COW PATS TO POWER OMAGH FARM!

20 Oct 2009

Cows and pigs in the Mountfield area near Omagh will soon be doing their bit for the local environment! A new anaerobic digestion plant at the farm of Gary Hawkes will be completed this autumn, generating over 10,000 units of environmentally friendly electricity every year.

The project, which was funded by ICBAN (INTERREG IIIA) and NIE’s Smart Programme, is a collaboration between the South West College, the Institute of Technology Sligo and Northern Ireland Electricity to explore the issue of farm waste and the potential for on-farm energy production.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is the process where bacteria break down organic material in a sealed tank, producing a biogas containing methane. The biogas can then be used to drive a turbine which generates electricity and heat as a by-product. This method of energy production is widely used in Germany, Denmark and Austria with over 3,000 plants operating across Northern Europe.

This is the first on-farm plant of its kind in Northern Ireland and it is hoped that more farmers will follow this exciting project and consider AD as part of their on farm waste management plans in the future. This installation will be used as a valuable demonstration site for AD in Northern Ireland and is a good starting point to establish the areas which need to be considered for on farm installations.

Farmer Gary Hawkes, Green Farm Energy Ireland Ltd, says the digester can be adapted to utilise energy crops such as grass and maize silage, as well as cow and pig manure. “We looked at a range of technologies and anaerobic digestion was the most attractive and technically suitable for our farm. The flexibility of the system means that in the future we can also look at using food waste as an alternative to manure and energy crops, an innovative alternative to throwing food into landfill. With the AD system we can generate our own electricity and end up with a product that can be used on our farm land as high grade fertilizer.”

Gwyneth Compston, NIE Energy, visited the farm this week to see how the project is progressing. Gwyneth says, “We’re delighted to be involved in such an innovative project, which could mean a new future for energy production here in Northern Ireland. We hope other farmers will take a lead from Gary Hawkes and look at anaerobic digestion as a viable method of maximising the use of what is simply farm waste. There is an added incentive for Gary because from the 1st April 2009, renewable electricity generators under 50kW (including anaerobic digestion) can benefit from double Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) payments which will help to significantly improve the payback period for this technology.”

The Green Farm Energy system caters for a 150 cow farm and can use pig manure during the summer months when the cattle are at pasture. The system has been designed to be as flexible as possible and installed in modules to minimize the land area required. The equipment required by the 40kWh system has a land footprint of less than a tenth of an acre.
Aaron Black, South West College, said, “This is an exciting area of work for the College and sits perfectly with our College’s sustainability focus. Through the development and installation of the system we have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge. As well as the developing, testing and demonstrating this new technology we hope to use the site to train future installers of AD systems and develop the potential of our region to become installers of further systems.”

For more information about renewable energy grants for your home or business visit www.nie-yourenergy.co.uk .

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