August 28, 2012

Weltec Biopower to build 2.4 MW biogas plant in Poland

At the plant site 80 km west of Danzig, the substrates will be fed into four 4,438m3 stainless-steel fermenters via four storage tanks and a 50m3 dosing feeder starting from the summer of 2013.

The operator NEWD will ferment corn and liquid manure supplied by farmers from the vicinity, and also potato waste of a chip manufacturer. Four tanks with a capacity of 5,000 m3 each provide sufficient space for the digestate.

Previously, NEWD, which is also the investor of Poland's first Weltec biogas plant, had operated only as builder and wind power plant operator. Currently, wind power still accounts for most of the renewable energy generated in Poland. Both the coastal regions and the interior of the country are very suitable locations for wind turbines, delivering an excellent wind harvest.

NEWD has now decided to produce biogas, for which it relies on the overseas experience of Weltec Biopower. Moreover, the company from Lower Saxony is represented directly on site with its Weltec Polska subsidiary and can secure the technical and economic stability of the 2.4 MW plant with its comprehensive services.

The conditions for generating biogas are outstanding, as Poland is an agricultural country with substantial resource potential. Experts believe that Poland has the third-largest stock of resources in Europe. Poland's agricultural area amounts to about 18.5 million hectares, about 1.5 million hectares more than in Germany. With about 2 million agricultural plants, liquid manure from cattle, pigs, and poultry as well as renewable raw materials are readily available as substrate for biogas plants.

The infrastructure conditions in Poland are also ideal: Firstly, decentralised power and heat generation is subsidised, and secondly, a highly developed infrastructure is available for the transport of gas and district heat. To reach the EU climate goals, Poland plans to increase the share of renewable energies in energy generation from 5 to 15% percent by 2020, and to reach one third by 2030.

Currently, Poland's government promotes the development of decentralised energy supply through laws and directives, especially for biomass and biogas, thereby also creating new agricultural perspectives. With the help of the "Biogas Development Programme 2010-2020", Poland wants to have at least one agricultural biogas plant installed in every municipality by 2020. With approximately 2,500 municipalities, Poland thus features an auspicious growth market.