For some people with a fine sense of smell, biogas plants can be a challenge, but anyone with a nose for future technologies won’t be able to avoid them.
The industry is still in its infancy, of course: In 2006 less than one percent of Germany’s power generation came from biogas. According to forecasts by the Biogas Association in Germany, however, that figure could reach eight to ten percent by 2020.
Josef Pellmeyer, the president of the Biogas Association, was one of the first in the country to invest in biogas back in 1996. Today, there are 3,500 plants in operation nationwide.
Growing energy
Artificial stomach
Loaded with special energy plants, vegetables and food waste, grass cuttings, old hay and a good dose of liquid manure, things start to bubble in the fermenters after just a couple of days. As in a cow’s stomach, decomposition of the organic material produces methane, which is then fed to a cogeneration plant to produce power.
Pellmeyer installed a second biogas plant on his farm in 2006. The loan for it came from Dresdner Bank, and Allianz is the insurer.
A unique offer
This is just one of a number of projects in the field of renewable energy that have been financed by Dresdner Bank so far. Demand is much higher, but if the Allianz Center of Technology (AZT) hadn’t given the project the thumbs up after examining the technical concept and the investment and running costs, the bankers wouldn’t have given Pellmeyer a penny. The Bank and AZT signed a cooperation agreement in May 2006.
Eventually, everything fell into place for Josef Pellmeyer. Klaus Schmuck, head of the Renewable Energy Competence Center at Dresdner Bank, sees this as an important sign: "An all-round package including insurance, financing and technical advice – no one else on the market can offer that."
This is an enormous advantage in a business field that’s in the process of changing the traditional image of farming and the way farmers see themselves.
Klaus Schmuck, head of Dresdner Bank Renewable Energy Competence Center and Josef Pellmeyer, biogas farmer
Unanswered questions
Until last year Pellmeyer had farmed his 150 hectares near Munich Airport mainly in the traditional manner. Now, 70 percent of his harvest goes to energy production, the rest being used as feed for his 200 cattle. Almost all the electricity from his plant is fed into the Freising power grid. Pellmeyer uses ten percent for his farm, Eggertshof, which has been in his family since the 15th century.
In the mid term, he says, he will probably convert his entire operation to power generation and may also go into fuel production. At the moment he’s experimenting with various types of crops to determine which generates the greatest amount of energy. "There are still a lot of unanswered questions," says the 53-year-old.
Eggertshof: Farm turned biogas power generation operation
Great potential
But there’s general agreement on the potential of bioenergy. If only ten percent of the arable land in Germany were used for energy production and if cultivation and exploitation methods were optimized, biomethane could replace half the natural gas imported from Russia, according to the Biogas Association. By 2030, if productivity is increased, some 4.5 million hectares could be made available for the cultivation of energy-yielding crops. "And that without cutting food production in any way," emphasizes Pellmeyer.
Three million hectares alone can be used for the production of biogas, which is more efficient than other plant-based energy systems: One hectare will produce enough biogas to run a car for 70,000 kilometers compared to just 20,000 for biodiesel.
Currently only around 450,000 hectares of arable land are being used for biogas production in Germany. If it were up to Pellmeyer, it would be a lot more: "We need to build up the industry," he says. And he’s not just thinking of the domestic market. No wonder: Germany is a world leader in biogas technology. Energy fresh from the farm – the future has just begun.
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