Cogeneration Systems for Food & Farm Waste

Sustainable Solutions for Producing Energy with Cogeneration Systems

There is a burgeoning industry in the U.S. to build anaerobic digesters to convert food and farm waste into renewable energy. The biogas generated in the digester can be used directly as a fuel for generators and boilers or “upgraded” to near-pure methane for injection into the natural gas pipeline system as renewable natural gas (RNG).

The Role of Cogeneration Systems

Cogeneration systems increase efficiency and reduces carbon footprint, and can operate on either biogas or RNG. The use of CHP offers several benefits for food & farm waste digestion facilities, including utility-independent power and hot water heating for maintaining the operating temperature for the digesters. Operating with up to 80% overall efficiency, CHP is an effective means of reducing the carbon footprint of digester operations, which significantly increases the value of the RNG generated.

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Projects

Vermont Digester Runs 100% Off-Grid

In the past five years, TEDOM has installed over 9 MW of CHP operating on agricultural biogas across 28 projects worldwide. In the U.S., Kinsley is leading the way with Vanguard Renewables, a trailblazer in developing dairy waste-to-energy projects. Vanguard’s latest digester facility in Salisbury, VT is powered independently of the utility grid by a TEDOM Quanto D800 CHP system.