Biogas plant in Rhede - Green Gas Grids

BEST PRACTICE EXAMPLE
BIOMETHANE GAS GRID INJECTION PLANT
Biogas with family tradition
FACTS & FIGURES
• Location: Rhede, Germany
• Operator Family Wenning
- Cow manure and glycerine from
biodiesel production
- Amine scrubbing
• Investment: € 1,5 million euro
for Upgrading plant
• Commissioning date 2010
The Rhede plant, built in 1980
on the Wenning family farm,
was one of the first industrial
biogas plants in Germany. It
has been expanded in several
steps and currently amounts to
5,500 m 3 fermenting volume.
The amendment of the gas
grid access ordinance in 2008
offered the chance to upgrade
the gas and feed it into the
natural gas grid. The partners
developed a concept which
aims at feeding the gas into the
local medium pressure gas grid
operated by Rhede utilities.
Unusual substrate mix
The substrate basis for the biogas
production consists of three major
components. A great part is cow manure,
generated in the agricultural unit on-site.
The biggest share stems from glycerine,
which is generated at Süderlohn close-by
as a byproduct of biodiesel production.
The glycerine supply is carried out by tank
vehicles. From these, they are directly
pumped into collection containers. The
substrate is transported only for short
distances. The digestate is used both on
fields near-by, which in turn are used to
produce maize for cattle and maize for the
agricultural distillery. The mash left over
from the distillery processes is then used
as animal feed, guaranteeing that the
biogas plant is fully integrated into the raw
material and nutrient cycle.
Search for alternative uses
In comparison to the plant’s potential, the
farm’s heat demand was relatively low.
Efficiency increase by gas grid feed-in
therefore was the main motivation. The
CHP plants remain on site and will be
used in case of technology breakdown, so
that no gas is merely flared at any point
in time. Amine scrubbing technology by
CIRMAC is used to upgrade the gas. In
comparison to other possible technologies,
amine scrubbing offered less electricity
consumption in the Rhede case.
Important partnership
To realize a project of this size successfully,
several partners are needed to cooperate.
Bernd-Josef and Josef Wenning managed
to bring two experienced partners,
EON Bioerdgas GmbH and Stadtwerke
Rhede on board. Stadtwerke Rhede,
a municipal utility supplier with more
than 50 employees but no own planning
department, obtained additional assistance
from the engineering firm Hamburg
Gas Consult, which are specialists in
this field and already realized several
feed-in projects.

Decades of experience in the family and competent partnerships
make the project so successful. Local cooperation strengthens
the community and support at all levels.
E.ON Bioerdgas GmbH buys the
biomethane produced in Rhede and brings
it to market via the E.ON group. Thus, the
Wenning family can concentrate on plant
operation and raw material supply, while
all issues of marketing and sales are taken
care of.
The Rhede utilities have taken great
care to include the local press in the
planning phase of the project, so that
the inhabitants of Rhede were at all
times well informed on the biogas grid
feed-in activities. Also, almost all project
partners come from the Rhede region.
The upgrading plant was constructed
by CIRMAC from the Dutch Apeldoorn.
Despite the international touch, the
project partner is only about 50 kilometres
away. Furthermore, local mechanics
and craftsmen were employed for
plant construction.
The Rhede plant is one of the most
exemplary plants in Germany. The
regional context and the sustainable and
environmental friendly feedstock concept
is playing an important role to strengthen
the regional development.The technical
high efficient implementation of the plant
and the partnership-like cooperation are
setting high standards which makes the
Rhede project to a much appreciated and
recognized biomethane plant.
The Green Gas Grids Project
GreenGasGrids is a 3-year European
project co-funded by the Intelligent
Energy for Europe (IEE) programme.
It aims to move biomethane into
the mainstream and bring it on the
agenda of key EU and national bodies
involved in (renewable) energy and
natural gas. The consortium consists
of 13 energy agencies, scientific
institutions and industry associations
involved in biomethane, natural gas,
and renewable energy. They combine
expertise and market experience with
networks throughout the EU. The
project focuses on the most pressing
issues: sustainability, technical
standards, legislation and trade.
Geographical focus: Austria, Belgium,
Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland,
Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
The Netherlands, United Kingdom.
This factsheet has been produced
in cooperation between the
GreenGasGrids and the Rhede project
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Claus Bonsen
claus.bonsen@eon.com
www.eon.com
GREEN GAS GRIDS:
Alexandra Lermen
German Energy Agency
info@greengasgrids.eu
www.greengasgrids.eu
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