Austria-headed biogas technology providers Biogest Energie- und Wassertechnik GmbH (Biogest) has announced that it has received its first order to build an agricultural biogas plant in the Mayenne region, in northwestern France. Followed by projects in the UK, Czech Republic, Serbia, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Austria, this first Biogest biogas plant in France represents an essential reference plant for further projects.
As one of the largest agricultural biogas plants in France, the Charchigné project is considered as a showcase project in the region and beyond. To be built on a 3 ha site, the plant will have an electrical output of 3.6 MW and will be operated on agricultural waste and energy crops.
The supply of the substrates will come from about 110 farmers within a radius of 25 km in the region, whose main activities are in milk, pig- and poultry production. The generated electricity will be fed into the public grid and is sufficient to meet the annual power demand of can supply approximately 8 500 households.
FIT for process heat
In addition, heat in the form of steam can be provided to a neighbouring dairy industry group. This innovative project will convert approximately 110 000 tonnes of biological waste into electricity, heat and biological fertilizer each year, thereby avoiding the use of chemical fertilizers.
The biogas plant is carried out in the tried and tested Biogest PowerRing technology, which has advantages regarding the energy efficiency and operational safety as well as the space-saving modular design.
The financing partner of the biogas plant project is Meridiam, an international investment fund focused on the development, financing, and management of sustainable public infrastructure projects. Renewable energy financial consultants Finergreen, fulfilled the financial structuring of the project.
