made that a lot of biomass would come from what have previously be considered to be waste materials such as manures and organic sludges. I fail to see what there can be any argument about the undoubted benefit from producing “renewables” from waste organic matter.

One critical element in deciding the role of biomass energy will be expectancies and the prophecies for future rural productiveness. With reasonable land-use management and with a fair increase in rural productivity we will be able to quite definitely afford a bit more biomass use without damaging biodiversity and food security.
The report is explicit about these underlying unknowns create such a wide band of predicted utilization and plans to raise the profile about how biomass may be employed in a viable way, within the stakeholder community. Currently bio-energy use is at an especially low level and it can be increased in a supportable way. For appropriate development it needs policy and reasonable management practices to be developed in the rural sector.

Only 14% of global electricity production comes from nuclear power, and many established bodies, eg the World Energy Agency and even the IPCC, say that the proportion of nuclear power for electricity production might decline over a period of time. This suggests that almost all of the electricity production will come from alternative sources like coal, oil and gas, and also from renewables. One critical point is that we've got a lot of coal, oil and gas underground, and without a price on carbon or climate policy we'll use coal. This can increase emissions around the world. This is what we are expecting and thus a mix of renewable power policy and climate policy is needed to reduce emissions and to provide secure and supportable energy.

The report implies that global warming itself can impede the capability for clean energy - by changing wind speeds, as an example.

The report covers the genuine “levelized” value of energy, and the IPCC have considered 164 eventualities to show the potential range of chances. That's due to the fact that they wanted to show more than one pathway to clean energy, to open the space for policymakers to work in.

Solar and biomass are the biggest current sources of replenishable energy. Which may or may not make them the most promising contenders in the future worldwide energy mix as the future it is completely dependent on how policy evolves. Biomass has a crucial part to play if you want to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions, it's a mitigation option. But if there isn't any climate policy, the contribution of biomass would be smaller. Solar electricity has the biggest technical potential.

The largest obstructions to making the switch to replenishable energy are now diminishing. In the past, the expenses for renewable operators were huge.

Regardless of whether you remove the consequences of assistance, most green energy sources were simply not competitive during the past. The most important stumbling blocks now are the issues of integration and the expenses. Also, the deployment of renewables is dependent on having a strong climate policy. It's important to make money from capital in the market when there's a trustworthy carbon price, investment straight away becomes competitive.

The report shows that the developing countries are developing as world figureheads in renewable power generation.

The IPCC Special Report on Renewable Power Sources and Global Warming Mitigation was released in May 2011 and is obtainable from http://srren.org

Georgie Weedon is a journalist and communications specialist based in London, UK. e-mail: georgie [[@]] gingerwinkmedia.cc4

Investment In Waste Infrastructure Creates More Jobs And Saves More Carbon Than Investment In Wind Farms

The ESA, the voice of the waste and resource management sector, today (Monday) publishes a new report quantifying the economic growth potential of the waste management sector and comparing its impact on jobs and carbon emissions with that of wind farms.

Matthew Farrow, ESA Director of Policy, said:
“The Government has been overly focused on high profile green sectors such as wind power and electric vehicles. Important as these may be, with the economy stumbling and having just adopted very tough carbon budgets, the Government is missing a trick if it does not act to realise the potential of the waste management sector.
Pound for pound, investment in waste infrastructure creates more jobs and saves more carbon emissions than investment in wind farms. Tomorrow’s Waste Review announcement must show the Government recognises the potential of the sector to deliver real ‘green growth.’”
The report, entitled Green growth: don’t waste the opportunity’ compares the jobs created and emissions saved by a £1bn investment in a representative ‘basket’ of waste management infrastructure with the same amount invested in onshore wind turbines. It finds that the waste infrastructure investment creates over four times more jobs (3,000 compared to 650), as well as saving much more carbon emissions (4 million tonnes compared to 1.4 million tonnes).

The report also quantifies the economic impact of the waste infrastructure investment needed to deliver the UK’s targets for waste management enshrined in EU law:

• Total investment needed by 2020: £7.5bn to £20bn (depending on mix of waste technologies deployed)
• Permanent £2bn increase in GDP
• 20,000 construction jobs supported during construction
• 25,000 permanent jobs created in the facilities

The ESA is calling on the Government, in the Waste Review, to put in place the investment framework that will enable the waste management sector to go forward with its investment plans. This framework must include:

• A clear place for energy from waste in energy policy
• A more predictable planning system for waste infrastructure
• A crackdown on illegal waste businesses which undermine the investments of responsible firms.

See more at the ESA website.

20 August 2011

How Much does an Anaerobic Digestion Plant Cost?

We are often asked how much an Anaerobic Digestion Plant costs, and of course, a plant can cost "not much", or "a great deal of money" depending on the scale of the plant, and the degreee of sophistication built into it. plus many other factors. That's not a very helpful answer, is it? So, how about the following:

Capital Cost of an On-farm Anaerobic Digester

The capital cost of an on-farm anaerobic digester ranges from approximately $400,000 to $5,000,000, depending on the size of the operation and technology used, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency AgSTAR. An average on-farm anaerobic digestion plant costs around $1.2 million. The cost of a unit varies depending on its size, design, and features. 

The type of anaerobic digester required for your operation, and thus the cost, varies depending on technical factors and the number of livestock. Similarly, most digesters are somewhat customised by the provider, so capital outlay as well as operating and maintenance costs vary. 

When calculating the cost of an anaerobic digestion system, annual operation and maintenance costs — repairs, parts, labour, and insurance — must also be considered. via https://www.epa.gov/agstar

What makes this question of cost even more difficult is that the developers of these plants quite reasonably, consider their costs to be commercially sensitive information and rarely publish information on their costs.

The UK government's waste technology development encouraging quango "WRAP", has done a good job in recent years by publishing a comparative table of the range of costs for different technologies to "dispose" of waste for the different solid waste treatment technologies, but their pricing suffers like the rest of us from the dearth of data, and their price guidance is based on just a few examples.

Case Study: Cost Information for a Large Council Anaerobic Anaerobic Digestion Plant

That is why it was good to see that the Fife Council, Scotland, which is seeking to develop new biowaste processing infrastructure on land under its control at its existing Lochhead Landfill site near Dunfermline, has published the contract award price (in the Award Notice), for their new plant on the EU's Official "Tenders online database" (TEDs).

Meme about Anaerobic Digestion Plant Cost.

The price they give is admittedly for their very site-specific solution to building an AD Plant to meet the needs of the local community, as part of Scotland's Zero Waste to landfill targets, so it is only typical of this type of plant.

The proposed facility will utilise AD as a central component of its processing technology and will have the capacity to process a minimum of 43,000 tonnes per annum of source segregated biowaste feedstocks (comprising food waste, garden waste, and commercial organic wastes). We are also told that the plant will also be designed to maximise the methane content of the biogas generated by the process, for subsequent energy recovery.

The new facility will be operated by Council's own staff and will provide facilities for feedstock reception, storage, handling, processing, and management (including maturation, refinement, and storage prior to export) of the process by-products, which will include digestate and biogas energy.

The plant design must is required to meet the technical standard for processing Category 3 materials under the applicable Animal By-Products Regulations in Scotland and must achieve a digestate standard that as a minimum, complies with the quality requirements of BSI PAS:110 Specification for Digestate.

The successful contractor Luddon has been engaged by the Council to carry out the design, construction, commissioning, and performance testing of this new biowaste plant and this will include specialist training of nominated Council staff in AD process operation.

The Contract Award cost is £14, 980 463,01 GBP excluding VAT - which it is understood that the Council being a public body, would not normally be required to pay, so the predicted price of an Anaerobic Digestion Plant is in this example (not including running costs), in round figures - £15 million GBP.

We hope that through reading this case study we have helped you to find out how much an anaerobic digestion plant costs.

Find out more about the Contractor at http://www.luddon.co.uk

07 August 2011

Biffa Awards AD Ground Breaking Digestate Recycling Contract to 4Recycling

20 July 2011, original source: edie newsroom

The edie Newsroom has reported that Biffa, the operator of the soon to be fully commissioned Anaerobic Digestion Plant at the Poplars Landfill, has awarded the contract to manage and market their AD digestate to to 4Recycling.


This is dubbed as a recycling contract, but many view AD digestate as a product in its own right.

4Recycling has been awarded the 3-year duration contract by Biffa to recycle their digestate from a their anaerobic digestion (AD) facility at Poplars, near Cannock in Staffordshire.

Production of digestate from the facility, which has the capacity to process 120,000 tonnes of waste per annum, is likely to commence later in the year.

The digestate will be produced to PAS 110 standard and 4Recycling will provide a technical, transport and recycling service for both solids and liquids working with local contractors and landowners to provide a continuous service for the plant.

4R Group's managing director, Mike Holt, is reported by edie.net to have said: "We are really pleased to be supporting Biffa on this important contract."

"Our team have decades of experience in developing recycling outlets for organic materials, delivering huge carbon savings by substituting out fossil-derived fertilizers in agriculture or bringing brownfield land back into use."

Read the full article at edie.net here

29 July 2011

Anaerobic Digestion Makes Renewable Energy from Rubbish

An Anaerobic Digestive system which is appropriate for processing mixed waste has been developed from technology first developed in Israel. It recovers resources from waste while making renewable power and helping to reduce carbon emissions. The ArrowBio process has been developed thru a sequence of pilot and demonstration plants to a level prepared to be used commercially in numerous nations according to its developer, and is, they ssay, most fittingly described as a water-based mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facility, with energy recovery. ArrowBio's process has been developed in precisely the way that it can either be used as a stand-alone solution or together with other technologies.




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As an example, the supplier says that it can be built inside viable energy parks to offer a power source for the park alongside recycled materials for further processing. The recycled materials are re-used as feedstock by the other enterprises based in the park to make a spread of products. 2 Stage Anaerobic Digestor ArrowBio starts out to entirely recover and wash the reusable components of the waste, so it should be favoured by environmental groups which have a tendency to object to alternative processes which handle mixed waste, like incineration, on the proposition the capability of incineration to handle mixed wastes decreases the prerequisite to split and recycle, and therefore the influenza gas can contain noxious chemicals. The discussion is also that incineration makes it too straightforward to neglect recycling, so it shouldn't be used.


None of these beefs apply to Anaerobic Digestion. The process is stated by the company to have at its core a two stage anaerobic digestor that has been optimised for better energy yield than competing systems, from each unit mass of organic matter processed. Removing the maximum available gas yield, is in truth a stated first purpose of the ArrowBio processs. This is recognized as good policy environmentally, and naturally the gas and, or electricity generates cash, which helps to pay for the upkeep of the plant. The process is composed of 2 distinct yet integrated parts : a "front-end" wet Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) and a "back-end" advanced anaerobic digestion system.


The wet MRF, Arrow-Bio states, mixes standard solid waste handling technology together with liquid and slurry pumping, water based processing helps, passive separation, and cleaning of recyclables and their automated conveyance round the facility, while also suppressing odours and dust. The wet MRF cleans, and recovers, ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals and plastics parted by type. These are then sorted into recycled materials of varied grades that may be sold right into the recycling market. A "hydrocrusher" has additionally been successfully developed by ArrowBio, the company says, which is part of the wet ( anaerobic ) process. In effect the bio-degradable waste is jetted with high pressure jets of water thru a sequence of pipes. Food and paper is ripped to shreds, significantly rocketing the surface area available to biological action, while at the same time holding the organic chemicals in a watery solution.


Any waste that's not recoverable or that's not sent thru the anaerobic digesters exits from the ArrowBio facility as a residual waste, and is typically present in only in minor quantities, they say. The 1st part of ArrowBio's anaerobic digestion process is often known as the acidogenic stage, and the 2nd is a methanogenic stage.


The biomass achieves perfect potency compared to single tank AD, they say, and includes optimization of pH levels, temperature and residence times is attained instantly. The plant has claimed low emissions. The ArrowBio design wishes for no expensive gas washing stage, we are told, and the principally water borne method doesn't produce the wearisome ( dust, odour, etc ) emissions experienced from other processes. Recognition of the supportability of Anaerobic Digestion is rising fast. Learn more about this technology for the future at the Anaerobic Digestion internet site, and more on the ArrowBio AD Process.


Read more about the AD process now. Visit the ArrowBio article at Anaerobic Digestion.Com..


There are also essential details about the top dog breeds and many other canine articles at: The Dog Breeds Compendium.

21 July 2011

Arla Foods and Xergi Progress with Largest Biogas Plant in Denmark

The ambitious project to establish a new biogas plant to supply Arla’s production at Videbæk, Denmark, is now entering a new phase. Arla Foods amba and Xergi A/S have agreed to continue their partnership on the project which is yet to be described in detail and obtain official approval.

Arla Foods amba and Xergi A/S have established a basis for decisions for the construction of a biogas plant which is to supply the energy-hungry processes at Danmarks Protein (DP) and Arinco with biogas instead of natural gas. The plant will be capable of reducing CO2 emissions from production. The plant will produce 16 million cubic metres of methane from agricultural animal manures and waste products from Arla’s own production.

The plant will be the largest biogas plant in Denmark.

It has been agreed that Xergi A/S will handle project development, construction, operation and maintenance of the new biogas plant. Povl Krogsgaard, Senior Vice President at Arla Foods, is delighted that work is progressing on the project and sees it as a natural part of Arla’s development:

“The initiative should be seen as part of Arla Foods’ climate strategy where our ambition is to reduce our CO2 emissions by 25% by 2020. We hope that the initiative will benefit the climate as well as farmers and investors. It is, however, a prerequisite that the right framework is in place for biogas which we are now able to clarify as we have a more precise basis for decisions. Until further notice, we see this as a very positive step on the way.”

Jørgen Ballermann, Managing Director of Xergi A/S, is delighted that Xergi has been chosen as Arla Foods partner. “The project supports our strategy of being a leading supplier of biogas technology for the processing and exploitation of animal fertiliser. The project will be of a size and importance that will provide a benchmark for the industry both nationally and internationally.”

Ove Kloch, Chairman of the Board of Xergi A/S, is also looking forward to the partnership which is in line with Denmark's environmental ambitions.

”We hope that, with this initiative, we will help to push developments in the biogas industry in Denmark in the right direction and contribute to the government's ambitions of using 50% of animal manures in Denmark for biogas.”

It is expected that official processing and project development will take approximately two years and that the plant will be ready for biogas production by 2015.

See original press release at Xergi's website here.

21 June 2011

Gas Data Clicks Ahead with Anaerobic Digester Gas Analysis and Control

Gas Data has announced that it has developed a simple but highly effective self-maintenance Click System to give users greater flexibility over traditional fixed-unit gas analyser systems.

Designed to significantly reduce downtime and costly annual service  visits, Click allows basic operational maintenance to be conveniently carried out by any qualified electrician.

They point out that a typical Click system installation contains all the necessary component parts such as gas analysers, pumps, filters and switching valves that have a working or calibration life, and would possibly need to be changed during traditional service visits. Individual Click modules can easily be removed for maintenance. Valve and pump modules are supplied with status indicator lights and manual over-ride switches for ease of  commissioning and fault finding.

Alongside this new system Gas Data\'s new innovative BOS Biogas oil system has been developed; treating only the vital 5% of gas which enters the crankcase it they say that it combats the corrosive effects of hydrogen sulphide in biogas. They inform us that recently an independent 3,000 hour trial showed cost savings of 39% on engine oil consumption and downtime.

In partnership to these systems the GFM400 series of portable gas analysers provide support and are vital in assisting with the fixed systems, all of which are MCERT approved. The GFM416 is currently unique among portable gas analysers as it is the only MCERT approved Biogas analyser on the market.

Read more about the Gas Data Click System here.

17 May 2011

Landfill Gas and Renewables Company Infinis Awards Star Net Geomatics with National Framework Agreement for Geospatial Services

Infinis awards Star Net Geomatics with National Framework Agreement for Geospatial Services.

Infinis, a UK leading renewable energy generator, has awarded Star Net Geomatics with a national framework agreement for the provision of Geospatial Survey services to its entire landfill gas (LFG) UK sites portfolio. This contract includes topographic, setting out and laser surveys for all its LFG portfolio and also supplying services for its onshore wind and hydro portfolio (a total of 140 operating onshore wind, hydro and LFG plants). As part of this agreement, Star Net Geomatics will also provide a bespoke Star Net (www.starnetisite.com), an online asset management facility which will host all data collected during the survey allowing Infinis’ Engineers and site operatives to access and manage site information at any time and from anywhere in the country.

Duane Longthorn, Procurement Manager, says: “Our thorough and extensive tender process demonstrated that Star Net not only met our expectations but exceeded them with a pro-active and innovating offer including management and control of a database to ensure our information is accessible, central and live. I look forward to developing our relationship into a true partnership that delivers a quality, reliable and cost effective process which provides added value for both parties.”

Douglas Brown, CEO of Star Net Geomatics, states: “I am delighted that our long-term relationship with Infinis, combined with our extensive Geospatial expertise and innovative development within this field, has led to this significant award. This project will provide valuable support at a time when Infinis needs an innovative asset management tool to integrate all of its current sites into a comprehensive data system. I am sure the outcome of this project will prove a successful partnership between the two companies and I look forward to working with the Infinis Team.”

In the year to 31 March 2010 the Infinis (www.infinis.com) group of companies produced approximately 10% of the UK’s renewable power. It operates a growing portfolio of 140 onshore wind, hydro and LFG plants across the UK, with a total generating capacity of 534MW, and employs approximately 390 people.
Star Net Geomatics Ltd (www.starnetgeomatics.com) is a UK-based company that provides a wide range of surveying, inspection and design services worldwide. Star Net’s Geomatics department has been working for over 10 years on Renewables projects and has Framework Agreement currently in place with major consultant and developers in the UK such as Scottish and Southern Energy to provide Geospatial Survey services.

Read more here.

10 May 2011

Area company entering the Third Frontier - Zanesville Times Recorder

NEWTON TOWNSHIP -- Alternative energy is starting to get more attention.


And with the influx of Third Frontier and federal stimulus funds, it's starting to help reshape Ohio's economy.




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Quasar Energy, for example, received millions of dollars in assistance to build a test bed for its biogas process at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster, which in turn aided development of the BioHio Research Center there.


That led to the construction of biogas plants along U.S. 22 near East Fultonham, then in Columbus.


Quasar uses anaerobic digesters to cook down biosolids, such as fruits and vegetables delivered by companies such as Wal-Mart. Bacteria break down the waste products and the methane gas produced is used to generate electricity.


"We aren't building biogas plants. We're building an industry," Quasar Energy President Mel Kurtz said. "Over the past five years, we have worked to transfer European anaerobic digestion technology by sourcing and engineering specialized components from local suppliers. Today, most of the components used in our systems are sourced within Ohio."


"As we continue to grow this industry across the United States, the demand will increase for these Ohio components."


That means jobs for people like Chase Smith and Chase Warne, former classmates at Maysville High School.


The two operate Quasar's Zanesville Energy plant, and their youth -- both are 20-year-olds -- goes hand-in-hand with an alternative energy sector in its infancy.


"This is the future right here," Smith said, while watching a load of feedstock being delivered to the plant. "I can't think of anything else I'd like to be doing than being in this business. This is where it's at. A lot of younger kids like me are looking into careers. We're looking forward to what it could be."


Smith pointed out only 15 percent of the electricity generated at the local plant is used to run the plant; the remainder is diverted to American Electric Power's grid.


"When we're running at about 500 kilowatt hours, I guess we can supply enough electricity to light 300 homes here in Muskingum County," he said.


In addition, construction of facilities such as the Zanesville Anaerobic Digester System directly impact more than 50 Ohio companies, said Quasar Spokesperson Caroline Henry. That includes component manufacturers, fabricators, suppliers and contractors.


"These projects create real jobs, not only at the site as plant operators, but also within Quasar and the Ohio companies we have partnered with to build this industry," she said.


It's also opening the door for potential new industries, Kurtz said.


"The real opportunity is the generation of motor vehicle fuel," he said. "Quasar has plans to install CNG (compressed natural gas) fueling stations at all of our systems, including a public access station in Zanesville."


Smith looks forward to that and more expansion at the Zanesville site.


"I think we'll have another digester here eventually," he said. "We've got about 100 acres out here we could develop. If we start getting more product delivered and demand goes, and the public becomes more aware of what a place like this can do, I think we'll keep expanding."


View the original article here

09 May 2011

Biomass tour showcases three different biomass systems - Biomass Power and Thermal

Weaving through the six enormous anaerobic digester tanks at Anheuser-Busch’s complex in St. Louis, Ed Randazzo proudly pointed out the lack of foul smells. Randazzo is an operator at the Anheuser-Busch Bio-Energy Recovery System (BERS), just down the street from the company’s brewery and bottle factory, and the first of three different tour locations coinciding with Biomass Power & Thermal’s International Biomass Conference & Expo being held from May 2-5.



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The digester consumes effluent from the beer-making process, among other wastes. Tour participants got to view the biomass used in the anaerobic digestion process through a microscope, almost making it possible to catch a glimpse of the tiny microbes that live on the granular biomass and carry out the process. The system takes in about 3 million gallons of wastewater per day and reduces the facilities’ organic waste by about 80 percent. Material screened out of the wastewater is sold to a family horse radish farm in southern Illinois. The digesters produce about 900,000 square feet of biogas per day, used to generate process heat for the company’s plant.

Randazzo explained that the microbes reproduce and grow quickly, making it necessary to get rid of some of the digester biomass after its depth in the tanks reaches around 30 feet. Twenty-five is ideal, he added.

Randazzo also took tour guests past the evaporation coolers, designed to keep temperatures in the process below 103 degrees Fahrenheit. The microbes can survive lower temperatures and the coldest conditions they’ve worked under is about 85 degrees F.

At the end of the Anheuser-Busch visit, BBI International, publisher of Biomass Power & Thermal, surprised its tour guests with a few cases of beer reserved for the end of the day.

The next stop was the IESI MO Champ Landfill and while BBI didn’t provide complementary bags of trash, the 254-acre site proved to be an exciting location. Because of constant truck traffic, tour guests saw the landfill through the bus windows. A landfill gas recovery operation at the site provides renewable electricity for two asphalt plants, a commercial greenhouse, a concrete facility and a local high school. Plans for expansion of the landfill gas utilization system are slated for operation in August 2012 and will be carried out by electric company Ameren Missouri. The expansion will increase electricity production to about 15 megawatts (MW) and to about 60 MW in 2025, the landfill’s tour guide said

The site also serves as a limestone mine and one of its two landfills sits at the bottom of a 250-foot deep mining trench. The bus crossed a one-way bridge before driving partway into the enormous hole for tour attendees to view a landfill only partially full. A large portion of the black ground liner remained exposed with massive trucks pushing around the garbage piles.  

On the way off the site, the tour bus was required to take the same precautions as all other exiting traffic to minimize the amount of sediments and mud removed from the location. It entails driving through a strong sprinkler-type mechanism that essentially creates a white wall of recycled water.

Last, the group stopped at Innovative Energy Inc. to see its 2 MW model of its gasifier in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton. The system can gasify any carbon-based fuel, including wood, municipal solid waste, ag residue, energy crops, plastics, tires, shingles and paper. During the tour, though, the company was experimenting with some switchgrass pellets. CEO Glenn Foy explained that many biomass projects fall through because of feedstock issues. “We thought fuel flexibility was critical,” he said.

The site also has its own briquetting process and Foy displayed a jar full of biochar that he compared to tiny BBs. The gasifier itself is quite small, at about 4 feet in diameter and 15 feet tall. A yellow rope separated the tour guests from the gasifier’s processes, but several company employees spoke to the crowd about the system using diagrams and flow charts to illustrate its functions. Because it is a distributed energy system it doesn’t require transmission lines like wind, coal and hydropower to get the power from where it’s produced to where it will be used, they said.

Innovative Energy was founded in 2001 and has 27 worldwide patents, said Jim Neumeier, vice president of business development. The privately funded company completed its research and development phase at the end of 2009 and since 2010 has been marketing its technology, concentrating on five sectors: municipalities, military, international, commercial and industrial facilities that have waste streams.

Driving back to the city, tour guests discussed the compelling aspects of all the projects and wondered about the proprietary elements of Innovative Energy’s system and what might set it apart from other gasifiers. The company is also an exhibitor at the International Biomass Conference & Expo. For information on the event, click here.


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08 May 2011

Councillors urged to reject food waste plant - The Surrey Herald

May 3 2011 By Carl Gavaghan

Oxfordshire-based waste company Agrivert has submitted plans to Surrey County Council for an 'anaerobic digestion plant' in Lyne.




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RUNNYMEDE borough councillors have been urged by their officers to object to plans for an 'anaerobic digestion plant' to be built in Lyne.


The plant could be built on a site where proposals for a giant waste burner were abandoned in 2009 after objections from councillors and residents.


Oxfordshire-based waste company Agrivert has submitted plans to Surrey County Council for the plant on land adjacent to Trumps Farm, in Kitsmead Lane.


A report that will go before RBC's planning committee on Wednesday, May 11 states that councillors should object to the proposals because: “The applicants have failed to demonstrate very special circumstances to allow inappropriate development within the Green Belt either that there is sufficient local need for the facility, not that there are not more appropriately located sited for the proposed facility.”


If given the go-ahead the company claims that the digester could take up to 48,500 tonnes of waste a year, which is less then a third of the rubbish that Surrey County Council planned for a giant incinerator on the same site.


An AD plant disposes of waste biologically by treating it with micro-organisms in an oxygen-free environment.


Harry Waters, commercial director of Agrivert, told the Surrey Herald that such digesters will become commonplace in the county.


"Surrey has a lot of waste and will need four or five of these plants to handle it all. There is a lot of commercial waste produced in the county, the majority of which is exported, which is obviously not environmentally-friendly."


The final decision on the plans will be taken by Surrey County Council later this year.


View the original article here

Countrystyle Recycling purchases Halstead Renewable Power Project - Invest in UK

Countrystyle Recycling Ltd recently acquired the Halstead Renewable Power Project (HRPP) from Glendale Power, and will now forge ahead with the development of an Anaerobic Digestion Plant at the Essex site, for which full planning permission has been granted.

The Halstead Project is an exciting new development for Countrystyle, a renewable power plant that will run on locally collected food waste to produce renewable electricity sufficient to power 3000 homes and enough heat for the future expansion of the adjacent industrial estate.

The project will also provide soil conditioner suitable for improving local clay soils and a greenhouse gas reduction to more than offset the total output of all of the town’s cars.

All of these outputs will come from materials that would otherwise go to waste, either via landfill or incineration.

Jeremy Elden, Managing Director of Glendale Power, said Countrystyle is an acknowledged leader in Organics Recycling and Glendale Power is looking forward to working together on this progressive scheme.

Elden reiterated that Glendale will be retained as a partner in the project, and will combine the two firms’ strengths to develop an AD plant that sets the highest standards.

Mat Stewart, Managing Director of Countrystyle, said Countrystyle believes that Anaerobic Digestion has the potential to deliver substantial environmental benefit by closing the loop in returning nutrients to the soil and recovering the energy from materials that would otherwise go to waste.

Detailed designs for the development will now be created, with construction beginning in early 2012, ready for the commissioning of the plant in late 2012.

Countrystyle Group consists of several integrated companies working in complete harmony to provide a comprehensive range of waste management & recycling services. From providing a skip hire service to one-off domestic customers to dealing with complete waste streams from large multinational companies, the capabilities of the Group are constantly expanding throughout the public and private sector.

Capable of handling and processing almost all forms of waste including WEEE and Hazardous Waste, Countrystyle tailors the most effective strategy for each business, offering a fully auditable approach which complies with all EU and Government waste legislation.

Countrystyle operates a network of its own waste transfer stations and materials recovery facilities, where collected waste and recyclables are managed by expert operatives and customer deliveries are accepted directly for treatment.

Countrystyle also operates specialist facilities for plasterboard recycling and wood recycling.

2nd May 2011


View the original article here

07 May 2011

Green: Waste-to-Electricity Plan Draws Mixed Response in N.Y. - New York Times (blog)

One of the new initiatives included in the recently updated version of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s environmental agenda — a plan to solicit proposals to try out new technologies that convert garbage into heat and electricity –- is drawing mixed reviews from environmental groups.




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Waste-to-energy technologies are widely used in Europe, but have not caught on in a big way in this country, where most trash still goes to landfills. The Bloomberg administration wants to experiment with two specific technologies — anaerobic digestion and thermal processing – to convert solid waste into either electricity or fuel to reduce the use of landfills and the costs associated with transporting waste to them by truck and rail.


Anaerobic digestion uses microorganisms to break down waste and produce a biogas that can be combusted to generate electricity. Thermal processing uses heat to produce a synthetic gas and produce electricity.


Marcia Bystryn, executive director of the New York League of Conservation Voters, called waste-to-energy plants a plus that produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions than the current disposal system. “And you have this twofer,” she added. “You’re creating energy and disposing of waste.”


But groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council say that waste-to-electricity systems are not the best use of resources in New York City, given that it has a recycling rate of less than 20 percent. In Europe, they note, countries like Denmark and Germany that use the technology burn only the trash that cannot be recycled.

“Right now the focus of the Sanitation Department should be on resurrecting the city’s recycling program, finding better ways to handle food and yard waste and making the trash collection system more cost-effective and efficient,” said Eric A. Goldstein, a senior attorney with the council. “They have their hands full.”


PlaNYC, as the city’s environmental plan is known, states that the technologies will be part of a strategy that also envisions “robust” recycling programs. But one program the city has been hoping to expand, the recycling of plastics, may have to wait. Citing limited markets for certain types of plastic, the plan says the city will revisit the expansion of plastics designated for recycling “as markets evolve.”


View the original article here

06 May 2011

Digester Gas Engine: What Is It and What Are Its Benefits?


A digester gas engine-also referred to as a biogas engine-is an engine that turns natural gases produced by an anaerobic digester into electricity. Medium to large size structures that mix biodegradable wastes (e.g. sewage and food waste) to release their natural gasses, anaerobic digesters typically contain four levels on their interior: a mixing zone where most solid waste is slowly churned by a mixing device, a sludge zone, a liquid zone, and biogas zone at the top. Biogases are taken from the top of a digester and put through treatment that makes them "digestible" for a gas engine. Below, we look at the potential benefits of biogas production for entities that are able to take advantage of the process.

Elimination of gas bills

Perhaps the most obvious benefit of biogas production is the elimination of a facility's utility gas bill, as an anaerobic digester supplies all the gas a facility needs, and then some. Unlike utility power rates, the materials used to produce biogases are generally inexpensive and tend to remain at set prices.

Elimination of electric bills

When a facility turns digester gas into electricity, it may be able to eliminate its electric bill as well. This is often the case for two types of facilities: primary digesters, who have an ample supply of organic waste as a result of their line of work, and small to midsize facilities that have an adequate sized digestion engine and anaerobic digester.

Increased energy budget

By eliminating or reducing their annual gas/electric bills, facilities have more room in their energy budget. In some instances, facilities use their utility savings to invest in energy efficient technology that reduces their gas/electricity consumption, thus increasing the availability of biogases.

Opportunity to sell electricity

When facilities produce more electricity than they need, they can sell it to a utility provider for a preset price per kilowatt-hour, which varies by state. Depending on the amount of electricity produced, this opportunity could yield thousands of dollars a year.

Increased eco friendliness

The more a facility reduces its commercial energy consumption, the smaller its carbon footprint becomes. An anaerobic digester allows facilities to reduce or eliminate their reliance on utility power, thus increasing their eco friendliness.

Support for emergency power systems

Biogas is an ideal source of power for both gas powered generators and generators that run on a mixture of diesel and natural gas via a Bi-Fuel system.

When is biogas production a good idea?

Whether to pursue biogas production involves several considerations, particularly: the cost of implementing an anaerobic digester, the cost of delivering organic waste material if none is readily available, the cost of waste material if none is available, and the return on investment (ROI) of the project. When considering these and other aspects of biogas production, it helps to dialogue with entities that have insight into the advantages and disadvantages of the process for specific types of facilities, such as a generator services provider that specializes in digester gas engine servicing and implementation.








In my research on generator services, I've studied the cost benefits of implementing a digester gas engine.


How to Secure Long Term Contracts to Recycle Food Waste and be Profitable - San Francisco Chronicle (press release)

How to Secure Long Term Contracts to Recycle Food


Robin Sweere, Operation and Sourcing Manager at Quest Recycling, presented to a large crowd of food recycling operators, renewable energy scholars and EPA representatives how Quest Recycling successfully manages food waste recycling for its customers across all 50 states.




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(Video is about eWaste and is not connected directly to the text.)


"Quest Recycling is at the forefront of a new industry that allows customers to now view traditional waste as a resource", Robin said. "Today, organics materials (your produce, bakery, deli and dairy products) can effectively be recycled into nutrient rich composts or animal feed faster and cheaper than ever."


Robin explained why anaerobic digestion is of highest use. "Anaerobic digesters present low liability to the generator, they accept stream with meat, dairy and post-consumer by products, and generate renewable energy credits." "In addition, anaerobic digesters offer increased feedstock, a possible alternative source of revenue and increased gas production."


"You have to consider the pros and cons of long term contracts, both from the hauler and the digester's perspectives. For the Digester, a long term agreement will help secure financing, will facilitate the recipe quality insurance process and will ease the traffic patterns. However, you could miss on additional revenue should the market value increase and you will have to go through a lengthier contract process."


Quest Recycling understands well the needs of both the digesters and the haulers. Quest Recycling designs contract with balance clauses to help haulers and digesters achieve the highest yield.


About Quest Recycling LLC


Quest Recycling Services, www.questrecycling.com, is one of the nation's fastest growing full service recycling companies. Quest Recycling, which is based out of Frisco, Texas manages the recycling effort of over 7,500 locations nationwide.


Quest's customers span from automotive to industrial, fleet, municipalities, hospitality and foodservice industries. Quest also partners with www.earth911.com, providing consumers with information about recycling and local community resources.


Quest's provides nation-wide, one-stop recycling solutions for all waste streams to both companies and communities.


View the original article here

05 May 2011

Kent could get new biomass and anaerobic digestion facilities - Guttridge

Anaerobic digesters for food waste and biomass boilers could soon be providing Kent with green energy, if new plans are approved.


Proposals for a 300-acre green energy park near Sandwich have been submitted to Kent County Council, ThisIsKent.co.uk reports.




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The plans include biomass facilities, as well as a recycling centre for household, commercial and industrial waste and timber.

Gary Lever, development director for BFL Management Ltd, which has drawn up the designs for site owner Richborough A Ltd, says the proposals constitute a "world class" energy park.


"At this stage we are very keen to ensure our plans and aspirations for the site are drawn up in conjunction with Kent County Council and the local authorities, Thanet and Dover, as well as local residents and interest groups," he told the news provider.


This follows news that opposition to the proposed construction of a biomass plant has prompted a review into the plans by site owner Helius Energy.


Typical Guttridge equipment used in the biomass industry includes:


Conveyors – screw conveyors – chain conveyors – belt conveyors


James Smith
ADNFCR-2798-ID-800517162-ADNFCR


View the original article here

On-Farm Anaerobic Digester Trends In The United States - BioCycle magazine

BioCycle April 2011, Vol. 52, No. 4, p. 36 AgSTAR point person ruminates on the successes, challenges and future of livestock methane as viable renewable energy source.


By Dan Sullivan


U.S. EPAs AgSTAR is a voluntary outreach and educational program promoting the recovery and use of methane from livestock manure. EPA and USDA whose Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and other mechanisms has helped fund on-farm biogas projects, have been working together since AgSTAR's inception in 1993 and in May 2010 signed an interagency agreement to promote digester systems nationwide. AgSTAR is also working closely with the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy and its Dairy Power Program, which signed a Memorandum of Understanding with USDA in December 2009 with the intent of helping reduce the carbon footprint of the dairy industry by 25 percent by 2020.


BioCycle caught up with AgSTAR National Program Manager Chris Voell just as his office had finished crunching the latest numbers related to trends in on-farm anaerobic digestion (AD) systems in the United States, AD Trends at a Glance). Voell offered some perspective behind the statistics regarding what is driving the growth of AD in America. In a nutshell, he says, if we want to realize the environmental and economic benefits that digester systems can bring, business models must be developed to make the projects viable (e.g., revenue, financing), a more conducive environment to attract investors must be created and energy policy has to be altered to be more supportive of smaller, distributed generation projects like AD. While government incentives and private investment are helping to drive growth, a handful of states are demonstrating how visionary policy is perhaps what is needed most.


"You look at places like Vermont and a few other states with policies and financial incentives that allow for investment in farm-based projects, and that?s where you find the digester system growth," he says. Voell points to volunteer programs such as Cow Power, a Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS) voluntary program that allows customers to purchase electricity generated from dairy digesters at a premium (the generating farms receive 4 cents per kilowatt hour if they participate in the program). He also touted the Vermont-based standard offer program, which guarantees 14 to 16 cents per kWh to participating projects. Vermont also has net metering rules that allow projects to flourish on smaller operations.


Programs such as these, Voell says, allow citizens the opportunity to encourage development of smaller renewable energy projects in their communities and realize the improved quality of life that they bring (odor control, enhanced revenue generation, air and water quality improvements). 2New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are other states with equitable rate structures and utility and energy policies in place that have led to the growth of AD. But for a small or medium-sized farmers to invest in an AD system in most places in the country is not feasible," he elaborates. That's why farmers and project developers who are currently investing time and money are looking at larger farms and codigestion to realize economies of scale and a decent return on investment. Also, a major issue is that for investors and project developers, it's certainly not cookie cutter across the county. Every state and every utility has different requirements. This makes it very difficult to plan for long term investments.


Since the USDA first added an energy title to the federal Farm Bill in 2003, the agency has awarded more than $40 million in grants to more than 100 on-farm digester systems. About 20 AD projects have come online annually since 2003 (many of these received USDA funding assistance), accounting for more than 140 of the 167 currently in existence in the United States, according to AgSTAR data. ?One of the biggest reasons we have a start on the digester industry is the USDA?s REAP,? Voell says, adding that this and other federal assistance such as USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentive Program) funds have been bolstered by state programs. These include Focus on Energy in Wisconsin, Cow Power in Vermont and programs of the California Energy Commission and NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority). Still, he says, much work remains to be done.


UTILITY RATES, REQUIREMENTS
Getting appropriate rates for the energy, while probably the single largest hurdle, is only one part of the challenge, he says. ?Interconnection standards and studies, and the fees charged for those by utilities, vary widely as well. These fees can often be enough to kill a project There are many cases where they have been multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars.


Net metering basically the deduction of an energy outflow from metered energy inflows is a frequently discussed issue with regard to energy offsets. While you might hear that 35 or 38 states have net metering as part of their energy policy, he says, "the actual details and application varies widely". He offers that a good net metering policy is one that allows for aggregation of all meters across the farm and contiguous properties, letting the farmer offset a higher level of energy use than they can in a lot of places. A bad net metering policy, he says, is where the farmer is required to pick a single meter to offset. Many digester projects will generate more energy than would be used by a farmer through one electricity meter.


There are typically multiple meters all across the farm, for example, at the barn, for the irrigation pumps, the farmer's residence, etc., Voell explains. "Say you are generating 100 kW from your digester project and your highest use at a single meter is 50 kW. You often cannot get credit for the remainder, and it is forfeited."


Some states, such as Pennsylvania and Vermont, go one step better with virtual aggregate metering, he adds, meaning that the meters do not have to be physically connected to allow for more energy use to be offset.


As a not-so-good example of utility policy and Voell was reluctant to name a specific state or utility he referenced a farmer ?down South? who abandoned the electricity generation portion of his AD system (the digester is working fine with the gas being flared) because the standby charges he had to pay when his system was down for regular operation and maintenance were so exorbitant that it basically obliterated any profit that might be realized in the project. Standby charges are a fee for the privilege of being hooked up to regular utility service when a self-generating system is shut down. When negotiating with utilities, pay attention to every detail,? he adds. ?Hire someone who is fluent in utility contract negotiations. When you get down into the weeds in terms of negotiating contracts, net metering, standby charges, interconnection fees ? that?s where the rubber hits the road.? Voell predicts this type of situation will happen less frequently as farmers become more savvy, these projects become more commonplace and support organizations such as AgSTAR become more involved.


NEW ENERGY POLICIES
Status quo policies built around centralized output of nonrenewables put up another major roadblock. "he way we?ve set up energy policy in this country is not conducive to the growth of distributed energy projects," he says. It's traditionally been built around fossil fuel generated electricity at a much larger scale. The policy paradigm needs to change if we want to see proliferation of these kinds of projects. Voell adds that the current difficulty is that energy policy is all done state by state. Sometimes the federal government steps in, but for the most part states and individual utilities set their own policies, he says. And policy change at any level comes slowly. It takes a champion to get it done.


He suggests several energy policy fixes that could help digesters along and allow smaller operations to be more economically viable. These include rates paid for the energy that recognize the broad suite of benefits these projects bring, streamlined permitting process and appropriate fees for interconnection and standby charges. If on the back end there's no return on investment, these projects aren't going to happen, he explains.


That's why we have 160 when there could be easily 10 or 20 times that many. Until we have a fundamental shift in business models, energy policy and public support, the transition to seeing hundreds or thousands of these projects grow in the near future will not occur. Energy policy is not set up, in most cases, to encourage these. I know of instances where it costs people 8 cents to generate energy through this process, and they receive 4 cents for it  that's not going to get it done.


Voell points to the 100 percent shift in production by the Big Three automakers at the behest of President Roosevelt to support the war effort during WWII and America winning the race to the moon as two examples of our country being able to make necessary innovations when circumstances require action. ?" think the country is trying to go in that direction in terms of energy usage and policy, but right now we are relying on market forces and volunteer efforts, which is not quite as commanding as FDR making a decision in time of war," Voell says.


ONE FARMER, MANY HATS
The reality today is that embarking on a digester project requires business acumen that includes an awareness of all the potential financial benefits, counsels Voell. These include energy production (gas production for direct use or to power a genset and produce electricity and heat), codigestion (bringing in organic waste materials to boost gas production and generate tipping fees) and use of the liquid digestate as fertilizer and the manure fibers as bedding material or for other beneficial purposes. Basically you have to cobble together every benefit you can get for these to make a project viable in today's environment,? he says, adding to that laundry list management of on-farm nutrients and odors. The way [odor control] translates to money is that when a dairy wants to add cows and the neighbors are happy about the operation, things tend to go much more smoothly.


There is no question that the digester route is more expensive than business as usual manure management, Voell says. The reality is that without government assistance up to this point at the state and federal level, we would not even have a start on the digester industry. The ultimate goal is to have projects that can generate revenue to pay the debt service with a reasonable profit. But in reality we heavily subsidize all the traditional energy sources in this country. If we would like to move toward alternatives like anaerobic digesters and biogas, we would have to expect to prime the pump for those new energy sources to be able to compete. If we want to achieve energy independence and energy security, helping promote systems like manure digesters offers an excellent way to get there. There is also a growing desire to be more self-sufficient at the local level and not always having to rely on large central infrastructure.


Benefits of these projects go well beyond energy generation, he says. They provide more stable revenues to farmers in rural communities. There's a direct greenhouse gas reduction benefit of less methane into the atmosphere. And they provide for a better quality of life for the people who live in these communities. As we talk about investment of state and federal dollars, we have to realize the comprehensive benefits that come out of these projects.


Helping other regional businesses such as food processors manage their wastes more sustainably is another plus, he adds. Everybody I talk to is looking for that potential if it can be done appropriately. Securing a year-round supply of organics is no small task, but I think it's a trend that's on the rise. And we're definitely seeing growth of third party owner/operated projects capital being brought in by a third party. This reduces the risk to the farmer, and it brings in technical expertise as well as expertise in contract negotiations. Nutrient management keeping nitrogen and phosphorus out of waterways has been another big driver, he notes.


ENERGY INTERDEPENDENCE
Backdropped by rising petroleum prices and dire times for other energy sectors such as nuclear power, Voell sees biogas from organics recycling as a growth industry with great, if largely untapped, potential. The recently formed American Biogas Council (ABC) is another leg of the stool in helping move the industry forward, he says. Without appropriate technology and service providers, this industry will not thrive. We're also seeing a definite convergence of the agriculture, livestock, waste management and organics recycling sectors. Folks in all of these sectors see anaerobic digestion as an opportunity to help them meet their goals of greenhouse gas reduction, green energy production, improved waste management, building a supply chain that's more sustainable and providing a home for the organics waste stream. It is definitely moving beyond just an idea at the farmer level.


Allison Costa, AgSTAR Program Manager
Copyright 2011, The JG Press, Inc.


View the original article here

04 May 2011

Anaerobic Digestion: Unaddressed Opportunity - RenewableEnergyWorld.com

The most common waste-to-energy applications in the U.S. include the combustion of municipal solid waste (MSW), landfill gas-to-energy, and the digestion of farm waste or waste water. An often overlooked waste-to-energy resource, however, is mixed organic waste (for example, food and yard waste) anaerobic digestion (AD). AD technologies comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, so for now, we've used assumptions provided by a dry fermentation (that is a digester that accepts higher-solids waste) technology provider.


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that in 2008, 250 million tons of municipal solid waste (including organic and non-organic) was generated in the U.S. While 22 million tons of organic waste was diverted for composting, an estimated 43 million tons of organic waste was sent to landfills. The total electric and thermal power (assuming a combined heat and power application) associated with this organic waste is approximately 1 GWe and 1.4 GWth, respectively. The total electric output is equivalent to serving close to 1 million homes.


While composting may appear to be a direct competitor to AD for organic waste, the two are mutually beneficial because remaining digestate from the AD process can be composted and sold. In fact, composting facilities such as Cedar Grove Composting in Everett, Wash., are a primary target for new AD projects.




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European companies such as Germany's Viessmann (BIOFerm) and GICON Bioenergie GMBH and Austria's Entec Biogas GMBH have digester technology that is suitable to convert food waste, yard waste and other organic material into energy. Anaerobic digestion was first widely applied in Europe in the 1930 and 1940's and has a history of success due to beneficial waste management practices and energy policies. While the technology is fully commercial, the application in the U.S. has been limited to farm and wastewater treatment plant facilities. Given the greater land availability for landfills, the U.S. has enjoyed cheaper municipal waste disposal than densely populated Europe.


Take a large industrial or institutional facility, such as a naval base or university. The facility could consider converting its waste to energy to replace boiler fuel for steam generation or for combined heat and power (CHP). The facility can save on its cost of waste disposal while generating on-site, renewable energy. CHP analysis reveals a simple payback of 7 to 10 years, excluding incentives, which compares favorably to a waste combustion application, using the same analysis parameters, which has a payback of greater than15 years, even under the highest energy price scenario.


The lack of organic waste separation is the greatest logistical barrier for mixed organic waste AD project in the U.S. Similar to composting, AD conversion requires a specific organic waste composition and a sufficient supply, without which biogas output will be lower, and the project will be uneconomic.


The majority of the U.S. population still discards organic and non-organic waste into the same container. However, many U.S. universities, such as the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, and local governments, such as the City of San Jose in California, have commissioned pilot studies or commercial projects for either composting and/or AD that require separation of organic waste from the regular waste stream.


Higher solids organic waste digester technology and its application are relatively new to the U.S., requiring education of new potential developers, policymakers and project-hosts in order for it to gain wider acceptance and adoption. Permitting can be a barrier if a state has no prior experience with this type of project, which is certainly the case in many states.


Successful implementation of AD faces its unique challenges in the U.S., but its outlook is positive. In fact, in mid-March, Harvest Power, one of the new dry fermentation AD project developers in the U.S., announced $51.7 million in funding, led by former Vice President Al Gore's investment firm. There will likely be higher demand for AD applications such as dry fermentation in the coming years due to the growing population, declining land availability for new landfills, a continued interest in renewable energy and pursuit of efficient resource use.


Given its greater land availability and more dispersed population, the U.S. has relied upon landfills for waste disposal in comparison to densely populated Europe, which focused on waste combustion and AD.


View the original article here

03 May 2011

On-farm power plant nears big switch-on - Your Renewable News (press release)

A FARM-based anaerobic digestion (AD) plant is approaching milestone in its £30 million expansion programme.


The £3m AD plant in Warton, Lancashire, will start producing electricity next month and official opening ceremony will take place on May 21.




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(Video is not necessarily related to the text.)


Run by Farmgen, Carr Farm will be its first operational power plant. It is also building a second ‘sister’ plant near Silloth and has submitted planning applications for two other operations in Cumbria.


High Street giant Marks and Spencer has signed a five-year contract to buy the energy generated from the Warton plant at a fixed price as part of its ‘Plan A’ commitment to procure more renewable energy from small-scale energy sources.


Farmgen’s chief operating officer Ed Cattigan said: “We firmly believe Carr Farm will point the way forward for future farm-based AD plants across the UK.”


Established in 2009, Farmgen has put together an impressive consortium of expert UK-based firms to deliver its first tranche of AD plants, including Carr Farm. The consortium includes leading members of the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA).


Source: Farmers Guardian


View the original article here

02 April 2011

Anaerobic digestion biomethane must be integrated into UK National Grid

Guttridge  Feed Source - Biomethane produced during the anaerobic digestion process should be integrated into the National Grid energy supply, according to an industry expert.


This would encourage the best use of biogas for meeting the UK's renewable energy targets, notes the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA) chairman, Lord Rupert Redesdale.


Welcoming the Department of Energy and Climate Change Renewable Heat Incentive, he indicated that it is a "huge vote of confidence" for the industry.

He noted: "The decision underlines ministers' commitment to AD [anaerobic digestion], and has obviously involved a lot of complex work from civil servants to bring it to fruition."


However, he urged the government to consider increasing energy from waste through anaerobic digestion, which was promised following the formation of the coalition.


ADBA chief executive Charlotte Morton added that upgrading biogas to biomethane for grid injection is the "best way to maximise the contribution of the AD industry to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and addressing energy security issues".


Typical Guttridge equipment used in the anaerobic digestion industry includes; Conveyors etc


by James Smith


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01 April 2011

Anaerobic Digestion Facility Goes On-line in Vietnam - Waste Management World

15 March 2011

Anaerobic Digestion tank supplier, Kirk Environmental, has completed a 1.2 MW turnkey infrastructure project in for the San Miguel Corporation - South East Asia?s largest beverage, food and packaging company - in Vietnam.


Working in partnership with the Malaysian based subsidiary company Biodome Asia and Filipino Client Sure Inc, the San Miguel Corporation Plant will be producing biogas in a matter of weeks, and be self sufficient in power.


The recently completed facility utilises San Miguel's waste, combined with slurry from 15,000 sow hogs located on the Binh Duong farm to produce biogas which is captured in top mounted Biodome gas holders located on two of the four glass coated steel tanks constructed at the site.


The collected gas is then converted into electricity which will be used to power the whole facility.


The waste water which is produced on site will also be treated to wash and clean the facility and livestock on a daily basis and then further recycled back into the digesters.


Kirk Environmental says that this solution enables San Miguel to utilise the waste produced on site as a renewable energy source, which has previously incurred costs for disposal as well as limit the bad smell issue into the nearby environment.


Kirk Environmental and Biodome Asia are also nearing completion of the San Miguel Sumilao Farm Project in Bukidnon, Philippines as well as developing projects around the world.



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Anaerobic Digestion sector slams feed-in tariff review - Business Green

It was meant to be the one part of the government's fast-track review of feed-in tariffs that would prove uncontroversial.


After today proposing deep cuts to the level of support for large solar installations, the government also announced increases to the incentives available to anaerobic digestion  (AD) technologies as part of an effort to accelerate adoption of the waste-to-energy technology.  


However, businesses have accused the government of failing to understand the full economic requirements of anaerobic digestion technology and proposing inadequate levels of incentives for AD systems. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has launched a consultation proposing increased incentives for AD plants, arguing that only two AD plants have been accredited for feed-in tariffs to date.


Under the current feed-in tariff scheme, all AD power plants with a capacity of up to 500kW will receive 12.1p/kWh from 1 April, while plants with a capacity of between 500kW and 5MW will receive 9p per kWh. However, the consultation proposes changing the banding and increasing the incentives, so smaller plants capable of producing up to 250kW will receive 14p per kWh, while medium-sized plants capable of producing between 250kW and 500kW will receive 13p per kWh. Plants with a capacity of more than 500kw will see their feed-in tariffs remain unchanged at 9p per kwh. 


But industry groups have now warned the proposed rates will fail to encourage businesses to install AD plants and will do little to boost investor confidence.


Charlotte Morton, chief executive of the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association, said DECC's key aim of boosting "farm-scale" waste-to-energy plants would not be acheived with the proposed rate of incentives. She told BusinessGreen that AD plants that process waste also require expensive pre-treatment facilities, which can cost as much as the power-generating technology. Therefore, she argued it would not be economically viable for a business to install a waste-to-energy plant smaller than 1MW.


Meanwhile, plants with more than 1MW capacity will not see their incentives increase under the proposals, prompting Morton to predict the changes will fail to boost adoption of AD systems of any size.


She accused the government of developing "completely inconsistent" policy and said it has misunderstood how AD can work on a small scale. "The band rates are not really going to please anybody, and we're also not clear about what the government is trying to achieve," she said. She also urged DECC to set specific dates for when the tariffs would be decreased in order to provide potential investors with certainty.


Her comments were echoed by the Renewable Energy Association's chief executive Gaynor Hartnell, who described the tariff changes as "meagre" and unlikely to prompt much of an increase in small-scale AD.


"That's a missed opportunity, as methane emissions from agriculture can be reduced by on-farm biogas plants," she said, adding that government's concern over energy crops "is totally misplaced".


Simon Rigby, non-executive director of AD specialist Farmgen, was similarly disappointed with the proposals. The company builds 1MW plants, but had also been considering selling 500kva and 250kva units. However, he said the review of feed-in tariffs would not make these smaller systems economically viable.


"We were hoping for a decent platform for on farm AD, but the review is so marginal I cannot see it achieving the government's objective to balance the feed-in tariffs, and therefore will not affect the take-up," he said. "If anything, the change sets back our plans as it is so marginal and does not apply to economic plants [of 1MW or more], and will therefore knock confidence in on-farm AD even further."


View the original article here

31 March 2011

Anaerobic digestion wins in subsidy review

From Energy and Environmental Management (EAEM) Magazine feed source


The government is recommending increased support for farm-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) at the expense of “solar farms" over 50kW, in an effort to maximise the benefit of limited resources.


The new consultation follows the launch in February of the fast-track review into how the Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) work for solar photovoltaic (PV) over 50 kW. This followed evidence of 169 MW of large scale solar capacity in the planning system - equivalent to funding solar modules on the roofs of around 50,000 homes if tariffs are left unchanged.


The government feels that leaving this unchanged would soak up most of the subsidy that would otherwise go to smaller schemes or other technologies. Such a development was not envisaged at the start of the programme.


The consultation also recommends increasing support for farm-scale AD, as it has received disappointing uptake so far. The heat component of AD is also supported through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). This means that where the biogas is burnt to produce heat and power AD is eligible both for the RHI and FITs.


It could be argued that it doesn't matter where the PV modules are as long as they are generating electricity. But the government's concern is that PV be available to ordinary people and not big business.


Greg Barker, climate change minister, said: “I want to make sure that we capture the benefits of fast falling costs in solar technology to allow even more homes to benefit from feed in tariffs, rather than see that money go in bumper profits to a small number of big investors.


“These proposals aim to rebalance the scheme and put a stop to the threat of larger-scale solar soaking up the cash. The FITs scheme was never designed to be a profit generator for big business and financiers."


The consultation quotes figures saying that already prices for PV technology are 30% lower than originally projected. It argues that this means that the technology requires reduced support. Therefore installations larger than 50 kW will receive support as follows:


• 19p/kWh for 50kW to 150kW


• 15p/kWh for 150kW to 250kW


• 8.5p/kWh for 250kW to 5MW and stand-alone installations.


These compare with the tariffs that would otherwise apply from 1 April of:


• 32.9p/kWh for 10kw to 100kw


• 30.7/kWh for 100kw to 5MW and stand-alone installations.


These reductions are comparable to those in schemes in Germany, France and Spain, where tariffs for PV have been reduced sharply over the past year.


The new increased tariffs for AD, designed to make them more attractive, are:


• 14p/kWh for installations up to 250kW


• 13p/kWh for installations from 250kW to 500kW.


These compare with the tariffs that would otherwise apply from 1 April of 12.1p/kWh for AD up to 500kW. The tariff level set for biomethane injection into the gas grid under the RHI and also for small scale - below 200 kilowatt thermal (kWth) – combustion of the biogas produced by AD is 6.5 pence per kilowatt-hour of heat generated.


The idea is specifically to increase the energy obtained from waste through anaerobic digestion, not to promote energy crops, particularly where these might be grown instead of food crops. DECC is in discussions with Defra and others about ways to ensure this does not happen.


Subject to the outcome of the consultation and parliamentary scrutiny, the revised tariffs would be introduced from 1 August 2011.


Over 27,000 installations have been registered for the FIT scheme to date.


What is anaerobic digestion?


A survey last December found that 80% of farmers in the UK wanted to have solar photovoltaics on their roofs within the next three years - and yet the fact is, that in terms of the carbon saving and other benefits anaerobic digestion (AD) provides better value for money than solar PV.


For example, farmer Clive Pugh at Bank Farm, Mellington, near Churchstoke, Wales, put in his first AD plant 20 years ago. He now has a state-of-the-art, three chamber unit that provides all of the farm's own energy needs, and that for two homes and the farm dairy, as well as generating an income of up to £10,000 a month from supplying the National Grid - without the new FITs subsidy, because he was an 'early adopter' and so the scheme is excluded from it.


“We initially went for an anaerobic set-up because we needed a new slurry store and it was something we had been looking into for some years,” said Mr Pugh.


“It revolves around using the slurry from our 140-cow dairy herd. In order to keep the gas production fairly constant throughout the year, we also use poultry manure, silage effluent, waste silage, discarded milk and whatever other green waste we can get hold of.”


While ten cows are needed to produce 1kw of energy, in fertiliser value terms 1,000 gallons of separated liquid will provide around 30 units of nitrogen, 40 units of potash and 12 units of phosphate.


“The quality of our grass is certainly most noticeable these days, and our need for phosphate and potash is now nil. We also only need top-up units of nitrogen depending on the type of crops being grown,” Mr Pugh added.


In a typical plant, vats ferment farm slurry and crop waste (and can also process food waste) in the absence of oxygen to produce methane which can be used to generate heat and power.


The facility would normally be owned and operated by the farmer/farm business, but might sometimes be part of a co-operative venture. They often would not be approved to accept animal by-products at this scale.


The biogas produced in AD is a mixture of methane (65%) and carbon dioxide (35%) which can be used to generate heat through a boiler, or heat and power through a combined heat and power (CHP) system. In addition, following further processing, biogas is also a suitable fuel source for vehicles.


Hot water may be used on site, for example to heat polytunnels or greenhouses for market gardening. Some farms use AD to power a generator for the digester and pasteurisation. Other benefits include:


• it avoids landfilling of organic wastes;


• the biogas can be burnt as a fuel;


• there is a reduction in the use of fossil fuels, offsetting carbon dioxide emissions;


• it is a predictable and reliable source of electricity and energy, unlike wind power and PV;


• the digestate products return nutrients to the land, reducing dependence on inorganic fertilisers;


• there are economic benefits from reduced fuel and fertiliser use, as well as the subsidy;


• farms can become more self-sufficient, with socio-economic opportunities, e.g., gate fees can be charged for waste taken in and electricity, biogas, fertiliser and soil conditioner can be sold;


• odour is reduced by around 80% compared to farm slurry;


• methane (a greenhouse gas) emissions are reduced;


• a range of organic waste materials can be processed - the highest gas yields come from the co-digestion of fatty (food processing wastes), liquid wastes (animal slurries) and green wastes;


• the amount of farm slurry sprayed onto farmland - and of run-off and pollution of waterways - is reduced;


• harmful bacteria and viruses are destroyed, reducing the spread of harmful disease causing pathogens.


The energy generating potential is determined by the size of the digester and waste feedstock composition.


A typical farm installation might be up to 0.5MW. A small farm using farm waste can produce enough heat to warm the digester and meet domestic heating requirements. If electricity is generated through CHP of 10kWe capacity, enough electrical energy could be generated to supply up to 13 homes.


A brand new installation can cost anything from £150,000 for a fairly basic liquid-only unit to more than £375,000 for an all-embracing 120kW producing version.


This high initial cost is why the technology needs support at this stage. Without support, simple economic payback is approximately 20 years. Factoring in savings made in waste disposal, according to the Carbon Trust, mean that payback times for installations tend to be under five years. Compare this to solar PV in much of the UK, which is two to three times longer.


A range of AD scales exists, from single on-farm digesters through to large centralised anaerobic digesters (CAD) collecting waste from a larger surrounding area.


These CADs will usually accept animal by-product wastes for digestion. The gas produced at this scale can also be used for other purposes, for example to power vehicles or be injected into the National Grid.


AD at this scale is economically viable and requires little support. Most plants operate as co-digestion plants with slurries, in additional to wastes from the food, brewing and other industries.


This website and video is a useful source of further information.


In Germany, there are more than 3,000 on-farm anaerobic digesters, while in the UK there are perhaps around 50.


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