European Farmers Turn to Biogas Plants

By MATTHEW DALTON
BERGHAREN, the Netherlands -- European governments are quietly transforming the practice of turning manure into energy from a fringe technology into a tool for both slashing greenhouse gases from farms and boosting domestic energy supplies.
Plants that convert manure, corn, grass or organic waste into electricity were historically built by just a few environmentally conscious farmers. But the European Union now counts about 8,000 so-called biogas plants, and -- fueled by rising subsidies -- thousands more are expected to be built during the next decade. Farmers are building plants to make a profit, not to protect the environment.
Farm emissions account for 9% to 10% of the EU's total greenhouse gases -- more than all industrial processes, such as steelmaking and chemical manufacturing, combined, according to the European Environment Agency. Much of the emissions come from two gases produced from livestock manure: methane and nitrous oxide.
Farmers usually spread manure on their fields, where the methane escapes into the atmosphere and the nitrogen forms nitrous oxide. The EU has been able to change the behavior of some industrial and energy polluters through its emission-credit trading plan, but governments have largely avoided politically contentious laws that would force farmers to cut emissions by treating manure.
Experts say biogas plants offer a partial solution to this problem: Farmers can make money for capturing the methane from their manure, while governments get a renewable energy source that achieves substantial greenhouse-gas reductions and helps to reduce the EU's dependence on imported natural gas.
For Pieter Theunissen, the decision to build a biogas plant on his dairy farm in the Netherlands was strictly business. Dairy prices fell following EU farm-subsidy overhauls four years ago, sending him searching for another source of revenue.
Every day since his plant started up in December, Mr. Theunissen feeds 70 metric tons of dairy waste, corn and manure from cattle, chicken and pigs into a giant tank. The smelly mixture is stirred for several months to release as much methane as possible. The methane is captured and burned to power a turbine, producing enough electricity for 1,800 homes.
Promoting biogas is an appealing public-policy option, experts say. "We see these subsidies as worthwhile for society, because biogas is a secure supply, and it's utilizing resources that would have a negative impact on water quality and the climate," said Jens Bo Holm-Nielsen, head of the Center for Bioenergy and Green Engineering at Aalborg University in Denmark.
Write to Matthew Dalton at Matthew.Dalton@dowjones.com