26/01/2023

Nature Energy's 13th biogas plant in Denmark inaugurated by Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard

On Monday 23 January, the green carpet was rolled out in front of Nature Energy's biogas plant in Kværs west of Gråsten in Sønderborg Municipality. Every year, the biogas plant can covert 500,000 tons of biological waste from agriculture and industry into more than 20 million cubic meters of biogas, displacing a similar amount of fossil natural gas from the energy system.

 

Lars Aagaard, Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, took the opportunity to emphasize the importance of being independent of fossil natural gas and being self-sufficient in a stable energy supply.

 

With ProjectZero, Sønderborg Municipality has an ambition to reduce the entire municipality's CO2 emissions to zero by 2029 and at the same time create new skills and green jobs in the area.

 

And in this plan, biogas fits in well, says Sønderborg Municipality's chairman of the Committee for Business and Green Growth, Kjeld Stærk:

 

- The war in Ukraine has only made it more necessary to exercise due diligence in our energy solutions. The production of biogas is an important source of energy, and there are many good rationales for biogas, since we exploit a resource that would otherwise be wasted. At the same time, biogas helps solve agricultural CO2 emissions, and it helps us in Sønderborg Municipality achieve CO2 neutrality in 2029. However, the process of locating the biogas plant in Kværs has highlighted the need for citizen involvement. It poses a threat to the entire green transition and is something we must work all the time to become better at solving if we are to succeed with the green transition, which is absolutely essential for all of us.

 

At the same time, biogas is part of the circular economy because the degassed biomass is returned to agriculture as fertilizer that contributes to tomorrow's food production.

 

And this is a win for both agriculture and the green transition, explains Martin Lambert, chairman of the suppliers' association, which supplies manure and deep litter to the biogas plant in Kværs:

 

- In agriculture, we do everything we can to reduce our climate footprint and the local farmers' contribution to yet another biogas plant's start-up clearly shows that farmers already take the task of reducing greenhouse gas emissions seriously, he says and points out that the degassed biomass that agriculture gets back is often a better fertilizer than the raw manure.

 

Sun, wind and biogas

 

Biogas is a renewable energy source because it utilizes the CO2 and methane that would already have ended up in the atmosphere. Henrik Høegh, chairman of the Danish Biogas Association, pointed out that it is important for both the climate and security of supply that biogas production in Denmark is increased.

 

- You have now contributed with yet another biogas plant that supplies green gas to the gas grid with its large gas storage facilities. From the storages, biogas can in the future become an important back-up that can supply green power when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing. We received a strong reminder that it is important with this back-up for a good week in December, when it was bitterly cold and windless, Henrik Høegh said.

 

But biogas not only contributes to ensuring the supply of renewable energy, says Ole Hvelplund, CEO of Nature Energy:

 

- Biogas is absolutely necessary in the green transition. Trucks and ships can use biogas as an energy source, the biogas can easily be stored and moved and as long as there are people on earth, we need something to eat and this inevitably provides waste products for biogas production, he notes and adds:

 

- And then at the same time we solve a waste problem.

 

Nature Energy Kværs is Nature Energy's 13th biogas plant in Denmark.

 

Facts about Nature Energy Kværs

 

  • Every year, the biogas plant converts 500,000 tons of biological waste from industry and agriculture into 20 million cubic meters of biogas.
  • The degassed biomass is returned to agriculture.
  • The five reactors can each hold 9,500 m3 of biomass for degassing.
  • Nature Energy Køng is built according to the large-scale principles and the principle of fully automated operation. The plant can therefore be run by about 14 employees including drivers.

Who to contact

Rasmus Carlsen

Communications Director

Direct: +45 30 28 67 20
E-mail: raca@nature-energy.com
Region: DK