Livestock Manure Renewable Energy Project Period Extended from 2 to 3 Years

2022 Joint Resource Facility Energy Conversion and Renovation Project Operator Recruitment

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok]

#Woncheon Village in Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon-do, produced bioenergy using livestock manure, converted it into city gas, and supplied it to local residents. In addition to promoting village-level RE100 (using 100% renewable energy), combined heat and power plants and steel mills are replacing fossil fuels with solid fuel made from livestock manure and are promoting green hydrogen production.

#Dangjin-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, produces and supplies bioplastics from livestock manure through joint resource facilities, achieving an annual 3% reduction in compost. A compost company in Namwon-gun, Jeollabuk-do, produced high-quality granular livestock manure compost and exported it to Vietnam for the first time in Korea. They sold 140 tons this year.

The government announced on the 5th that it will extend the project period for operators from 2 years to 3 years to encourage the conversion of livestock manure into new and renewable energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This aims to provide operators with sufficient time for administrative procedures such as resolving resident complaints and obtaining permits to enhance project feasibility.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 5th that it will significantly improve the joint resource facility project next year to effectively treat livestock manure and increase local residents' acceptance. Since 2007, 34 joint resource facilities for livestock manure have abandoned their projects due to resident opposition.

First, the project period for operators will be extended from 2 years to 3 years. The qualification for the project, previously granted only to agricultural-related corporations, will be expanded to include corporations with experience in installing and operating renewable energy facilities to extract energy from joint resource facilities.

Not only compost and liquid fertilizer but also purification, biochar, solid fuel, and waste heat supply facilities can be installed. This is to support the treatment of livestock manure according to local conditions and to allow local residents to utilize waste heat from power generation. The minimum renewable energy processing capacity for large-scale pig farms with more than 7,000 heads will be reduced from 70 tons to 50 tons to encourage the installation of livestock manure renewable energy facilities. The project will be linked with the Ministry of Environment’s Eco-friendly Energy Town project, which invests 6 billion KRW, to install resident benefit facilities and increase acceptance.

Producers’ organizations and institutions wishing to apply for next year’s project must submit documents such as project plans to the relevant city or county office. Detailed information can be found on the Livestock Environment Management Institute website or by contacting local governments.

Jung Kyung-seok, Director of the Livestock Environment Resources Division at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "We hope this joint resource facility project will be utilized in various treatment methods suitable for each region’s conditions to convert livestock manure into energy," and added, "We expect that joint resource facilities will become cases of coexistence with residents rather than local nuisance facilities in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.