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08/08/2011
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Green technology firm Ener-G is using chicken litter and maize to help a Hereford chicken farm become more eco friendly and generate additional income from renewable energy.
 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 in a combined heat and power operation.
The renewable electricity generated will power the poultry houses and the AD plant itself, with an impressive 90% surplus sold to the National Grid. Additionally, captured waste heat will provide warmth for the chicken houses, eventually eliminating the requirement for fuel oil and propane gas. Generation is scheduled to begin on 1 August.
Susan Shakesheff, director of Ynergy, the farm's new green power company, explains that her new AD plant can process 700 tonnes of poultry litter and 1,000 tonnes of cattle slurry, mixed with 3,000 tonnes of maize silage per annum.
Using the maize reduces nitrogen levels in the digestion process and prevents build up of high concentrations of ammonia that would otherwise arrest biogas production, she says.
The new plant will provide 250kW of electricity, sufficient to power 450 homes, and 200kW of heat – so qualifying for payments from the government's Feed in Tariff and Renewable Heat Incentive programmes (14p per kW on electricity generated and 6.5p per kW for heat).
Shakesheff says that 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. She reckons payback on the initial investment will be achieved within one year.
Incidentally, 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. Shakesheff explains that the farm already uses its poultry litter as a fertiliser, but that by digesting it, methane losses to the environment during spreading will be eliminated.
"We are proud to be at the forefront of the move to anaerobic digestion, and to improve our sustainability, and energy self sufficiency, while securing a new income stream," states Shakesheff. "We are able to find a superior alternative for utilising our chicken litter and are helping neighbouring dairy farmers to recycle their cattle slurry."
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Author
Brian Tinham
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