Since the biogas plant was built, Mr Strese has faced a new challenge every day. With a capacity utilisation rate of over 97%, he has proven that he can master them all.
Agrargesellschaft Pfiffelbach is already one of the larger agricultural businesses in Thuringia. Here in the beautiful Weimarer Land region, 85 employees are involved in keeping 900 dairy cows, rearing 1600 sows and managing the surrounding 5000 hectares of agricultural land.
When the EEG was passed in 2004 and a future for biogas became apparent, farmers like Gunther Seidel began to reconsider. There was enough animal excrement on his farm and a biogas plant could create an additional, constant source of income for the agricultural community with low-cost substrate use. Milk prices were as bad then as they are now, so the idea was to utilise the opportunities offered by the EEG.
The company MT Energie from Zeven, one of the pioneers in biogas plant construction, was commissioned to build a plant with a fermenter and a secondary fermenter, each with a volume of 2800 m³, and a gas-tight final storage facility. This plant has now been in operation for 10 years and, from an EEG perspective, has reached the halfway point. A good time to take stock.
‘With a utilisation rate of over 97%, we can be more than satisfied,’ says Gunther Seidel, summarising the last 10 years. ‘Prioritising the utilisation of our residues from animal husbandry was our philosophy from the very beginning. We have successfully implemented this with a cattle manure content of over 80 %. We also use 5 % grass silage and 10-15 % maize,’ says Seidel, explaining the other input materials. ‘Utilisation was not always as good as it is today. Initially, there were many minor difficulties with the MWM engines. It was only through a service contract with MWM in Erfurt that we achieved decisive improvements by setting the maintenance intervals at 1500 hours,’ recalls the likeable farmer.
Successful biogas plants are characterised by high availability and a successful heating network. This is also the case in Pfiffelbach! Here, the heat generated by the combined heat and power units is used to heat the fermenters, of course, but the piglet rearing, the process water for cleaning the milking equipment, the office and social rooms and the grain drying plant are also supplied by this heat network.
The continuous improvement of the business is close to Gunther Seidel’s heart. Increasing biological and energy efficiency is important to him, because it’s not just about running a business, it’s about getting better every day. In Pfiffelbach, for example, the company works together with the ATB Potsdam and the German Biomass Research Centre (DBFZ) in the field of optimal energy utilisation of the input substrates of a biogas plant.
The second half of the EEG begins in 2018 at the latest. There are currently no plans to make the plant more flexible, although the requirements of the EEG 2017 for a low proportion of maize in the substrate are fulfilled here in Pfiffelbach as an example.
