In the Netherlands, Swedish combustion technology providers Petro Bio AB has been commissioned to convert energy production at the Dutch tomato grower Zonnekreek Tomato from natural gas to renewable bioenergy."The extraction of natural gas in the Netherlands has caused the soil to collapse resulting in earthquakes. The situation has become acute and the bioenergy market can be significant in mitigating this trend," says Per Carlsson, Marketing Manager at Petro Bio.
Earthquakes and tremors as a result of natural gas extraction in the Dutch city of Groningen, has led the Dutch government to implement a total gas extraction stop by 2030 as well as introducing a programme giving substantial economic incentives to businesses converting from old-style fossil fuels to renewable energy.
The escalating need for more environmentally friendly energy production gives Swedish biomass and multi-fuel combustion technology providers Petro Bio a boost in Europe. Not only in the Netherlands, but also in other European countries investing in incentive programmes to promote renewable energy.
PetroBio’s traditional market has been mainly the Nordic countries but since merging with the Belgian biofuel company Vyncke in January 2018, the opportunities to take market shares in Europe have increased significantly, said Per Carlsson.
Incentivized fossil switch programme
Operating as an independent subsidiary of global biomass combustion specialists Vyncke, Petro Bio was able to establish contact with the Dutch pellet manufacturer Maartens and the tomato grower Zonnekreek Tomato thanks to Vyncke’s European customer base.
The project is partly financed by the Dutch government as part of the incentive programme to encourage businesses to switch from natural gas to renewable energy including biomass fuels.
Maartens is responsible for funding and contracting the entire combustion equipment whereas Zonnekreek Tomato commits to buying energy from Maartens for the next twelve years.
Greenhouse operations are common in the Netherlands and we are looking to find similar projects together with Maartens, said Per Carlsson.
The plant in the Netherlands is planned to be up and running at the end of 2019.
