Sustainable Energy Successees

   

FIGA is a large-scale farm in Batka, district of Rimavska Sobota, with pigs and 220,000 egg-laying hens. In response to an initial problem of animal manure disposal, a biogas plant was built in 1992-95. The owner of the farm paid half of the costs of the project and the Slovakian ministry of agriculture covered the other half. The payback time is estimated to be 6 years. The technology used is a mix of Austrian know-how (Bauer) and domestic suppliers.
    Since its installation, the biomass plant has received 166 t. of animal manure a day from the farm and provides the farm with:

Electric power:	9,501 kWh/day 3,469 MWh/year
Heat:	24.9 GJ/day (winter min.) 41.2 GJ/day (summer max.) 32.8 GJ/day (annual average) 11,972 GJ/year

The remaining product - the digested sludge - is a high-value fertiliser used on the fields.

The benefits of the biogas plant
On the farm:

• own, stable, self-sufficient energy production (electricity and heat)
• cheap energy, which yields financial savings in the longer term.
• possibility of selling energy surplus - a source of extra income for the farm.
• reduction of obnoxious smells from the manure
• solution of the manure-disposal problems
• production of high-volume fertiliser that carries a higher content of nitrogen (15% more) than artificial fertilisers, and that does not burn the crops, as un treated slurry can do. This reduces the need for expensive artificial fertilisers.

Local benefits:

• better control of the waste from many animals means less pollution of local environment and water sources.
• a veterinarian aspect: In the bioplants, viruses are killed. The risk of spreading animal infections in the area is thereby reduced.
• removal of chemical fertilisers from the fields and recirculation of nutrients results in healthier vegetables and fruits for human consumption.
• local power plants contribute to creating permanent local jobs in the area.

On a national basis, widespread use of the biogas plants could deliver a badly needed means of energy self-sufficiency, and the decentralised structure of the biogas plants means less need for expensive distribution of energy in rural areas. On a global basis, it reduces the use of fossil fuels and, thereby, emissions of CO₂. At the same time, biogas plants control, and therefore reduce, the emission of methane, a greenhouse gas that is 20 times more aggressive than CO₂.