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We are pleased to bring you the news that farmers in Central Java have started to produce biogas processed from animal dung to meet their electricity needs. The Group Association of Farmers Qaryah Thayyibah (SPPQT) in Salatiga, one of the regencies in the province, has claimed success in the program. We thought it would interest our readers, and these digesters are waste driven so there are no food crop depletion issues. If you find the excerpt from the original article that we have provided below to be interesting, please also visit the original site by following the link provided:
The association announced at a recent ceremony that it had created 300 units of biogas digesters in 20 subdistricts across the province.
The ceremony on Tuesday was witnessed by State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan.
SPPQT chairman Khidziq Faisol said that the association initiated the biogas program upon its establishment in 1999 in Salatiga, inspired by the abundant waste products from cow farming.
“This program has helped empower the community to meet their own daily energy needs,” Khidziq said.
He said farmers owning more than two cows could utilize their animals’ dung to produce enough energy for both cooking and lighting.
“A farmer with at least three cows can produce a cubic meter of biogas,” said Khidziq, adding that the amount could produce energy for cooking and lighting in one household for a whole day.
SPPQT has 16,348 member farmers, comprising 660 farmer groups in Batang, Boyolali, Demak, Kendal, Magelang, Purwodadi, Salatiga, Semarang, Sragen, Temanggung and Wonosobo.
Apart from biogas, the association has also succeeded in establishing a micro-hydropower plant with a 170,000-Watt capacity, built for subdistricts located along riverbanks. The association earns some Rp 50 million (US$5,400) per month from the sale of the electricity the plant produces.
“The riverbank communities receive 30 percent of the income and the remaining 70 percent goes to the association to fund its activities,” Khidziq said.
One of the association’s supervisors, Tri Mumpuni, said the entire community was required to participate for the success of the two empowerment programs, including environmental preservation.
“In order to create a permanent income for the subdistricts, we are currently negotiating with PLN [state-owned electricity company] to buy our electricity,” Tri said.
Dahlan applauded the empowerment program, saying civil society movements should start within subdistricts where people could be empowered through a variety of activities.
With the biogas they produced, people no longer needed to purchase kerosene to fulfill their needs for cooking fuel, Dahlan said.
The program, he added, was also in line with his ministry’s target of reducing imports of cattle, by purchasing 100,000 cows to be bred at the ministry’s plantations across the country.
“There is a possibility that we will collaborate with the SPPQT to the rearing of cattle and we will buy the calves bred through the program,” Dahlan said.
Here is a quick posting for all our UK based agricultural Anaerobic Digestion Newsblog subscribers.
If you have not seen this yet, the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA) launched a free consultancy service for farmers, in February 2012, who are considering whether AD is a viable option for their business.
This sounds like a first pass pre-feasibility analysis for those that are eligible, and could be very useful for a large number of farmers.
However, you must be a paid subscriber to MRW magazine to read their article and receive complete, unrestricted access to mrw.co.uk
If you are a MRW subscriber just sign in with your email address and get started!
The Anaerobic Digestion Newsblog is not a MRW subscriber, so we would appreciate it if some kind person who is a MRW member and is able to read about this has time, would please come back here and comment so that our readers can see what you thought of this offer. There also may be a link direct on the ADBA web site but I have no time to look right now! So please comment on that if possible as well!
Nairobi Star (Nairobi) - Jesse Mwangi - 17 August 2011
Thousands of small scale farmers nationwide are set to benefit from installation of low cost biogas units.
The Kenya Agriculture Research Institute which is the initiator the project said it has already installed 3,000 units in Murang'a, Kirinyaga, Kisii, Embu, Kiambu, and Nyandarua among others. Unlike the conventional biogas units which cost approximately Sh100,000, the plastic digester would cost the farmer Sh10,000.
According to Kari Embu station researcher Erastus Kiruiro said that the idea came when he realized the massive destruction being caused on the forest by human activities as they look for firewood and charcoal for cooking. "We have established that 80 percent of rural dwellers depend on fire wood for cooking and this has highly contributed to destruction of forests causing intensive environmental degradation, this biogas project is thus a better alternative," said Kiruiro.
EPA’s National AgSTAR Conference in Boise, Idaho, Highlights Growing Farm Use of Digesters with GE’s Jenbacher Biogas Engines to Produce Renewable Energy while Reducing Emissions
Bio Town Ag Operation in Indiana and Dane County “Cow Power” Facility in Wisconsin Among GE Biogas Projects to be Showcased
BOISE, IDAHO——With the environmental impacts of agricultural activities coming under greater scrutiny, Bio Town Ag in Indiana and a community “cow power” project in Dane County, Wis., are among a growing number of U.S. farms to install anaerobic digesters and GE’s (NYSE: GE) Jenbacher biogas engines to recycle livestock wastes into renewable electricity that is used to support onsite farm operations and rural transmission grids.
GE is showcasing its ecomagination-approved Jenbacher biogas engine technology at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) annual AgSTAR national conference in Boise, Idaho, May 10-12, 2011. Created by the EPA in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, AgSTAR promotes the installation of digesters to convert livestock waste and other agricultural biomass into methane-rich, renewable biogas. As a result, less methane is available to escape into the atmosphere.
“Biogas production systems are becoming increasingly important tools in helping farms reduce their on-site emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas that is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide,” said Roger George, general manager North America gas engines for GE Power & Water. “As federal and state governments work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase local renewable energy production, we expect even more farms across the country to install biogas to energy systems to help meet their operational and environmental requirements.”
In addition to reducing onsite emissions, agricultural biogas projects can help farmers comply with more stringent local water quality standards. By capturing agricultural wastes for biogas production, farmers can avoid the need to dispose these materials on their lands. As a result, lower levels of various biomass contaminants can potentially escape into nearby rivers, lakes and ponds.
GE’s biogas engine technology continues to be deployed at some of the country’s most innovative agricultural biogas projects, including the Bio Town Ag project in Indiana and a recently completed, multi-farm digester project in Dane County, Wis.:
Bio Town Ag community digester biogas project, Indiana:
Featuring three, 1-megawatt (MW) Jenbacher JMS 320 generator sets, Bio Town Ag marks GE’s so far largest U.S. agricultural biogas-to-energy project. The project also is the first to combine GE’s Jenbacher gen-set technology with advanced digester technology supplied by GHD, Inc., the largest U.S. supplier of agricultural anaerobic digesters.
Bio Town Ag is a livestock farm with 4,500 beef cattle and 800 sow swine, located in Reynolds, Ind., a corn, soybean, dairy and swine farming region that was previously dubbed “Bio Town USA” by Indiana’s governor. The farm is developing a 3.1-MW digester biogas-to-energy plant powered by GE’s Jenbacher engines to transform its livestock manure into renewable energy. Bio Town Ag also plans to recover solids for bedding, convert post-digestion liquids into fertilizer and recycle water for on-site uses.
“Our digester biogas-to-energy project is a centerpiece of Indiana’s efforts to showcase the various technologies that are available to help us recycle our agricultural biomass resources and produce renewable fuel for vehicles and cleaner electricity for our state and country,” said Brian Furrer, Bio Town Ag president and CEO.
“GHD is proud to be involved in the BioTown Ag project, which will bring a true community anaerobic digester to fruition,” said Steve Dvorak, president of Chilton, Wis.-based GHD.
“The digester will process farm waste, as well as wastes from the surrounding community, to produce renewable electricity on a local scale. This project creates jobs, provides social benefits for the community and generates additional, viable business opportunities for agriculture.”
Dane County community dairy farm “cow power” project, Wisconsin:
Three family-run dairy farms in Dane County are participating in Wisconsin’s first “cluster” manure-digester project located near Waunakee. The project was launched by the county in 2010 under a “Clean Energy and Clean Lakes Resolution” to build a community digester.
Wisconsin-based biogas energy developer Clear Horizons LLC built, owns and operates the project. A total of 2,500 cows are supplying the manure, which is collected in three, 1.25 million gallon digesters. The biomass is converted into methane-rich biogas, which is then used by two, 1-MW Jenbacher JMC 320 gen-sets to generate renewable electricity that is sold to Alliant Energy under Wisconsin’s renewable portfolio standard.
In addition to renewable energy production, Dane County’s initiative is the first U.S. community digester specifically built to help farmers reduce biomass run-offs into surrounding freshwater bodies. Dane County’s digester removes much of the phosphorus from the livestock waste that had been linked to algae overgrowth in the Lake Mendota watershed.
“One of the keys to implementing successful biomass to energy projects is to work with technology partners like GE that have the expertise to offer cost-effective solutions that help projects optimize their rate of return ,” said Dan Nemke, general manager for Clear Horizons, which has installed Jenbacher engines for previous U.S. farm-to-energy projects.
Between its creation in 1993 and 2010, more than 160 manure digester projects have been installed in the United States with the AgSTAR program’s assistance. Opportunities for more agricultural digester-energy projects still exist at more than 8,000 U.S. livestock facilities, according to AgSTAR.
Many of GE’s Jenbacher products are ecomagination approved, providing customers with products that improve their operating performance and reduce environmental impact. Ecomagination is GE’s business strategy to help meet customers’ demand for products that improve their bottom line and reduce their impact on the environment. This also will drive growth for GE that delivers for its investors. Ecomagination reflects GE’s commitment to invest in a future that creates innovative solutions to environmental challenges. From 2010 to 2015, GE has committed to: doubling R&D to $ 10 billion; growing ecomagination revenues twice as fast as overall company revenue; reducing GE’s energy intensity 50 percent; reducing water consumption 25 percent; and inspiring a competitive energy future.
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is an advanced technology, services and finance company taking on the world’s toughest challenges. Dedicated to innovation in energy, health, transportation and infrastructure, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.ge.com.
GE also serves the energy sector by providing technology and service solutions that are based on a commitment to quality and innovation. The company continues to invest in new technology solutions and grow through strategic acquisitions to strengthen its local presence and better serve customers around the world. The businesses that comprise GE Energy GE Power & Water, GE Energy Services and GE Oil & Gas—work together with more than 90,000 global employees and 2010 revenues of $38 billion, to provide integrated product and service solutions in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; as well as other alternative fuels and new grid modernization technologies to meet 21st century energy needs.
The farming community will invest to improve their farms and ultimately to improve yield and profit, but there has to be a very good reason for doing so, and when it comes to shelling out hard-earned revenue, or going for additional borrowing, agricultural businesses usually look for dead certain investment winners, or nothing at all.
Yet, many farms are now going into Anaerobic Digestion plant installation and operation, investing in a process which is fairly new, at least for farming applications, and which they would expect to be operating on their farms for at least the next twenty years once installed. On the face of it this is a highly risky investment, and a surprise.
Well actually, there is good reason for this and it has very little to do with improving their crops, although the fertilizer it produces will be very useful there, it is to avoid environmental problems caused by the success of industrial farming methods, and particularly for dairy farmers who over-winter large numbers of stock in barns.
Let's not get too "down to earth" and talk about the brass tacks too much here, so shall we say that the problem is one of waste management, and leave as much as possible to your imagination!
Yes, the run-off from these barns and the effect this can have on pollution of rivers, in dairy farming and beef cattle rearing areas, can be and often is, very serious. So much enteric bacteria (stomach organism) type pollution has been occurring in in some estuarial areas of the UK that the quality of the sea on bathing beaches has failed to meet European Union Green Flag standards after heavy rainstorms.
These farms really have to reduce the pollutants in their run-off, and Anaerobic Digestion of their farm waste using a Biogas Digester is proving to be the top solution, once the problem is recognised. They are having to spend to reduce pollution because not cutting back massively on the quantities of organic waste being washed off their farms will increasingly mean that they will be prosecuted for the water pollution caused. Thus, this is a necessary spend for them, just to keep their farms operating on the right side of the law.
However, a biogas digester also can be used to generate renewable energy and provide fuel to run farm vehicles. So, many are finding it a great way to diversify away from solely food crop income dependence. In fact we would suggest that nowadays every farmer should be aware of the benefits of Anaerobic Digestion for its multiple benefits and great sustainability credentials.
Space is limited here so we recommend that you visit the Anaerobic Digestion community web site. It is well worth a visit for EVERYONE involved in a farm business. Much invaluable additional reading about the Biogas Digester's process, is available on that site.
