The biogas plant project is planned in Nivala, to the Kurunpuhto industrial park, where a site of 20 hectares has been reserved for the plant.
The biogas plant will process agricultural side streams, mainly slurry, dry manure and field biomasses, which will be used to produce liquefied biomethane (LBG) and biofertilizer. The plant can also utilize clean industrial side streams. The plant’s targeted annual processing capacity is 400 000 – 800 000 tonnes of feedstock and production 150 – 220 GWh of LBG production.
When manure is collected as feedstock for the biogas plant, methane gas is recovered from it and its release into the atmosphere is prevented. Methane gas is refined into a renewable fuel, i.e. liquefied biomethane.
All nutrients for utilization
Biofertilizer
Digestate contains all the nutrients in the feedstock and is classified as an organic fertilizer. This product has improved fertilizer properties compared to manure since nutrients are in a form that is more useful for plants, the content of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are higher, and the amount of soluble nitrogen is multiple times higher. In addition, the digestate is a homogeneous mass and the dry matter content is lower compared to slurry. All the digestate is hygienizated at the plant with heat treatment, which kills possible pathogens.
Digestate is returned to farms as biofertilizer, allowing all nutrients to be utilized locally. This also creates good opportunities for efficient and systematic use of nutrients in the Nivala area. Increasing the nutrient content of biofertilizers is also investigated in the project.
Why biogas?
Renewable energy from local feedstock
The plant produces renewable energy from locally collected agricultural side streams. Liquefied biomethane is used as energy in for example, industry, road transport or maritime transport.
Reduced emissions from transport and agriculture
Methane capture reduces the greenhouse gas emissions that would result from spreading slurry on fields. In other words, gas recovery reduces emissions from agriculture.
Biogas is also a significantly lower-emission fuel compared to traditional fossil fuels.
The future of agriculture and sector integration
The operations connect the agriculture, transport and energy sectors, which creates profitability and brings many benefits to farms. One of the important starting points is the circular economy, where the energy contained in agricultural side streams is recovered and nutrients are further recycled. Another significant issue is the emission reduction from farms, which is created when methane and carbon dioxide contained in manure are captured in the biogas process. In addition, odour is reduced when nutrient-rich digestate produced by the biogas plant is applied to fields instead of manure.
Spreading of slurry becomes more efficient when a smaller mass of slurry can be used for fertilization to obtain the same nutrient content. This also means savings in transport and storage.
Owner and project developer
The biogas plant project is owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ (CIP) CI Advanced Bioenergy Fund I, which is developing the project together with local partner Wega Group Oy.
Building value that matters
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP)
Founded in 2012, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners P/S (CIP) is today the world’s largest fund manager focusing on greenfield renewable energy investments and the global leader in offshore wind power. The funds managed by CIP focuses on investments in offshore and onshore wind, solar energy, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity, storage, advanced bioenergy and Power-to-X.
CIP manages 12 funds and has to date raised around EUR 28 billion for investments in energy and related infrastructure from more than 160 international institutional investors. CIP has around 700 employees and 12 offices around the world. For more information, visit www.cip.com.
Manages
12 funds
EUR 28 billion for investments in energy
160 international institutional investors
12 offices around the world
Wega Group Oy
Founded in 2012, Wega is a company specializing in renewable fuel production and distribution services and building reliable and sustainable supply chains. Wega’s solution-oriented teams investigate energy-related issues for both small and large companies and municipal operators. Wega employs more than 35 energy professionals.
