PROBIOGAS

PROBIOGAS Promotion of Biogas for Electricity & and Heat Production in EU-Countries

Context

The concept of centralised co-digestion (CAD) is based on producing biogas by anaerobic digestion of animal manure and slurries with diverse suitable organic wastes from agriculture, food-processing indistries, households etc. The CAD plants are located in areas with high concentration of manure in order to minimise the transportation costs. The CAD cycle represents an integrated system of manure and organic waste treatment and renewable energy production, generating some intertwined environmental and economic benefits: § Production of renewable energy § Cheap and safe recycling of organic by-products § Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions § Pathogen reduction through sanitation § Improved fertilisation efficiency & redistribution of excess of nutrients § Reduced nuisance from odours & flies § Savings for farmers Over the last 30 years, cost efficient biogas prodction systems were developed in Denmark, supported by governmental R&D and dissemination programmes. The results from these prove that biogas from centralised co-digestion is a multifonctional technology, providing qunatifiable environmental and economic benefits for agriculture, industry, energy sector and the overall society and is a very competitive tool in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Objectives

PROBIOGAS project aims to transfer experience of the best practice of utilising biogas as renewable energy source and by this to promote biogas production for electricity and heat in Eu countries. The project aims to raise awareness by proving that biogas is economically and environmentally beneficial to local communities and to the society as a whole, and can contribute to achieving climate and environment protection objectives. The main goal of PROBIOGAS is to transfer and apply existing knowledge to selected case studies in partner countries and to disseminate the obtained results to the target groups and to a broad European level.

Description of tasks

WP1 : Establishment of national Target Group Networks (TGN) involved in data collection and dissemination of project results. Selection of each national case study and organisation of an introductory workshop presenting work plan of the project. WP 2 : Collection of the data needed for the assessment of economic and environmental effects of each selected CAD regional cases. WP 3: Assessment of environmental & economical effects of CAD for each case study. Using midelling tools developped by the Assessment Core Group (ACG), parameters are estimated for 2 situations: one for business as usual and one for a situation with biogas production. Some externalities are quantified and monetized according each regional context. WP 4: Adressing non technical barriers. Each national partner in collaboration with the ACG indentifies any structural obstacles for implementation of CAD. The aim is to suggest specific changes in order to improve incentives for biogas development. WP 5 : Dissemination activities. PROBIOGAS progress and results, and each National Assessement report about the selected case study is disseminated to national level among the TGN and to European level by participating to the workshop « The Future of Biogas in Europe-III » in Denmark (14/16 June 207)

Expected results

Results obtained

Expected results were to clarify the incentives and barriers for each national target group, in each participant country and to establish a platform for the initiation of new policy initiatives for the development of biogas. Since the beginning of the project, networking has been established with each national target group (TGN) which was actively involved during the whole duration of the project. Furthermore, TGN members have been invited to participate to the final presentation of the results. It is expected that communication amongs TGN will last after the end of PROBIOGAS project. Among farmers, farmers-organisations & advisory services It is expected that the work achieved during the project will contribute to increase awareness in farming sector of the benefits of the biogas alternative such as improvment in manure handling and digestate utilisation, which leads to reduced environmental impacts and savings in fertiliser purchases. Among local, regional & national environmental authorities It is expected that the authorities become more aware of the the fact that improved manure handling and nutrient use in a biogas context lead to reduce nutrient losses to ground water as well as other environmental benefits such as pathogens depletion and odour nuisance reduction. Among authorities and policy makers The work achieved shows the biogas alternative as a multifonctional and efficient tool for renewable energy source implementation and GHG reduction. Addressing PROBIOGAS results and specific suggestions for removal of the non-technical barriers should enable policy makers to develop support schemes and changes in legal frameworks that allow promotion of biogas on a large sacle. Moreover the information and results gained from hypothetic case study but nevertheless based on concrete data, would allow changes in mentality and an opening to moves towards policies that would enhance biogas production and utilisation. Main results of PROBIOGAS project and the Final Assessment report are available on the project website: www.sdu.dk/bio The Belgian Assessment Report: « Assessment of an imaginary centralized co-digestion plant » is available on ValBiom website: www.valbiom.be

Partners

University of Southern Denmark - Danemark, Danish Research Institute of Food Enconomics - Danemark, Risoe National Laboratory - Danemark, Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences - Danemark, Danish Agricultural Advisory Centre - Danemark, Association Solagro - France, Centre of Renewable Energy Sources - Grèce, SenterNovem - Pays-Bas, University of Barcelona - Espagne, Methanogen Ltd - Irlande.