Industry News
McGuinty Government Invests In Renewable Energy
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July 26, 2007
MCGUINTY GOVERNMENT INVESTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY
New Program Turns Greenhouse Gases From Farms Into Clean Energy
STIRLING - The McGuinty government is launching a new program that will help farmers and rural
businesses develop and build systems that turn farm waste into clean energy.
Developing renewable energy resources in the agri-food and rural sectors is an important part of the
government's climate change initiative, said Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. It is also an opportunity to support rural economic development and partnerships.
The $9 million Ontario Biogas Systems Financial Assistance Program, launched today by the McGuinty
government, will help farmers and rural businesses carry out feasibility studies for the installation of
biogas systems as well as cover a proportion of construction and implementation costs. Applicants can
receive up to $400,000 in funding.
The province is also streamlining the process that farmers follow to build bio-digesters and is providing
clear standards and guidance on designing and operating these facilities.
This is good news for the environment, for farmers, and for all Ontarians, said Laurel Broten, Minister of
the Environment. Biodigesters encourage renewable energy production and reduce greenhouse gases
that cause climate change.
Biogas systems are fuelled by renewable materials like manure, crops and crop residues and food
processing by-products. They can produce electricity and heat or replace conventional fuels like natural
gas. Agricultural and food producers can use the electricity produced from their biogas system to meet
their operation's energy demands. In addition, they can sell excess electricity to the electrical grid.
A biogas system that uses manure from 250 cows could result in 400 fewer tonnes of greenhouse gas
emissions and 550 additional megawatt-hours of power production every year.
Operations like ours generate enough material to run a biogas system, says Mark Donnan, owner of
Donnandale Farms, who hosted today's announcement. These systems benefit not only farmers, through added revenue and cost savings, but the public as well through reductions in greenhouse gases and odours.
This is a technology that will help build a greener Ontario.
Today's announcement is just one more example of how, working together, Ontarians have achieved
results in rural Ontario. Other examples include:
�� Investing $32 million in the construction of new ethanol plants, which will provide jobs, economic
opportunities, new markets for farmers, and cleaner air for all Ontarians.
�� Launching, Ontario's ethanol-in-gasoline regulation, which calls for an annual average of 5 per
cent ethanol in gasoline beginning in 2007 and will reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by about
800,000 tonnes.
�� Recognizing innovation in the province's agriculture sector by creating the five-year, $2.5-million
Premier's Awards for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence.
�� Providing $12.5 million towards research projects that support the mission of the Vineland
Research and Innovations Centre Incorporated.
�� Providing $6 million to the Ontario BioAuto Council, a multi-industry initiative to position the
province as a global leader in manufacturing auto parts and other materials from agricultural and
forestry feedstocks.
All Ontarians have a role to play in making our province greener. The government has already taken
action by making $220 million in loans and grants available to help municipalities reduce greenhouse gas
emissions; setting ambitious but realistic targets to reduce greenhouse gases below 1990 levels and
launching a $650-million fund that will help secure the next generation of high-paying jobs for Ontarians
by developing new clean and green technologies.
Contacts:
Kelly Synnott
Minister's Office
416-326-6439
Brent Ross
Communications Branch
416-326-9342
Backgrounder
BIOGAS SYSTEMS
What is a biogas system?
A biogas system consists of:
�� an anaerobic digestion tank or vessel
�� a biogas collection or management system, often a storage bubble
�� a biogas utilization system, such as a generator, and
�� a digestate management and storage system, often a storage tank for liquids. Digestate is the
material left after the biogas has been produced.
What is anaerobic digestion?
Anaerobic digestion is a biological process in which micro-organisms break down organic matter like
manure, crops, crop residues and food processing waste. This process occurs in the absence of oxygen
and results in the release of biogas.
What is biogas?
Biogas is a combination of methane and carbon dioxide. Biogas can be used like natural gas as a fuel in
electrical generators, engines, boilers and burners.
What's left in the tank once the process is complete?
Digestate is what's left once the organic material has been digested. Once carbon has been converted
to methane or carbon dioxide, the organic material becomes more liquid in nature. This liquid digestate
contains all of the agricultural nutrients (such as nitrogen and phosphorus) that were present in the
original organic material.
Do all the biogas systems operate in the same way?
While the basic operating principle remains the same, there are different types of anaerobic digester
technologies based on the type of material handled, the operating temperature and the end use of the
biogas.
What materials can be used in a biogas system?
Biogas systems can use both solid and liquid organic materials, including: manure, crops, crop residues
and food processing waste material.
How is electricity produced using biogas?
Typically an operator would use biogas to run an internal combustion engine to power an electrical
generator, which produces the electricity.
Where does a co-gen system fit in?
A co-generation or co-gen system is an internal combustion engine fitted with an electrical generator as
well as a system to capture heat. Just as a radiator captures the excess heat from a car engine, a co-gen
system captures heat from the engine for further use.
What are the environmental benefits of a biogas system?
Energy from biogas is a green or renewable energy, and its production reduces greenhouse gas
emissions by reducing reliance on fossil fuels. In addition, biogas systems reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by consuming methane produced from stored manure. Methane is twenty-one times more
potent than carbon dioxide in causing global warming. The management of the digestate from the biogas
system may also reduce emissions compared to the conventional management of manure or other input
materials.
Adopting a biogas system also reduces the risk of contaminating ground or surface water as a result of
the unintentional movement of pathogens and nutrients from manure run-off. Several studies show that
harmful pathogens like E.coli bacteria are considerably reduced using this technology.
Biogas systems also reduce the odour in manure or other input materials by covering the manure storage
tank, breaking down odour-causing compounds, as well as destroying the bacteria that cause odours.
Do biogas systems use only manure?
No. Manure is definitely one of the best fits for biogas systems because it is consistent, it is produced on a
daily basis, and it contains readily digested organic material. However in Ontario, digesters can
successfully use food processing waste materials as an input. These materials are often challenging to
dispose of in conventional waste management systems, such as landfills. In addition, when biogas
systems are implemented at food processing facilities, the heat from the biogas system can be
incorporated into food processing activities and byproducts can be used directly on-site.
Can biogas systems reduce energy costs for agricultural and food producers?
Agricultural and food producers can use the electricity produced from their biogas system to meet their
operation's energy demands. In addition, they can sell excess electricity to the electrical grid. This can be
an additional source of revenue for the operation. The excess heat from co-gen systems can also reduce
heating costs for the operator in the house, the barn or the food processing facility.
Once carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide are removed, biogas can be added to natural gas lines.
Purified biogas can also be used as fuel in specially-modified vehicles, although this type of vehicle is not
yet common in Canada.
For questions about program details and updates, please contact the Agricultural Information Contact
Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca
Contacts:
Kelly Synnott
Minister's Office
416-326-6439
This information is provided as a public service, but we cannot guarantee that the information is current or
accurate.
Readers should verify the information before acting on it.
Feedback and technical inquiries to:about.omafra@ontario.ca
Queen's Printer for Ontario
Last Updated: July 26, 2007
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