WELTEC BIOPOWER represented with bBiogas Pplants on five continents

Down Under discovers advantages of Waste-to-Energy
On October 19th, 2015, the ground was broken for one of Australia's most innovative biogas projects. In the next 14 months, German biogas plant manufacturer WELTEC BIOPOWER and its project partner Aquatec Maxcon will establish a biogas plant in a Melbourne suburb. The 1 MW plant for the anaerobic digestion of organic waste will be one of the first of its kind Down Under.

The customer Yarra Valley Water is one of Australia's largest enterprises providing water supply and sewerage services. Through the biogas production, Yarra Valley Water will become energy self-sufficient at the plant location in Aurora: “The purpose built Waste to Energy facility will provide an environmentally sustainable solution for commercial organic wastes, generating enough renewable energy to run the existing sewage and recycled water treatment plants, as well as other Yarra Valley Water facilities”, says Pat McCafferty, Managing Director of Yarra Valley Water. The two 530 kilowatt MAN engines are even producing as much electricity that an unused surplus can be fed into the public grid.

In view of the positive effects of this anaerobic digestion project, other investors Down Under are likely to follow suit. Currently, the population and politicians are debating what the correct energy mix of tomorrow should look like. The debate also includes the subject of nature conservation. The population is sensitive to this subject due to Australia's environmental impact as the world's third-largest uranium exporter and one of the world's highest per-capita carbon emissions resulting from the primarily coal-based power production.
In fact, the transition towards renewable energies has already started: By 2020, the production from renewable energies is to reach 33 TWh. The few biogas plants that are currently online in Australia still mainly utilise sewage sludge and wastewater from various industries. The growth of the biogas segment could be boosted especially by making more consistent use of biowaste, such as will be used at the WELTEC plant in Aurora. Meanwhile, organic leftovers are regarded as raw materials and valuable energy sources.

The two stainless-steel digesters in Aurora, each of which has a capacity of 3,573m³, will be fed with 100 tons of organic waste a day. More than half of this amount will come from cafeterias and restaurants. The rest will comprise fats and oils, brewery and dairy leftovers, fruit and vegetable waste and sludge that will be pumped from the adjacent wastewater treatment plant. After the digestion process, the substrate will first be sanitised and then buffered in a stainless-steel tank of 4,531m³.

A custom-tailored input process will be set up to ensure uninterrupted supply of the biogas plant. At the delivery area, the feed stocks will first be loaded into two 35m³ solids hopper feeder. Part of the substrates, such as melon peels, will first be shredded and then further chopped up with other raw materials and mixed with recirculation fluid in the MULTIMix system. After this preliminary treatment, the mixture will be pumped into the largest of the five stainless-steel pre-storage tanks with a total volume of almost 700m³.

Except for the loading of the input systems, the process is fully automated. The size of the pre-storage tanks was designed in such a way that no loading and thus no manpower will be required at the weekend and at night. WELTEC's custom-developed LoMOS PLC will make sure that the substrate is automatically pumped from the pre-storage tanks to the digesters, thereby ensuring continuous digestion at the weekend.

"Our knowledge and experience in rolling out the technology of such a project was a key factor in our selection as the first German biogas plant manufacturer to build a plant in Australia. We are proud of being represented on five continents with about 300 biogas plants", summarises Jens Albartus, Director of WELTEC BIOPOWER, the company's achievements. The thorough planning that preceded the project is reflected in the two-year preparation phase prior to the commencement of the construction activities. Jens Albartus is sure that it was worth the effort: "The efficient operation will help to establish a good reputation of AD waste plants on the fifth continent."

Minesto CEO Anders Jansson upon COP21: “Marine energy can become an important export business for many countries”

[Gothenburg, Sweden, November 6, 2015] Our oceans are one of the world's largest untapped renewable energy sources. Managed properly by the politicians, marine energy is predicted to be the fastest growing climate neutral energy form in the coming 20 years. “Many politicians need to take their responsibility and raise the ambitions for the upcoming COP21 in Paris”, said Anders Jansson, CEO of world leading marine energy company Minesto.

According to leading experts, companies and investors the fossil fuel industry is regarded as a vanishing sector. Partly because solar and wind energy already today can produce electricity at a low cost without causing a negative impact on the climate. A third renewable sector, marine energy, is rapidly expanding, as the EU has quadrupled the budget from the Seventh Framework Programme that ended in 2013 to the New Horizon in 2020.

This is excellent and important news, according to Anders Jansson. But at the same time he calls for more coordinated actions by the EU member states.

“Looking at Sweden, for instance, The Swedish Energy Agency will invest EUR 5.7 million in marine energy between 2015-2018. It is a twentieth of what the Wales Government will invest between 2015-2019”, he said.  “Sweden, on the other hand, has a number of leading companies in the wave and tidal sector, which with the right support, could create thousands of new jobs and a new export sector.”

By increasing the support, marine energy is to play an important role significantly faster in the pursuit of a fossil free society, according to Anders Jansson.

“I primarily call for a guarantee fund to facilitate customers to buy the first demonstration projects”, he said. “ By supporting the first sales, companies will become quickly self-sufficient, which is the biggest challenge for start-up companies with new energy technologies”, said Anders Jansson.

Anders Jansson, who has been in the industry for the past ten years, is optimistic about the climate summit in Paris, November 30^th to December 11^th. He believes that a new climate agreement will be signed, which in turn also will increase the potential of marine energy significantly.

Minesto recently announced a decision on listing on the NASDAQ First North at Stockholm, adding EUR 15.5 million to the company. Earlier this year Minesto secured an investment of EUR 13 million from the European Regional Development Funds through Wales Government, and recently KIC InnoEnergy decided to invest EUR 3.5 million in the company. The Swedish company is now prepared to become one the first companies in the world to build a commercial marine power plant array in Holyhead Deep, Wales that initially will be able to supply electricity to the equivalent of 8,000 households and create local jobs in both construction and operational phase.

About Minesto

Minesto is a marine energy company whose mission is to minimize the global footprint of the energy industry by enabling commercial power production from low velocity tidal and ocean currents.

Minesto’s award winning and patented product, Deep Green, is the only proven marine power plant that operates cost efficiently in areas with low velocity currents.

In May 2015, Minesto secured a €13m investment from the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government for the commercial rollout of Deep Green.

Minesto was founded in 2007 and is based in Gothenburg, Sweden, Anglesey, Wales and Northern Ireland. The major shareholders in Minesto are BGA Invest and Midroc New Technology. Anders Jansson is the company’s CEO. Read more about Minesto at www.minesto.com.