The case in summary: The cows in Sunndal will contribute to reducing climate emissions by using their dung to produce biogas. The biogas will be used at Hydro’s aluminum plant on Sunndalsøra, which expects to reduce its CO₂ emissions by 20,000 tonnes by replacing current gas with cow dung gas. More and more manure, mainly from cattle and pigs, is supplied for the production of biogas. Over 100,000 tonnes a year. In the Sunndal barn, the cows produce around 200 cubic meters of cow dung every week, which will now be used for environmentally friendly energy. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Own power feed against cow farting, mass slaughter of cows and charcoal in the feed are just some of the measures that have been proposed to reduce climate emissions from cows. Rap, farts and dung from cows are full of the greenhouse gas methane. But the dung for the cows at farmer Eirik Sjøholt in Sunndal on Nordmøre will now be used for something sensible. Namely, they will contribute to reducing the climate emissions of a local large company. – That is perhaps the best thing about this. That we can go from being, at least a media-created climate sinner, to being an animal that contributes to sustainable energy and clean energy. It is hugely positive for agriculture, and especially for us who run cattle, says Sjøholt. Farmer Eirik Sjøholt in Sunndal has faith in the project. Photo: Roar Strøm / news Just the start Just a few miles away, at Nesset in Romsdal, Havila is building its first biogas plant in Norway. Here, large quantities of cow dung will be converted into biogas. – We will have it ready to deliver gas to our major customer Hydro in Sunndal sometime in the late summer, says Kjell Evensgård, day-to-day manager of Havila biogas. Biogas is environmentally friendly because it already exists in the cycle in nature. Thus, no more CO₂ is added to the atmosphere. The facility to be built at Nesset is just the beginning. Havila biogas believes that there is a large untapped biogas potential in Norway. They plan to do something with that. – In this region, we are looking at three facilities, but we have a long line of facilities that we are continuing to mature nationally. For us, this is a big investment, says Evensgård. Kjell Evensgård, day-to-day manager of Havila biogas, says that they want to build more biogas plants. Photo: Roar Strøm / news Expect an increase In 2022, 107,000 tonnes of manure, mainly from cattle and pigs, were delivered for the production of biogas. This corresponds to 1.3 per cent of all livestock manure and is an increase from 3,000 tonnes in 2013, according to the Ministry of Climate and the Environment. In the agricultural agreement, there is a separate scheme for subsidies to farmers who supply manure to biogas plants. In 2022, 1.3% of livestock manure was treated in biogas plants. . In the agricultural settlement in 2023, NOK 22 million was allowed for the scheme and the delivered amount of fertilizer has increased from 3,000 tonnes in 2013 to 107,000 tonnes in 2022. Photo: Roar Strøm / news Compared to other countries, biogas production is a relatively new industry in Norway. That’s according to Bjørn Huso, technical director in the Norwegian Directorate of Agriculture. – The framework conditions, everything from energy prices to the use of medicinal products, do not have a doctor in place in the same way as in some other countries, he says. Huso believes that animal manure for biogas is a climate measure that reduces emissions, while at the same time it constitutes a volume that has great potential. – We have a commitment from both the industry and the governing authorities to biogas production from animal manure. Cow dung will reduce the released biogas The biogas to be produced will therefore be used at Hydro’s aluminum plant in Sunndalsøra. – Cow dung will run the omna here. Then we will move from using today’s LNG to using the biogas that will come in the future, says Marit Brakstad, who is head of the noise agency. Acting factory manager, Rune Oshaug Aasen. The company expects to reduce its CO₂ emissions with the new solution. Photo: Roar Strøm / news Hydro has a goal of zero emissions in the future. According to the company itself, they will reduce their CO₂ emissions by 20,000 tonnes by replacing today’s gas with cow dung gas. – We hope that there will be more, and that it can supply the entire factory. Hydro is also looking at the possibility that other sites can be used, says Rune Oshaug Aasen, who is acting factory manager in Sunndal. Kirsti Winnberg is behind the Instagram account “kunnskapomkua”. She thinks it is wonderful that the cow should be used for the production of environmentally friendly energy. – We can use the cow for food and leather, but the fact that we can also use it for biogas production is another example of the cow’s excellence, she says. Kirsti Winnberg is a cow flu. She believes that it is an advantage to be able to use more of the cow. Photo: Screenshot Instagram – It’s fun Back in the barn at Eirik Sjøholt’s, all the dung is collected automatically. During a week, the animals produce around 200 cubic meters of cow dung, which will now be used for environmentally friendly energy. The farmer himself finds it exciting to be involved in producing energy for Hydro’s factory in Sunndal. – It’s fun when it’s so local. You can almost see and feel where the energy is coming from, says Sjøholt. Maren Børset works both for Hydro and has an odel at the farm that will supply dung for production. She thinks it’s great that they can now contribute to the green shift. – The cow has been seen more as a problem than as a good thing in terms of being able to contribute to the green shift. Maren Børset thinks it is positive that they can contribute to the green shift. Photo: Roar Strøm / news
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Counted as environmental damage – now they must contribute to reducing climate emissions
