- Fuel Type Biogas
- Application Dairy Farm
- kW Production 500 kW
- Location Tavistock, Ontario, Canada
About This Project
The Athlone farm southeast of Stratford is converting methane from cow manure and bio-waste to electrical and thermal energy.
Athlone Farms Inc., the 600-acre dairy and crop farm, retained PlanET Biogas Solutions Inc. to construct a biogas system that will provide enough electricity to power at least 500 homes. By utilizing methane produced from their farm manure and imported organic waste, the system reduces atmospheric methane, provide a better quality of crop nutrient and even supply clean bedding for the farm's dairy animals.
The owner applied to the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) in 2010 and received approval to proceed in 2011 and to produce power for Ontario's electricity grid. PlanET Biogas Solutions Inc., a long-standing customer of 2G, ordered a 500kW/h 2G Twin Pack Biogas CHP system equipped with 2 x 250kW/h energy conversion systems operating synchronized. This compact CHP module is highly efficient and provides many advantages over and above more common power generation systems.
Apart from using the manure from the farm as a fuel source, the anaerobic digester will accept off-farm organic green waste that normally would go to landfills. The material is contained in covered storage before being mixed with manure in a nearby dome-covered biodigester 70 feet (21 meters) in diameter and 20 feet (six meters) high. A second digester is currently in the works to be added to the facility. Another technology installed will separate the residue solids for use as semi-sterile animal bedding or fertilizer. By collecting the methane from manure and green waste and converting it to produce electrical and thermal power, the farm produces 25 times less atmospheric methane than would naturally be produced.
Project Gallery 4 photos
