EnviTec Biogas has built 27 biogas plants in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Nearly 80% of these are managed on-site by a total of 16 local colleagues.
With the founding of the sales office EnviTec Biogas Central Europe s.r.o. in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the biogas all-rounder from Lower Saxony has now been successfully active on the East European biogas plant market for ten years.
“Until 2014, green energy and German expertise were a perfect combination in the Czech biogas plant market”, says EnviTec chairman Olaf von Lehmden in retrospect. The government subsidy programme created a positive investment climate for biogas plant builders and customers starting in 2006. Yet after reaching the objectives set by the government, the once booming country for biogas plant construction adjusted its legislation and cancelled the support.
“But that was no cause for us to put our head in the sand”, assures Hendrik van der Tol, Managing Director of EnviTec Biogas Central Europe s.r.o. “The majority of our plant customers rely on our competence as a service partner”. Technical and biological services are in particularly high demand, continues the managing director. A total of seven service technicians and one biologist are on call and available 24 hours a day and seven days a week and make a good impression in comparison with the competition of small local providers, who usually only offer services and can claim no practical experiences in plant construction. Furthermore, the original spare parts kept in stock locally allow for prompt repair work and low plant downtimes.
The know-how of EnviTec service experts has also been successfully accepted by external customers as well. In addition to the eight service employees at the EnviTec-owned sales office in Velké Mezirící, five additional EnviTec professionals make sure that the services offered are provided promptly and to the fullest possible satisfaction of the customer. EnviTec has thus proved its reliability and its high quality standards now for a decade. “While most plant builders have withdrawn from the market, we're scoring with our sustainability”, continues van der Tol.
Despite market stagnation and the withdrawal of many competitors, the EnviTec Management Board is optimistic. After all, green energy and agriculture are two of the most stable factors in the growth of the global economy, “and the green energy source biogas is a combination of both of them”.
According to Czech Biogas Association (CZBA), there are currently about 507 plants in Czech Republic with a rated electrical output of 358 MW (as of 31/12/2015). So far in Czech Republic, biogas is mainly used for electricity generation. The upgrading of biomethane and supply to the natural gas grid is also another futuristic trend because there are no supply regulations.