Climate protection

The 190-kW biogas plant shown in the example above produces annually some 1.5 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of power and feeds 350 000 kWh of heat into the heat network. Hence, it supplies about 450 households with electricity and 30 households with heat.

The input is made up of almost 7 000 t of substrates, of which 2 500 t are liquid cattle manure. The greenhouse gas emissions generated in the process of providing the substrates (cultivation, fertilization and transport) add up to 200 t. Further emissions are generated during plant construction and while operating it, so that a total of 455 t of CO₂ are generated p.a.

If the same quantity of power and heat was provided by fossil energy carriers, 1 100 t of CO₂ would be generated. The utilization of biogas thus results in net savings of 650 t of CO₂ per year. Even higher savings can be achieved, when using more liquid manure, residues and waste as input materials. Extending the utilization of heat (up to 100 households would be possible) improves the balance further, so that savings of almost 100% are possible. Apart from the carbon footprint, the energy balance of a biogas plant is also clearly positive: up to five times more energy is generated than consumed