Climate
From animal waste to farm power
In Beijing, China, Jenbacher gas engines are at work in a far different way, using biogas created from chicken manure to generate needed power and heat at a large chicken farm north of Beijing. The plant is the first of its type in China, and could pave the way for similar applications in the future.
The Beijing Deqingyuan Chicken Farm Waste Utilization plant comes as the country seeks innovative ways to meet its energy and environmental requirements. Providing 14,600 MWh of electricity per year, the project is designed to help reduce suburban electricity shortages.
By using the biogas for power generation in place of previously used coal-fired power, the new project is expected to avoid the emissions of about 95,000 tons of CO2 equivalent per year, qualifying the project for the U.N.-sanctioned Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) program.
The Beijing Deqingyuan project is also reducing the farm’s dust levels, further enhancing the area’s air and water quality by controlling odors and improving the work environment for the farm’s employees. The improvements support the guidelines of several Chinese government initiatives.
Located in YanQing District, about 50 kilometers north of Beijing, the farm owns three million chickens, producing 220 tons of manure and 170 tons of wastewater each day. The farm’s new cogeneration system features an anaerobic digester system to treat the waste material, producing enough biogas to fuel two of GE’s Jenbacher JMS 320 GS-B.L gas engines.
The plant has an installed electric capacity of more than 2 MW for use at the chicken farm. Additionally, the plant’s thermal output is used to support the chicken waste fermentation process and heat the chicken farm in the winter.
The project further expands our overall presence in China, where GE has been active for more than 90 years. With about 1,300 Jenbacher biogas engines delivered worldwide, GE is providing a well-proven technology to support China’s initiatives to expand the production of energy from animal and agricultural waste biomass.
