EnviTec facility receives “Plant of the Month” accolade

The German Biogas Association (GBA) has selected EnviTec Biogas' Saerbeck facility as its "Biogas Plant of the Month".
The plant is operated by Saergas GmbH & Co. KG, a company of 16 farmers, as well as EnviTec Biogas and the machinery cooperative Maschinenring Steinfurt-Bentheim. It is part of the Saerbeck Bioenergy Park, which has won multiple awards.
The GBA has chosen a "Biogas Plant of the Month" since April 2019, as a means to promote the renewable energy source.
Herman Josef Benning, spokesman of the regional group Münsterland of the Biogas Association, highlighted several reasons why the Saerbeck plant was chosen during a small ceremony.
"The plant in Saerbeck impressively shows what is possible with a biogas plant today," he said. "The Saerbeck plant not only generates electricity and heat sustainably. The plant technology is precisely tailored to the needs of the energy market, as the operators invested in a corresponding adequate optimisation several years ago."
Benning went on to note that the facility shows how bioenergy production and environmental protection are intertwined because, through the use of perennial wild plants (BG90), the biogas site combines climate and environmental protection.
"The cultivation of alternative energy crops creates habitat and food supply for various animal and insect species, which significantly increases the biodiversity on our fields. You don't just see that, you hear it," Benning said.
Since 2018, the electricity production of the Saerbeck plant has been technically optimised so that it only runs by the hour with correspondingly high electricity demand.
"It is precisely this flexible mode of operation that is one of the undisputed advantages of biogas technology," said Isabelle Grudda, biogas expert at the Landesverband Erneuerbare Energien NRW (LEE NRW), referring to the importance of the energy industry. "These flexible biogas plants can specifically compensate for fluctuations in volatile wind and solar feed-in and thus contribute equally to security of supply and climate protection."
"We are flattered and very happy about the honour," commented managing director of Saergas Hendrik Uhlenbrock. "In recent years, we have put a lot of sweat and passion into the system and often had the right nose."
“We are proud that our plant has received such attention even after twelve years of operation,” concluded Christian Eilert, EnviTec sales manager Germany.