Biogas Heats Up Green Innovation
In Ontario
October 17, 2008
Left to right: Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural
Affairs, Leona Dombrowsky; Jane, Mark and Tyler Donnan
NEWS
Ontario producers are responding very positively to the Ontario Biogas
Financial Assistance Program, with 46 feasibility projects approved in
the past year, as well as the construction of 12 biogas projects.
Mark Donnan of Donnandale Farms near Stirling was one of the first applicants
to the program. His project will use organic materials produced on and
off the farm and is scheduled to be completed in September 2009.
The Biogas Financial Assistance Program helps farmers and rural businesses
study feasibility of installing biogas systems. It will also cover part
of construction and implementation costs. Applicants can receive up to
$400,000.
Biogas is the result of turning organic waste such as manure, crop residues
and food processing waste into fuel. Like natural gas, it can be used
as a fuel in electrical generators, engines, boilers and burners.
QUOTES
"Innovative new technologies like biogas enable farmers to strengthen
their bottom line and help the environment," said Leona Dombrowsky,
Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. "Using biogas to
generate heat and electricity on the farm is a prime example of possibilities
that can be realized when we support innovation."
QUICK FACTS
- The Ontario government committed $11.2 million in funding for the
Biogas Financial Assistance Program, demonstrating its ongoing commitment
to growing the green energy sector
- The Donnan's anaerobic digester, once fully functional, is expected
to generate about 500 kilowatts of power, 24 hours a day, seven days
a week. That's enough energy to supply roughly 400 households.
- Not only does anaerobic digestion produce energy and reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, it also treats manure and other organic materials to
make them more environmentally friendly.
LEARN MORE
Learn more about green
energy opportunities in farming.
Want to know what anaerobic
digestion really means?
Backgrounder
BIOGAS FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
October 17, 2008
The Ontario Biogas Systems Financial Assistance Program will help farmers
and rural businesses carry out feasibility studies for the installation
of biogas systems as well as cover a proportion of construction and implementation
costs.
There are two phases to the program:
- Phase 1 funding covers up to 70 per cent of the eligible costs of
carrying out a feasibility study, to a maximum of $35,000.
- Phase 2 funding covers up to 40 per cent of eligible construction
and implementation costs. The maximum total feasibility and construction
cost funding is $400,000 for each anaerobic digester system.
Producers have responded very positively to the program: 46 feasibility
projects have been approved, as well as the construction of 12 biogas
projects. More construction projects will be approved in the coming months.
Biogas systems use anaerobic digestion to produce methane. Methane can
be used in a boiler to produce heat or in an engine connected to a generator
to produce electricity.
- Anaerobic digestion treats manure and other organic materials that
reduces pathogens and odours.
- The Nutrient Management Act has been amended to facilitate the use
of off-farm organic materials in biogas systems.
- Biogas systems can produce clean, renewable energy that reduces greenhouse
gas emissions.
- Biogas systems produce a new revenue stream for farm and food processing
operations.
Frequently Asked Questions: Biogas Systems
What is a biogas system?
A biogas system consists of:
- an anaerobic digestion tank or vessel
- a biogas collection or management system, often a storage bubble
- a biogas utilization system, such as a generator, and
- a digestate management and storage system, often a storage tank for
liquids. Digestate is the material left after the biogas has been produced.
What is anaerobic digestion?
Anaerobic digestion is a biological process in which micro-organisms
break down organic matter like manure, crops, crop residues and food processing
waste. This process occurs in the absence of oxygen and results in the
release of biogas.
What is biogas?
Biogas is a combination of methane and carbon dioxide. Biogas can be
used like natural gas as a fuel in electrical generators, engines, boilers
and burners.
What's left in the tank once the process is complete?
Digestate is what's left once the organic material has been "digested".
Once carbon has been converted to methane or carbon dioxide, the organic
material becomes more liquid in nature. This liquid digestate contains
all of the agricultural nutrients (such as nitrogen and phosphorus) that
were present in the original organic material.
Do all the biogas systems operate in the same way?
While the basic operating principle remains the same, there are different
types of anaerobic digester technologies based on the type of material
handled, the operating temperature and the end use of the biogas.
What materials can be used in a biogas system?
Biogas systems can use both solid and liquid organic materials, including:
manure, crops, crop residues and food processing waste material.
How is electricity produced using biogas?
Typically an operator would use biogas to run an internal combustion
engine to power an electrical generator, which produces the electricity.
Where does a "co-gen" system fit in?
A co-generation or "co-gen" system is an internal combustion
engine fitted with an electrical generator as well as a system to capture
heat. Just as a radiator captures the excess heat from a car engine, a
co-gen system captures heat from the engine for further use.
What are the environmental benefits of a biogas system?
Energy from biogas is a green or renewable energy, and its production
reduces greenhouse gas emissions by reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
In addition, biogas systems reduce greenhouse gas emissions by consuming
methane produced from stored manure. Methane is twenty-one times more
potent than carbon dioxide in causing global warming. The management of
the digestate from the biogas system may also reduce emissions compared
to the conventional management of manure or other input materials.
Adopting a biogas system also reduces the risk of contaminating ground
or surface water as a result of the unintentional movement of pathogens
and nutrients from manure run-off. Several studies show that harmful pathogens
like E.coli bacteria are considerably reduced using this technology.
Biogas systems also reduce the odour in manure or other input materials
by covering the manure storage tank, breaking down odour-causing compounds,
as well as destroying the bacteria that cause odours.
Do biogas systems use only manure?
No. Manure is definitely one of the best fits for biogas systems because
it is consistent, it is produced on a daily basis, and it contains readily
digested organic material. However in Ontario, digesters can successfully
use food processing waste materials as an input. These materials are often
challenging to dispose of in conventional waste management systems, such
as landfills. In addition, when biogas systems are implemented at food
processing facilities, the heat from the biogas system can be incorporated
into food processing activities and byproducts can be used directly on-site.
Can biogas systems reduce energy costs for agricultural and food producers?
Agricultural and food producers can use the electricity produced from
their biogas system to meet their operation's energy demands. In addition,
they can sell excess electricity to the electrical grid. This can be an
additional source of revenue for the operation. The excess heat from co-gen
systems can also reduce heating costs for the operator in the house, the
barn or the food processing facility.
Once carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide are removed, biogas can be
added to natural gas lines. Purified biogas can also be used as fuel in
specially-modified vehicles, although this type of vehicle is not yet
common in Canada.
For questions about program details and updates, please contact the Agricultural
Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca
For more information, contact:
Sherry Persaud, Minister's Office, 416-326-6439
Brent Ross, Communications Branch, 416-326-9342
