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Technology business Ener-G is using poultry power to help a Hereford chicken farm to generate a new income stream as a renewable energy generator.
Great Ynys Farm, in Hereford, which has 125 acres of arable land and a 90,000 broiler chicken operation, will use anaerobic digestion (AD) to convert chicken litter into biogas for renewable electricity and heat generation.
The electricity generated will power the poultry houses and AD system, with a 90% surplus sold to the National Grid. Meanwhile, the captured waste heat will provide warmth for the chicken houses – displacing fuel oil and propane gas. Generation is scheduled to begin on 1 August 2011.
The farm’s new green power company – called Ynergy Ltd - has contracted biogas generation experts Ener-G and biogas plant manufacturer PlanET Biogastechnik for project delivery.
The AD system will have capacity to process 700 tonnes of poultry litter and 1,000 tonnes of cattle slurry, mixed with 3,000 tonnes of maize silage per annum. Use of maize reduces nitrogen levels in the digestion process and prevents the build up of high concentrations of ammonia that would arrest biogas production.
The Ener-G combined heat and power system, designed and manufactured at its headquarters in Salford, will provide 250kW of electricity and 200kW of heat. This renewable energy source will qualify for financial payments from the government’s Feed in Tariff and Renewable Heat Incentive programmes – providing 14 pence per kW on all electricity generated and 6.5 pence per kW for the captured heat that is used on site.
Plans are in place to convert the heating system in the farm’s broiler houses within the next few months, to utilise heat from the biogas generation process. This is expected to achieve payback on investment within one year.
The digestion process also produces a residue of 5,000 cubic metres of odourless organic liquid fertilizer that will be injected into the soil to provide an enhanced nutrient source for the maize crop. The farm currently uses its poultry litter as a fertiliser, but by digesting it, methane losses to the environment during spreading will be eliminated.
Susan Shakesheff, director of Ynergy, said “We are proud to be at the forefront of the move to anaerobic digestion. We are able to find a superior alternative for utilising our chicken litter and are helping neighbouring dairy farmers to recycle their cattle slurry.