How many households can a 500 kW biogas plant supply with electricity?
On average, a 500 kW plant has an operational performance of 8,000 hours / year: As a result, approx. 4 million kWh of electricity is produced. An average household of four consumes approx. 3,500 kWh of electricity annually. This means that approx. 1,100 households can be supplied with electricity by means of a biogas plant.
How many households can a 500 kW biogas plant supply with heat?
A 500 kW el plant in combination with a combined heat and power generation can supply approx. 1,000 households with heat energy. As a result of the waste heat from the co-generation plant, approx. 3 million kWh of heat energy is delivered annually. For heat energy, a household of four on average consumes approx. 3,000 kWh each year.
What is meant by the term power-heat coupling bonus?
Power-heat coupling bonus is a term used when referring to an energy production plant, which produces both electricity as well as heat. The more the power-heat coupling technology of a power generation plant can be exploited, the higher the plant's overall efficiency.
What is a nuclear power plant's degree of efficiency?
Because a nuclear power plant does not have a way to output heat (the heat generated is dissipated through cooling towers), it only as an efficiency rating of 32%.
What is the degree of efficiency for a combined heat and power plant in a biogas plant?
When combined with a heating concept (e.g. when fed into the district heating network or supplying heat to manufacturing operations), the degree of efficiency can be up to 80%. Of that, the electrical component of the plant's output is 38-42%. If a plant provides documented evidence of a heating concept, the German Renewable Energy Act currently provides for an added remuneration of up to two cents per kWh.
How does a nuclear power plant help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions?
Nuclear power plants are not CO2 emission-free. CO2 emissions are generated especially by the extensive amounts of energy needed for uranium extraction and purification. All in all, a nuclear power plant generates between 31 and 61 g of CO2 per kWh of power it produces.
How are carbon dioxide emissions reduced with a biogas plant?
For each kWh of electricity produced, approx. 600 g of CO2 can be reduced. This is to say that a 500 kW biogas plant can reduce a CO2 equivalent of 2,400 tons of emissions reductions each year.
How high are the subsidies granted for renewable energy?
Zero! The European Court of Justice has established in numerous complaints filed by the energy industry that incentives granted for renewable energy cannot be considered subsidies. Subsidies are generally considered expenses within a government's budget, which are financed by existing or additionally levied taxes. However, incentives are granted for renewable energy in a so-called apportionment procedure. What this means is that each citizen supports renewable energy by paying a fee for his or her use of energy. Currently, a household of four is charged a fee of approx. 25 € annually.
What ingredients are used in biogas plants?
a) Renewable resources, which are firmly anchored in the Biomass Regulation and which essentially consist of corn silage, grain and liquid manure. If these products are applied in the production of energy, the German Renewable Energy Act provides for an added bonus remuneration of six cents per kWh.
b) Coferments: this is a terms applied to refer to ingredients made up of waste created in the food and foodstuffs industry, such as, for example, used grease / shortening, leftover bread, spoiled goods. The German Renewable Energy Act does not provide for any bonus remuneration if these ingredients are used.
Does operating a biogas plant lead to monocultures being formed in agriculture?
No. Energy plants, just as in crop growing for food, are grown according to generally recognized agricultural rules. So-called cross-compliance requirements must be fulfilled. Cultivation of agricultural acreage geared towards sustainability is inevitably in the best interest of an agricultural operation, since its only capital is its soil. According to a survey conducted by the Deutsche Maiskomitee e.V., in April 2007, the total area being cultivated for corn silage was 1.3 million hectares as compared to 1.2 million hectares in 1996 (an increase of 9%). Improved methods of cultivation do not necessarily result in monocultures. Targeted crop growing allows for an increase in earnings and rotating crops accordingly is inevitable in order to achieve higher revenue.
Is food becoming more expensive as a result of bio energy?
The increase in food prices is a result of the increased global demand in particular and not a result of promoting bio energy. Especially the demand for food in highly populated countries such as India and China leads to a significant increase in prices in the world markets for basic food groups such as grain, milk and meats.
In Germany, approx. 3,500 biogas plants produced close to 6 billion kWh of electricity in 2006. If one were to base a calculation on 200 hectares of land required to grow corn for a 500 kW biogas plant, today 325,000 hectares of agricultural cropland is needed to produce bio corn.
If only one fifth of the Chinese population were to ask for one pork chop every other day, for the 3 kg of grain needed to produce one kg of meat, the crop land required would be 3 million hectares. This, however, is hardly enough to cover global demand.
The increased prices for raw material and food are in fact not a direct result of the developments in bio energy, which when compared to the increased demand globally can only be considered a very marginal position.
Is there any smell nuisance as a result of operating a biogas plant?
Generally speaking, any operation has emissions. If a biogas plant is operated properly, there is no permanently perceptible smell nuisance. It is in the economic interest of any operating company to ensure that the plant is operated properly, because this ensures sufficient profits. Any emitting gases signify a direct economic loss, because the gas being emitted would no longer be available for use in the combined heat and power plant for producing electricity and thus would result in direct losses to the company's net earnings.
