[Report] Generating Electricity from Livestock Manure and Supplying Waste Heat to Farms... Accelerating Renewable Energy Transition in Rural Areas

Livestock Manure Energy Conversion 'Chilseong Energy'
Processes 185 Tons Daily to Produce Biogas
Supplies Waste Heat to Nearby Farms

"At a pig farm in Cheongyang-gun, the 60,000 pigs produce 185 tons of manure, which is used to make compost and liquid fertilizer, and electricity is generated from the biogas produced during this process. The waste heat from power generation is not discarded but supplied for heating to nearby facility greenhouses." (Choi Myung-bok, CEO of Chilseong Energy)

On the afternoon of the 14th, we visited 'Chilseong Energy,' which produces electricity and heat from livestock manure. Upon entering the Chilseong Energy site, the first thing that caught the eye was the power plant generating electricity from biogas. Inside the power plant, three 450 kW-class generators were producing 800 to 900 kW of electricity. The electricity produced is sold to Korea Electric Power Corporation, generating an annual revenue of 110 million KRW.

Afternoon view of livestock manure energy company 'Chilseong Energy' visited on the 14th. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Until now, most livestock manure was made into compost and liquid fertilizer and spread on farmland. During the decomposition of manure by microorganisms, a gas mixture composed of methane and carbon dioxide is produced, but it had not been utilized. However, Chilseong Energy is producing electricity using this biogas.

Since all methane that was previously released into the air is captured and used to generate electricity, greenhouse gas emissions can also be reduced. Chilseong Energy contributes to reducing greenhouse gases in the livestock sector by cutting approximately 2,500 tons CO2eq (the amount of greenhouse gas emissions converted to carbon dioxide) annually.

CEO Choi did not start producing electricity from livestock manure from the beginning. While farming and operating a pig farm, he established Chilseong Energy in 2005 and began producing and selling liquid fertilizer from livestock manure. After the act of dumping livestock manure into the sea was banned in 2012, he sought manure treatment solutions with nearby pig farms and built an energy resource facility. Since 2016, electricity has been produced from biogas.

Liquid fertilizer storage facility of Chilseong Energy.

The waste heat generated during power generation has been supplied since the winter of 2021 to facility greenhouses growing cherry tomatoes and melons nearby. Mr. Kang Seok-jin (44 years old) explained, "We use the waste heat from Chilseong Energy to heat eight plastic greenhouses," adding, "This saves about 14 million KRW annually in heating costs."

By receiving waste heat for heating, the harvest period of crops could be advanced by about 10 days. When using kerosene, cherry tomatoes were heated at the minimum growth temperature of 11?12℃, and melons at 15℃, but after using waste heat, the optimal growth temperatures of 13℃ and 18℃ respectively could be maintained. Additionally, this replaced 99,200 liters of kerosene, reducing greenhouse gases by 247 tons CO2eq.

On the day of the visit, Minister Jeong Hwang-geun of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs also visited the facility and held an on-site meeting titled 'Expansion of Production and Utilization of Renewable Energy in Agriculture and Rural Areas.' At the meeting, Minister Jeong said, "As climate change and energy issues have emerged as serious problems, the use of renewable energy is essential for sustainable agriculture and rural areas," adding, "Unlike other renewable energy sources such as woody biomass byproducts, livestock manure, whose regional generation volume is predictable and has collection and distribution networks, requires active utilization at this time."

Meanwhile, according to the Livestock Environment Survey, 87.1% of livestock manure is processed mainly into compost and liquid fertilizer. Among these, only about 1.3% is processed into biogas. Accordingly, the government is seeking institutional and financial support to expand the production and use of renewable energy such as biogasification, solid fuel production, and biochar from livestock manure.

Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Jeong Hwang-geun is speaking at the "Field Meeting for the Expansion of Production and Utilization of New Renewable Energy in Agriculture and Rural Areas" held on the 14th at the livestock manure energy facility located in Cheongyang-gun, Chungnam.

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