Page 12 - Australia Pork Newspaper

Covered anaerobic pond at a 20,000 SPU grow-out piggery in NSW.
Gas result
There was also general uncertainty about costs, approvals and reputable suppliers.
Full steam ahead for Pork CRC-powered piggeries
It,s a gas
by ALAN SKERMAN Leader, Pork CRC Bioenergy Support Program
PORK CRC’s Bioenergy Support Program was a producer-steered techni- cal support program to enable biogas adoption across the Australian and New Zealand pork sectors.
consultants to assist in the planning, design, con- struction, commissioning and operation of piggery biogas systems.
adoption interest and statistics, which indicated considerable ongoing in- terest in biogas benefits, including from smaller piggeries.
The BSP conducted in- dustry-tailored research to provide technical know- how for producers, indus- try service providers and
The research and tech- nical support of the BSP heavily drew on contribu- tions by Pork CRC biogas demonstration piggeries, established as part of the BSP initiative.
However, there appeared to be a substantial lack of awareness of initiatives, especially among smaller piggeries.
The manure effluent of about 15 percent of the total Australian pig herd is now being directed to biogas systems.
These were considered major obstacles to further biogas adoption.
BSP legacy
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This is equivalent to 29 percent of the national herd housed in conven- tional sheds at piggeries larger than 500 sow far- row-to-finish (the estimat- ed cut-off for feasibility).
The BSP leaves a legacy of technical information, including technical book- lets (see ‘Talking Topics’ at Pork CRC’s website porkcrc.com.au), Austral- ian Pork Newspaper ‘It’s a gas’ columns, a YouTube video and several peer- reviewed scientific publi- cations underpinning the developments.
Before the BSP started in 2012, manure from only about 2 percent of the national Australian herd was directed to bio- gas systems, so the BSP’s positive impact on biogas adoption has been sub- stantial.
These information re- sources will continue to support the ongoing safe and technically sound development of on-farm biogas projects at Austral- ian and New Zealand pig- geries.
Producers with biogas systems are benefitting from reduced odour and saving on energy costs, selling excess biogas- derived electricity to the supply grid and selling Australian Carbon Credit Units and renewable en- ergy certificates.
Lastly, the operational Pork CRC biogas dem- onstration sites could continue providing infor- mation relevant to biogas in the Australian piggery context.
Capital expenditure pay- back periods of less than three years have been re- alised.
Full report
Since the Emissions Re- duction Fund commenced in 2012/13, 372,143 AC- CUs have been issued to piggery biogas projects.
For the full report on Pork CRC Project 4C-116 regarding the Bioenergy Support Program and DAF transition, visit Pork CRC’s website and view under Re- search, Program 4, Projects and Final Reports.
This is 372kt CO2-e of emissions abatement and an estimated $4 million of carbon credit sale value to the participating producers. Fine future
For further information, contact me at Agri-Sci- ence Queensland Depart- ment of Agriculture and Fisheries on 07 4529 4247, 0407 462 529, alan.sker man@daf.qld.gov.au or visit daf.qld.gov.au
A recent national pig- gery biogas survey pro- vided useful data on cur- rent and future biogas
Page 12 – Australian Pork Newspaper, September 2018
A covered anaerobic pond.
Flare operating at a 20,000 SPU grow-out piggery in NSW.
www.porknews.com.au
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