Bioenergy village

Last updated
Biogas plant model diagram. Dry - solid-state anaerobic digestion AD biogas plant.jpg
Biogas plant model diagram.

A bio-energy village is a regionally oriented concept for the use of renewable energy sources in rural areas. The system uses biomass from local agriculture and forestry in a biogas powerplant to meet the complete energy requirements of a village, such as electricity and district heating.

Contents

These villages tend to be self-powered and independent from external grids, despite being connected to overland grids for feeding surplus energy. The term "bio-energy village" refers to a dependency on fresh biological material as a source of energy only whereas an "ecovillage" includes a variety of networks.

Examples of such villages are Jühnde near Göttingen, Mauenheim near Tuttlingen and Bollewick near Berlin in Germany.

Energy production

Liquid manure, grass, silage and other raw materials from agriculture are fermented in a biological gas facility. The biogas produced fuels a combined heat and power plant (CHP). The heat is distributed via a district heating system while power is fed into a local electricity grid. In winter, additional heat requirements can be supplied by a supplementary heating plant, in which wood chips or straw are burned.

Existing projects

Jühnde

Bio-energy village in Juhnde, Germany. Juhnde Blick auf den Ort und Biogasanlage.jpg
Bio-energy village in Jühnde, Germany.

The first bio-energy village in Germany is Jühnde in the district of Göttingen. A project initiated by the Interdisciplinary Centre For Sustainable Development (IZNE) at the University of Göttingen, and completed in January 2006, the project supplies the village with the heat that it requires and produces twice as much electricity as is used. It has been estimated that the participating households save €750 per year in energy costs.

Mauenheim

In Mauenheim, Baden-Württemberg, a bio-energy village has been developed in Immendingen in the district of Tuttlingen, with approximately 400 inhabitants and 148 buildings. The biogas facility and wood chip heating system are supplemented by a solar energy system. The project started operation in 2006. It has been calculated that about 1900 tonnes of CO2 per year will be saved.

Rai Breitenbach

The Breuberger village of Rai Breitenbach in the Odenwald (approximately 890 inhabitants) is in the process of becoming a bio-energy village. At present the project is still in the planning stage. A feasibility study has been completed and a co-operative created to carry out the project, which is expected to be completed in 2008.

Freiamt

The village Freiamt in the Black Forest with 4300 inhabitants is using all forms of renewable energy. A biogas plant, Solar power, wind and water energy produce about 14 million kwh energy annually, about 3 million more than needed. Around 150 solar collectors are used for water heating.

Considerations

Advantages

Disadvantages

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biogas</span> Gases produced by decomposing organic matter

Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste, wastewater, and food waste. Biogas is produced by anaerobic digestion with anaerobic organisms or methanogens inside an anaerobic digester, biodigester or a bioreactor. The gas composition is primarily methane and carbon dioxide and may have small amounts of hydrogen sulfide, moisture and siloxanes. The gases methane and hydrogen can be combusted or oxidized with oxygen. This energy release allows biogas to be used as a fuel; it can be used in fuel cells and for heating purpose, such as in cooking. It can also be used in a gas engine to convert the energy in the gas into electricity and heat.

Distributed generation, also distributed energy, on-site generation (OSG), or district/decentralized energy, is electrical generation and storage performed by a variety of small, grid-connected or distribution system-connected devices referred to as distributed energy resources (DER).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar thermal energy</span> Technology using sunlight for heat

Solar thermal energy (STE) is a form of energy and a technology for harnessing solar energy to generate thermal energy for use in industry, and in the residential and commercial sectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Energy development</span> Methods bringing energy into production

Energy development is the field of activities focused on obtaining sources of energy from natural resources. These activities include the production of renewable, nuclear, and fossil fuel derived sources of energy, and for the recovery and reuse of energy that would otherwise be wasted. Energy conservation and efficiency measures reduce the demand for energy development, and can have benefits to society with improvements to environmental issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microgeneration</span> Small-scale heating and electric power creation

Microgeneration is the small-scale production of heat or electric power from a "low carbon source," as an alternative or supplement to traditional centralized grid-connected power.

Renewable heat is an application of renewable energy referring to the generation of heat from renewable sources; for example, feeding radiators with water warmed by focused solar radiation rather than by a fossil fuel boiler. Renewable heat technologies include renewable biofuels, solar heating, geothermal heating, heat pumps and heat exchangers. Insulation is almost always an important factor in how renewable heating is implemented.

Renewable natural gas (RNG), also known as biomethane, is a biogas which has been upgraded to a quality similar to fossil natural gas and has a methane concentration of 90% or greater. By removing CO2 and other impurities from biogas, and increasing the concentration of methane to a level similar to fossil natural gas, it becomes possible to distribute RNG via existing gas pipeline infrastructure. RNG can be used in existing appliances, including vehicles with natural gas burning engines (natural gas vehicles).

A sustainable community energy system is an integrated approach to supplying a local community with its energy requirements from renewable energy or high-efficiency co-generation energy sources. The approach can be seen as a development of the distributed generation concept.

The energy policy of India is to increase the locally produced energy in India and reduce energy poverty, with more focus on developing alternative sources of energy, particularly nuclear, solar and wind energy. Net energy import dependency was 40.9% in 2021-22.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renewable energy in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of renewable energy in the United Kingdom

Renewable energy in the United Kingdom contributes to production for electricity, heat, and transport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renewable energy in Finland</span> Overview of renewable energy in Finland

Renewable energy in Finland grew to 38.7% of total final energy consumption by year end 2014, achieving joint second position with Latvia in terms of renewable energy consumption by share amongst the EU-28 countries, behind its neighbour Sweden in first position on a 52.6% share. The 2014 share in Finland breaks down as renewable energy providing 52% of the heating and cooling sector, 31.4% of the electricity sector and 21.6% of the transport sector. By 2014, Finland had already exceeded its 2020 target for renewable energy use under the EU renewable energy directive as shown in the table of country targets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar power in Turkey</span>

Turkey’s sunny climate possesses a high solar energy potential, specifically in the South Eastern Anatolia and Mediterranean regions. Solar power is a growing part of renewable energy in the country, with 10 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels generating 5% of the country's electricity. Solar thermal is also important.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renewable energy in Italy</span>

Renewable energy has developed rapidly in Italy over the past decade and provided the country a means of diversifying from its historical dependency on imported fuels. Solar power accounted for around 8% of the total electric production in the country in 2014, making Italy the country with the highest contribution from solar energy in the world that year. Rapid growth in the deployment of solar, wind and bio energy in recent years lead to Italy producing over 40% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar power in Denmark</span>

Solar power in Denmark amounts to 3,490 MW of grid-connected PV capacity at the end of September 2023, and contributes to a goal to use 100% renewable energy by 2050 and 100% renewable electricity by 2030. Solar power met 6.1% of Danish electricity demand in 2022, the highest share in the Nordic countries.

Power-to-gas is a technology that uses electric power to produce a gaseous fuel. When using surplus power from wind generation, the concept is sometimes called windgas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renewable energy in Armenia</span>

Renewable energy in Armenia ranges from geothermal, hydroelectric, solar and wind energy in Armenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renewable energy in Afghanistan</span>

Renewable energy in Afghanistan includes biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, and wind power. Afghanistan is a landlocked country surrounded by five other countries. With a population of less than 35 million people, it is one of the lowest energy consuming countries in relation to a global standing. It holds a spot as one of the countries with a smaller ecological footprint. Hydropower is currently the main source of renewable energy due to Afghanistan's geographical location. Its large mountainous environment facilitates the siting of hydroelectric dams and other facets of hydro energy.

Denmark is a leading country in renewable energy production and usage. Renewable energy sources collectively produced 75% of Denmark's electricity generation in 2022, and are expected to provide 100% of national electric power production from 2030. Including energy use in the heating/cooling and transport sectors, Denmark is expected to reach 100% renewable energy in 2050, up from the 34% recorded in 2021.

There is enormous potential for renewable energy in Kazakhstan, particularly from wind and small hydropower plants. The Republic of Kazakhstan has the potential to generate 10 times as much power as it currently needs from wind energy alone. But renewable energy accounts for just 0.6 percent of all power installations. Of that, 95 percent comes from small hydropower projects. The main barriers to investment in renewable energy are relatively high financing costs and an absence of uniform feed-in tariffs for electricity from renewable sources. The amount and duration of renewable energy feed-in tariffs are separately evaluated for each project, based on feasibility studies and project-specific generation costs. Power from wind, solar, biomass and water up to 35 MW, plus geothermal sources, are eligible for the tariff and transmission companies are required to purchase the energy of renewable energy producers. An amendment that introduces and clarifies technology-specific tariffs is now being prepared. It is expected to be adopted by Parliament by the end of 2014. In addition, the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business indicator shows the country to be relatively investor-friendly, ranking it in 10th position for investor protection.

Biofuels play a major part in the renewable energy strategy of Denmark. Denmark is using biofuel to achieve its target of using 100% renewable energy for all energy uses by 2050. Biofuels provide a large share of energy sources in Denmark when considering all sectors of energy demand. In conjunction with Denmark's highly developed renewable energy resources in other areas, biofuels are helping Denmark meet its ambitious renewable energy targets.