| | Interest in biogas production in Alberta is being driven by such factors as rising energy prices and the need to address issues like manure management, waste management and odour. Although the capital costs for biogas facilities are high, the long-term economic and environmental benefits make these facilities good options in some situations. Now the Alberta Government is offering three programs to help grow bioenergy production, including biogas, in the province.
Biogas is produced through anaerobic digestion. In this process, anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that don’t need oxygen) convert carbon in materials like food processing wastes into various gases, mostly methane and carbon dioxide. The methane can be used to replace natural gas (which is about 90% methane) or produce electricity. Methane is a greenhouse gas, so collecting it reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Collecting the gas emissions also reduces odours. Heat from the process can be used for things like heating farm buildings. The digestion process also results in a compost-like biofertilizer. And, by adding water treatment equipment, the system can treat the wastewater for re-use.
Alberta already has five biogas facilities (see table). “I think it’s kind of neat that we are in a hydrocarbon province and we’ve got more biogas projects than, say, Saskatchewan or Manitoba. It shows great vision on the part of the people who developed the projects,” says Jim Jones, a Business Development Specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Food.
Common feedstocks for biogas production are manure (from hog, beef, dairy or poultry operations) or food processing wastes (for example, from dairy, meat or vegetable processing). Another feedstock option, which is in use in Europe, involves crops like wheat, barley, alfalfa and ryegrass that are cut as silage and used to generate biogas in a digester process called dry fermentation.
Europe is about a decade ahead of Canada in biogas development. Jones was part of an Alberta biogas mission to Europe last year, and he and others at Alberta Agriculture keep an eye on bioenergy developments in other jurisdictions to learn from them and develop better opportunities in Alberta.
The capital costs for biogas facilities are a major challenge for expanding the industry. For instance, the capital cost for a 1-megawatt facility is between about $4 and $7 million, depending on the facility’s specific infrastructure. Jones says, “That would probably include two to three digesters with an engine, the cleaning-up equipment – to [clean the water for re-use] and remove the carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide from the methane – and the control room, as well as the cost of connecting to the electrical grid.”
Payback time depends on a facility’s capital and operating costs and its ability to capture value-added opportunities. Jones notes some typical payback periods: “Manure doesn’t generate that much methane, so the payback is about 10 years. For dry fermentation of plant materials, the payback is about four to six years. And for food processing wastes, the payback is about three to four years – that tells you how much methane is being generated from those wastes.”
In October 2006, the Alberta Government announced $239 million in programs to expand bioenergy production in the province. The $24-million Biorefining Commercialization and Market Development Program provides cost-shared funding for such things as feasibility studies, equipment costs, worker training, and marketing. The $6-million Bioenergy Infrastructure Development Program provides cost-shared funding for capital projects. Both programs run from 2006 to 2009. The remaining $209 million is a credit program for Alberta manufacturers of bioenergy; it runs from 2007 to 2011.
About 20 biogas projects are in various stages of development in Alberta. Jones feels the long-term potential for biogas production could be similar to that achieved by Alberta’s wind power industry.
For information about biogas production, visit www.climatechangecentral.com and type ‘biogas conference’ into the search engine. For information on the Alberta Government’s bioenergy programs, call the Ag Info Centre at 310-3276.
Biogas Facilities in Alberta
| Company, Location | Feedstock | Purpose |
| Cargill Foods, High River | meat processing wastes | methane replaces some of the natural gas used to operate facility; odour reduction |
| Lamb Weston, Taber | potato renderings from potato processing | methane replaces some of the natural gas used to operate facility |
| Highmark Renewables, Vegreville | feedlot manure | electricity for sale to the grid; energy for operating the facility; manure management; biofertilizer |
| Iron Creek Hutterite Colony, Viking | various types of livestock manure and slaughterhouse wastes | energy for operating the facility; electricity for sale to the grid; manure management; water conservation; odour reduction |
| Peace Pork, Falher | hog manure | odour reduction; manure management |
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