The 1.5 billion cows used worldwide to produce food for human consumption release 100 million tonnes of methane (equivalent to 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2) every year, according to the United Nations agriculture and food.

And the reduction of this type of emissions has become one of the main priorities in the fight against global warming, since 30% of it – since pre-industrial times – is caused by methane, a chemical compound capable of effectively trap heat in the atmosphere. .

Consequently, the Canadian company Anaergia recently announced its intention to build a biogas plant in Kasaoka, Okayama. This facility will generate renewable electricity from biogas produced by the anaerobic digestion of cow manure from farms in Okayama Prefecture for Toyo Energy Solution.

The project is expected to digest around 250 tonnes of cow manure per day from the area and use the resulting biogas to power a combined heat and power system.

“At this Toyo plant, the fuel will be used to generate approximately 1.2 megawatts of clean, renewable electricity, enough to power approximately 2,200 homes per year,” Andrew Benedek, president and CEO of Metro, told Metro. Anaergia.

In addition to generating energy, this facility will prevent the emission of thousands of tons of pollutants into the atmosphere, which contribute to global warming.

The installation of this type of power plant should also become widespread throughout the world in the years to come to limit methane emissions while producing electricity.

“Installations like these will continue to prevent new methane emissions and create renewable fuel year after year,” Benedek concluded.

“We hope to build many more biogas plants with Anaergia to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and produce renewable energy.”

— Yoshimitsu Okada, Chairman and CEO of Toyo Group

13.5 thousand

tonnes of CO2 equivalent in manure emissions will be halted by the biogas plant in Kasaoka, Okayama.

Andrew Benedek explained it to Metro:

-Biogas can be obtained from manure -or any other type of organic waste- through the process of anaerobic digestion.

-Anaerobic digestion consists of various microbes that break down organic matter in the absence of oxygen and release biogas, a combination of methane and other gases.

-Methane is burned in a combined process of heat and electricity to efficiently generate renewable electricity.

André Benedek

Chairman and CEO of Anaergia

Q: How does your plant help the environment?

– This new factory is a way to help tackle the climate crisis. He will do this in two ways. First, it will prevent the release of methane – a greenhouse gas 84 times more harmful than CO2 – that would otherwise be emitted from cow manure produced in this agricultural region. Second, this plant will use the manure to create a renewable fuel, thus not only avoiding the harmful release of methane, but also replacing the fossil fuels that would otherwise be used for energy.

At this Toyo plant, the fuel will be used to generate approximately 1.2 megawatts of clean, renewable electricity, enough to power approximately 2,200 homes annually. In total, the plant will avoid some 13,500 tonnes of CO2e of manure and fossil fuel emissions that would have been used to generate electricity, equivalent to taking some 2,900 cars off the road for a year. (calculated on the basis of a 20-year period global warming potential).

Q: Do you plan to build plants of this type in other countries?

– Anaergia has installed our technologies in more than 1,700 projects in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Among them are many agricultural projects, as well as solid waste and wastewater management projects.

Our vision is to become the world’s leading producer of renewable fuels, while reducing global carbon emissions, protecting the environment and sustaining life for generations to come.

Q: What future awaits the project?

– These types of factories are essential for the world to reach net zero emissions. You can’t get to zero without carbon-negative renewable fuels like biomethane (“renewable natural gas”). And using biomethane is the fastest way to replace carbon-intensive fossil fuels because it can be distributed without any changes to existing gas pipeline infrastructure or end-use devices.

Facilities like these will continue to prevent new methane emissions and create renewable fuel year after year. And with every new project Anaergia undertakes, the world gets closer to ground zero.