Weltec Biopower constructs new biogas refinery

Vechta-based Weltec Biopower has started building one of Germany's largest biogas plants in Arneburg, Stendal District, Saxony-Anhalt.

The plant will use four fermenters, six digestate storage units, and one liquid reservoir to produce about 6 million m3 of biomethane (more than 700 cubic metres/hour) every year that will then be fed into the natural gas grid.

'This biogas refinery, which will start feeding in its first biomethane in December 2012, will create about 10 permanent jobs and two training positions,' says Jens Albartus, director of Weltec.

The plant that is being built on a six hectare site, and its sustainability concept will see the use of renewable raw materials and manure from 30 farms.

The farmers, who will also use the digestate, will reportedly not need to travel more than nine miles, on average, to deliver the substrate. This arrangement represents another step towards reliable energy supply along with a high degree of energy efficiency and ecological sustainability. The site will not only create new jobs, but will also form the basis for new regional value chains.

The plant will generate biomethane from applying an amine treatment to the biogas. The generated biomethane will be able to supply around 5,000 households with power and heat. The company is the general contractor of the biogas park, but the plant, the location of which boasts one of the world's most advances infrastructure networks, is operated by Nordmethan Produktion Arneburg.