Biogas Plant Exploitation in a Middle-Sized Dairy Farm in Poland: Energetic and Economic Aspects

Patrycja Pochwatka, Alina Kowalczyk-Juśko, Piotr Sołowiej, Agnieszka Wawrzyniak and Jacek Dach
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Patrycja Pochwatka: Department of Environmental Engineering and Geodesy, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Leszczyńskiego 7, 20-069 Lublin, Poland
Alina Kowalczyk-Juśko: Department of Environmental Engineering and Geodesy, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Leszczyńskiego 7, 20-069 Lublin, Poland
Piotr Sołowiej: Department of the Electrotechnics Energetics Electronics and Automatics, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 11, 10-736 Olsztyn, Poland
Agnieszka Wawrzyniak: Institute of Technology and Life Sciences, Falenty, Hrabska 3, 05-090 Raszyn, Poland
Jacek Dach: Department of Biosystems Engineering, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 50, 60-637 Poznan, Poland

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-17

Abstract: Although cow manure is a valuable natural fertilizer, it is also a source of extreme greenhouse gas emissions, mainly methane. For this reason, this study aims to determine the impact of investments in a biogas plant on the energy and economic aspects of the operation of a dairy farm. A farm with a breeding size of 600 livestock units (LSU) was adopted for the analysis. In order to reach the paper’s aim, the analysis of two different scenarios of dairy farm functioning (conventional–only milk production, and modern–with biogas plant exploitation) was conducted. The analysis showed that the investment in biogas plant operations at a dairy farm and in using cow manure as one of the main substrates is a more profitable scenario compared to traditional dairy farming. Taking into account the actual Polish subsidies for electricity produced by small biogas plants, the scenario with a functioning biogas plant with a capacity of 500 kW brings €332,000/a more profit compared to the conventional scenario, even when taking into account additional costs, including the purchase of straw to ensure a continuous operation of the installation. Besides, in the traditional scenario, building a biogas plant allows for an almost complete reduction of greenhouse gas emissions during manure storage.

Keywords: biogas plant; energetic optimization; substrates; manure; wheat straw (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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