Greece’s first biogas plant opens

The first biogas plant opened in Kavala, the second-largest city in northern Greece, over the weekend.

Built by Kavala, Greece-based Kreka S.A. (ATH: KREKA), the €3.5 million ($4.8 million USD) unit was co-financed with the government; 50 percent of the funding came from Kreka, while the other half came from the ministry of economy and finance.

The plant will produce biogas and organic fertilizer using an integrated animal waste management system.

Solid waste such as dead animals and material deemed hazardous to public health will be incinerated in the system. Organic waste such as manure, and expired and decomposing food is expected to be processed in the anaerobic digester, which can break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen to produce biogas rich in carbon dioxide and methane. The solids left over after the digester has finished processing can be used for fertilizer.

The treatment process is expected to yield methane, which can then be used to heat the organic waste in the bioreactor as well as to produce steam to sterilize the solid waste and run the incinerator.

Any excess biogas produced that is not needed to power the facility will be stored in a separate container and used to generate electricity.

Nearly 6,000 gigawatts of electricity are produced annually in Greece by renewable energy sources such as hydro, wind and geothermal. Large-scale hydro power supplies nearly 75 percent of the electricity generated by such sources.