Dong Energy and Danish biogas expert Bigadan will build a large-scale biogas plant in Denmark at Kalundborg.

The new biogas plant, owned by the partners, will break ground this month and is slated to be commissioned in the spring of 2018.

Located near Dong’s Asnæs Power Station, the biogas plant will reuse residues sourced from the production plants of Danish firms Novozymes and Novo Nordisk.

Bigadan will operate the plant with the biomass supplied from Novo Nordisk’s factory in Kalundborg, and Novozymes' factories in Kalundborg and Fuglebakken. The factories have a high-scale production of enzymes and insulins, among other things.

Residues collected from the factories will be converted to bio natural gas which would be contributed to the Danish natural gas grid. The new plant will have an annual processing capacity of nearly 300,000 tonnes of biomass.

Dong Energy executive vice president Thomas Dalsgaard said: "This is a great example of how residues can be utilised even better. Biogas in our natural gas grid is a good supplement to the green power from wind and solar power and the green district heating from our power stations.

“This project is therefore an important step in the direction of a green, independent and economically sustainable energy system.”

The biogas power project, which will have an annual production capacity of 8 million m3 of natural gas, is slated to be commissioned in the spring of next year. It will produce enough natural gas that would be consumed normally by nearly 5,000 homes.

Besides, the biogas produced from the new plant will replace natural gas, thereby reducing CO2 by nearly 17,000 tonnes each year.

In 2014, Dong Energy along with Danish bio-producer Horsens Bioenergi opened a biogas plant in Denmark. The plant sources ? animal manure and organic waste from Danish Crown's slaughterhouse and converts them into biogas which is supplied to 4,000 homes.


Image: Dong and Bigadan will develop a biogas project in Kalundborg, Denmark. Photo: courtesy of DONG Energy A/S.