A new biogas power station showcases how towns will be powered by locally produced energy
London, United Kingdom, 11 October, 2010 - A new biogas power station showcases how future cities will be powered by locally produced energy.
The future of power is being pioneered near the English town of Cirencester where a biogas power station is being built. Powered by agricultural biomass, including chicken litter and pig manure, residents will benefit from this low cost alternative to oil, coal and foreign gas.
Cirencester is one of the first towns in the world to benefit from energy derived from chicken litter and leads the way to a greener future. This sustainable technology allows production of local power, called ‘distributed energy.’ This type of energy production reduces reliance on fossil fuels, fuel imports and international pressures. Additionally, the capture of methane from waste reduces the smells normally generated by farms.
As well as energy security, this technology brings low cost heat, electricity and new jobs to Cirencester.
Fed by local farms that deliver animal waste, as well as corn, wheat and grass, the power plant is located just south of Cirencester. This feedstock is turned into biogas in an anaerobic digester. Looking like a giant cup cake, the plant will produce 1 megawatt hours of energy, enough to supply 350 houses with electricity.
Keep the value local
Operation of a biogas plant in conjunction with a farm makes a great deal of socio-economic sense. The farmer makes money off his waste, reduces cost and limits income volatility. Adopted widely, more jobs will be created in the economy and the cost of food production becomes lower and more stable.
The farmers who erected the biogas plant will have the benefit of free heat for animals, grain drying and housing which was previously a significant expense. But there are other benefits from the biogas process that reduce costs for the farmer. The biogas plant extracts the smell out of waste and burns it in a combined heat and power (CHP) plant after which the leftovers can be used for farming. This ‘digestate’ is a powerful fertiliser that decreases the average fertiliser costs by up to 100% which is a major cost to farmers and the environment. Normal fertiliser production use large amounts of fossil fuel, emit significant quantities of CO2 and the finished product is transported over great distances to farmers. Whereas the fertiliser is produced locally at the power plant, there is no necessity in importing it from the US.
World leading cogeneration units
Alfagy was chosen as the main supplier after a competition against leading manufacturers such as GE Energy, Jenbacher, MWM and MAN. “As the UK is 30 years behind continental Europe in energy efficiency, we wanted a project in Britain. We have many installations in Europe but this is our first biogas installation in the UK.” said Peter Kindt, the managing director of Alfagy. “We believe this is a model for the future of local power generation”.
“What makes this project exciting is that farmers deliver energy to the urban environment. Alfagy’s solution was superior both in terms of technology, efficiency and design. Recently, a German test institute, TÜV Rheinland Group, verified that Alfagy’s biogas CHP performed at 42.9% electrical efficiency for its 260 kWe unit – a new world best,” adds Peter Kindt.
The plant is expected to deliver heat and electricity to homes by November 2010.
Other farmers worldwide are now considering similar projects.
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For more information, please contact Peter Kindt via
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.
High resolution pictures are available here:
Chickens
http://www.alfagy.com/press_pictures/chickens.jpg
http://www.alfagy.com/press_pictures/white_chicken.jpg
Digester
http://www.alfagy.com/press_pictures/Biogas_Fermenter.jpg
CHP
http://www.alfagy.com/press_pictures/Alfagy_CHP_Biogas.jpg
More information is available here:
www.alfagy.com
Notes for the Editor
About Alfagy Limited
Alfagy focuses on renewable energy and distributes Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants that run on natural gas, biogas and wood. Alfagy provides Practical Green Energy™ to companies and organisations that wish to cut carbon emissions and costs.
Alfagy provides turn-key projects and finance using high efficiency technology to generate the best possible returns. Alfagy supplies biogas plant from 34 kWe to 2 MWe and has the largest range of any manufacturer.
About Cirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles (150 km) west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in Cotswold District. The Roman name for this place was Corinium, which is thought to have been associated with the ancient British Dobunni tribe, having the same root word as the River Churn. The earliest known reference to the town was by Ptolemy in AD 150. Today, the town is home to some 19,000 inhabitants.
About Anaerobic Digestion
The Anaerobic Digestion (AD) process is a great success on the European continent and there are more than 5,000 AD plants operating in northern Europe. AD happens where any organic material decomposes and methane-rich gas – known as ‘biogas’ – is released. Biogas can be burnt in a generator to produce renewable electricity and heat. After the methane and other gasses are extracted, a balanced, fibrous natural fertiliser called ‘digestate’ is spread on land as a fertiliser.
On farms, the whole process uses normal farming techniques and equipment to deliver the feedstock. Food and animal waste from horses, chickens, turkeys, pigs and cows are useful for biogas production. Water companies also use biogas extracted from return water to generate heat and power.
The biogas created is used to fuel a Combined Heat and Power unit to produce electricity which is then exported to the National Grid.
Of all renewable energy solutions, AD creates far more long term jobs, supports the rural economy and captures renewable energy. The process uses locally produced crops and crop residues as well as a wide variety of wastes.
Compared to other alternative renewable energy generators, such as wind turbines, it has significantly less visual impact. The bio-product of the plant is returned to the surrounding land as fertiliser to support the growth of the following year’s crops – reducing the need for carbon-intensive industrial fertilisers, which are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. It also smells far less.
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