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Some farmers in Germany have given up food production to become “energy farmers”, said Michael Köttner of the country’s biogas association IBBK.
He gave the example of Winfried Vees, who pioneered on-farm upgrading of biogas to fuel-grade biomethane to power his adapted New Holland T6.180 tractor and sell to motorists at a filling station in his yard.
Thomas Karle said that the biogas plant on his farm generates heat for a grain drier and most houses in his village, while also drying his digestate for sale as pelleted organic fertiliser.
The same plant produces electricity on demand at peak times for the national grid, some of which is used for a local electric vehicle sharing scheme with two cars available to locals.
He is now exploring the separation of nutrients from the digestate to add more value to his fertiliser sales.
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