Biogas Plant Location Research Articles

The sensitivity of agricultural biogas plants to changes in energy prices in Poland

In Poland, despite ambitious plans from 15 years ago, when it was assumed that by 2020, an agricultural biogas plant would be standard in every commune, the potential of agricultural biogas has not been used due to the lack of stable legal regulations and financing programmes for the construction of the plants. The situation has now changed due to new forms of support systems, which motivated the authors to compare two agricultural biogas plants operating in the certificate system and the support system in the form of feed-in premiums. Moreover, the authors pointed to differences in the number of agricultural biogas plants and their capacity by voivodeship due to changes in legal conditions in force in two periods: from 1 January 2011, to 30 June 2016, and from 1 July 2016, to 19 January 2024. Based on the research methods used ‒ including Earnings Before Interest, Taxes Depreciation and Amortisation, the Internal Rate of Return, risk matrix and data analysis in spatial terms ‒ it was indicated that: 1. agricultural biogas plants are characterised by very high sensitivity related to the probability of risk in the case of investment costs, substrate prices and changes in energy prices; 2. financial support is important at the stage of construction of a biogas plant, which largely makes it possible to shorten the payback period and thus increase the willingness of future investors to invest in biogas plants and 3. in the periods analysed, significant differences were noted in the spatial location of biogas plants due to trends towards lower-power biogas plants, which is probably dictated by the constant and predictable premium system in the new support system.

Land cover changes with the development of anaerobic digestion for biogas production in France

AbstractAnaerobic digestion is developing in various countries worldwide to produce renewable energy. In addition, the resulting digestates provide readily available nutrients when applied to cropping systems as fertilizers. The introduction of a biogas plant on a farm can induce land cover changes, in relation to the production of feedstock for the biogas plant and/or to the modification of the farming system. The aim of this study was therefore to characterize and quantify the land cover changes in farms associated with biogas plants in France. We combined two national spatialized databases: the Land Parcel Identification System (yearly French land cover at the parcel scale with farm identifier per parcel) and the SINOE database (biogas plant location and year of start‐up). We showed that, on average, the changes were limited, with an increase in maize areas (+3.4% of the total farm areas) compensated by a decrease in wheat and rapeseed areas (−1.8% and −1.9%, respectively), but with a certain variability. The French regulation and market limiting the use of dedicated energy crops seems to have limited land cover changes in France compared to other countries. However, we elaborated a typology of land cover changes and characterized five clusters of farms across the country. The main one (67% of the farms) corresponded to unchanged land cover after the introduction of a biogas plant. The four other clusters showed contrasting changes, for example, an increase or a decrease in grassland areas, a strong increase in maize areas, or a replacement of winter wheat by winter barley. The diversity and the driving factors behind these changes deserve to be better studied and understood through further farmer surveys.

PRINCIPLES OF FORMING BIOGAS PLANT LOCATION PLACES USING A NEURONETWORK

Currently, in the conditions of the wartime and post-war period, the problem of energy independence of both the whole of Ukraine and each united territorial community is acute. A particularly urgent task in this context is the determination of local energy resources and, on this basis, the formation of the locations of biogas plants - stable energy sources of the community. The purpose of the work is to substantiate the principles of the location of biogas plants within territorial communities based on the use of an artificial neural network. To achieve the specified goal, the following tasks were solved: development of a methodical apparatus for the formation of the resource-raw material base of biogas production and substantiation of the principles of the location of biogas plants based on the use of an artificial neural network. The most important results of the research are the development of a methodical apparatus for the formation of the resource-raw material base of biogas production using the "Tripillia" melon base and the synthesis of the configuration of the location of biogas production using a neural network, which allows to significantly reduce the time spent on the justification and construction of energy-independent united territorial communities of Ukraine. An example of the application of the proposed methodical apparatus for determining the location of biogas plants in the Pereyaslav territorial community is presented.

Key factors for site-selection of biogas plants in Sweden

Biogas production through anaerobic digestion is an integral part of the transition toward a biobased and circular economy and its expansion is foreseen in many parts of the world as well as in Europe. In Sweden, a governmental inquiry suggested biogas production to be increased from about 2 TWh today to 7 TWh by 2030. This rapid expansion would require installation of several new biogas plants across the country. However, the location of biogas plants can greatly affect its business performance and there are several geographic and socio-political factors that would limit the choice of location. Through dialogue with existing biogas producing companies and a few other related actors, we identified 12 factors that are commonly considered in the site-selection of biogas plants in Sweden or are considered to be important in the years to come. These factors are grouped into those related to supply and demand (feedstock supply, biogas demand, digestate demand, and carbon dioxide demand), infrastructure and synergies (available infrastructure, adjacent existing industries), land-use and zoning (nearby housing, zoning, and historic preservation sites), and socio-political context (political strategies and goals, organizational capability, and local social acceptance). We discuss how these factors can be used under rapidly transforming conditions in Sweden through different site-selection logics and highlight the importance of spatially explicit analysis for individual or coordinated decision making in future. Our method of enquiry and analysis, and to a certain degree the factors, can be also relevant for other countries, particularly in Europe. This study paves the way for more in-depth investigation of the question of site-selection of biogas plants in Sweden; both in the direction of detailed analysis at the local level, or screening analysis on the regional or national level for improved coordinated actions.

Complex power-to-gas plant site selection by multi-criteria decision-making and GIS

• A novel regional-scale site suitability analysis for PtG facilities is presented. • Environmental, social and techno-economic suitability criteria were considered. • Suitable sites cover 20% of the study area, mostly determined by infrastructure. • Location of biogas plants connected to PtG hubs influence the site selection. • Centralisation level is affected by economies of scale of the main equipment. As power-to-gas (PtG) technology advances from the development phase to commercial utilisation, more of such facilities can be expected to be installed in the near future. Unlike other energy conversion or storage technologies, PtG depends on all public utilities and also on CO 2 sources. These complex conditions make it difficult to identify the proper geographical locations for new installations. In this study, a GIS-based site suitability and selection methodology is presented, considering public utility services as power, gas and water networks, besides other common site suitability criteria. These factors were weighted by a multi-criteria decision-making process to find the possible PtG sites in a study area. It was assumed that PtG facilities receive biogas as a CO 2 source from several biogas plants through dedicated pipelines. Results indicate that 2.5% of the 7,250 km 2 region is suitable to host PtG facilities. To produce 142 million m 3 CH 4 per year, altogether 92.4 MW electrolyser capacity is required, which can be distributed in the region in a decentralised manner. The capital expenditure assessment showed that centralised scenarios are 16.6–26.3% less cost intensive than a totally decentralised system of PtG plants.

Spatial Economic Modeling of the Waste-driven Agricultural Biogas in Lubelskie Region, Poland

Abstract In this study, we aim to support the evidence-based policy in agricultural biogas production at regional level in Poland. To do so, we set up a decentralized decision framework, simultaneously taking into account the agricultural sector heterogeneity, the biogas technology state-of-the-art and the Polish institutional setting related to renewable energy production. A partial equilibrium model simulates the agricultural and the biogas sector interactions, estimating market clearing prices and quantities at the intersection of supply and demand. The optimal number, size and location of biogas plants are derived at the equilibrium. Considering the case study of Lubelskie region, we tested alternative incentive schemes for agricultural biogas development. Results indicate that limiting the use of energy crops in favour of other substrates, such as livestock, manure and agro-industrial waste, is decisive to preserve biogas profitability under all policy scenarios tested. However, it seems that only with the implementation of the current policy scheme there is a concrete perspective for the biogas industry take-off.

Geographical Information System Based Planning and Economic Assessment of Centralized and Decentralized Biogas Plants for Electricity Generation

Biogas plant could sustainably solve the waste issues in the high-intensity area of small-scale swine farms. Additionally, it can provide additional revenues by selling electricity and fertilizer. Accordingly, this work was to find the optimal business models of centralization and decentralization biogas plants by considering the suitable biogas plant location and transportation in Ratchaburi province, Thailand. Geographical Information System (GIS) and economic assessment of two operation models were considered. The central feature function with simple additive weight was used to analyse the suitable biogas plant location while the suitable transportation route for collecting feedstock was analysed by the function of network analysis. The analytical results showed that the optimal location of the 0.1 MW biogas power plant was located at Mueang Ratchaburi district where the highway was connected with the location of the power plant making convenient for transportation. The shortest travel distance in one trip per day from selected small-scale swine farms was 96 km. In addition, the economic assessment of operational models between centralization and decentralization was compared by considering financial indicators including net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), benefit-cost ratio (B/C), and payback period (PB). The costs of biogas plants comprising transportation cost of feedstock, investment, operating and maintenance costs, and benefits of biogas plants were considered. The results of the economic feasibility analysis of the different operational models revealed that centralization was optimal, feasible, and profitable. The NPV, IRR, B/C, and PB were 664,430 USD, 28 %, 3.38, and 4.02 years, respectively.

Production of agricultural biogas from waste – an element of socially responsible actions in the food sector

The agricultural and food sector accounts for substantial volumes of organic waste (such as livestock excreta, meat offals) considered as onerous on the environment. The above decomposes formulating methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide in anaerobic conditions. Methane produced in digester chambers of a biomass plant (called biogas) may be applied for the production of electricity and heat, powering of vehicles as well as injections into gas networks. Biogas is one of the renewable sources of energy. In the light of the EU's sustainable development and climate neutrality policies, increasing the share of renewable sources in overall energy consumption is a priority for the Member States. For this reason, the article examines one of the renewable energy sectors in Poland, which is agricultural biogas production. The main attention was focused on agricultural biogas plants. Most often used substrates for biogas production, the dependence of biogas plant location on the population living in particular regions (voivodships) and the development of agriculture in their territories were analysed. The main purpose of the article was to indicate the reasons for the failure of the agricultural biogas plant construction program in Poland. Literature and document analysis were performed, interviews with waste producers as well as owners of agricultural biogas plants were carried out, and SWOT analysis was prepared.

Optimal Location of Biogas Plants in Supply Chains under Carbon Effects: Insight from a Case Study on Animal Manure in North Dakota

Faced with increasing concerns over the negative environmental impact due to human and industrial activities, biomass industry practitioners and policy makers have great interest in green supply chains to reduce carbon emissions from supply chain activities. There are many studies which model the biomass supply chain and its environmental impact. However, animal waste sourced biogas supply chain has not received much attention in the literature. Biogas from animal manure not only provides energy efficiency, but also minimizes carbon emissions compared to existing biomass products. Therefore, this study proposes a mixed integer linear program that minimizes total supply costs and carbon emissions from an animal waste sourced biogas supply chain while it also incorporates carbon price in the model to see the impact of a carbon policy on tactical and strategic supply chain decisions. To validate the model proposed, a case study of North Dakota is adopted where there is a high potential for a biogas plant to be developed. The results of our optimization experiment indicate that supply chain performance in terms of both costs and emissions is very sensitive to a carbon pricing mechanism.

What can the location of biogas plants tell us about agricultural change? A Case Study from the Czech Republic

International online peer-reviewed open-access journal offers a possibility for the international community of professionals working in the fields of regional and rural development or tourism to exchange their ideas and research results or practical achievements as it publishes results of both theoretical and applied research in these fields.

Using a Crop Growth Model to Quantify Regional Biogas Potentials: an Example of the Model Region Biberach (South-West Germany)

Over the last decade, political framework conditions in the energy sector provoked a strong focus on biogas production in Germany. In this context, a sufficient and secure regional biomass supply is needed in order to run biogas plants economically. It is important to estimate which biomass amounts can be produced and are available for bioenergy production in a defined region. The present study focused on a model-based approach quantifying the biomass and, from this, the resulting biogas potential of the model region of Biberach (south-west Germany) using the process-oriented crop growth model DSSAT 4.0. Considering the regional soil and climate conditions of the model region, dry matter yields of maize, triticale, and a crop rotation system (CRS) of maize and triticale including different management systems (change in sowing and harvest date) were simulated. The results indicated an adequate model fit between simulated and measured yields. Dry matter yields of maize (14.7 t ha−1), triticale (12.7 t ha−1), and the CRS (18.1–19.2 t ha−1) differed significantly, indicating that the chosen CRS provided the highest dry matter yields. The biomass potential of all crops was simulated considering different bioenergy scenarios depending on the available agricultural land used for bioenergy. The highest biomass potential was provided by the management system consisting of maize and triticale sown on 1 May and 15 October, respectively. Finally, an additional energy potential of 45,000 kWel (bioenergy scenario 50/50 % of the agricultural land used for biogas production) and of 5,700 kWel (bioenergy scenario 25/25 % of the agricultural land used for biogas production) was determined for the county of Biberach by implementing a CRS, which consisted of maize and triticale. It could be concluded that an additional biomass potential for biogas production exists in the county. Suitable areas for the location of biogas plants could be identified based on the available biomass potential.