Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre opened Renevo’s biogas factory in Stord last spring with fanfare. By accepting waste from both the fishing industry and agriculture, the factory was to produce biogas. Lovorda sat idle. Strong propane smell – This plant cuts greenhouse gas twice in a row. First, in that the raw material collected from agriculture and fisheries is turned into biogas instead of being a source of emissions. So by the fact that, for example, trucks or buses can run on biogas instead of regular diesel, an excited Støre told his own website. In a new report, biogas is highlighted as a major source of energy for Norway in the future. Both food waste, waste from the fishing industry and animal manure can be converted into energy for both trucks and ships. What is biogas? Biogas is created when organic material, such as fertiliser, food waste, plant residues, waste water and others, is broken down by microorganisms in an oxygen-free environment. Biogas mainly consists of methane. During combustion, CO2 and water are formed. Since the raw material comes from biological material, the combustion is considered CO2-neutral as it enters the natural CO2 cycle. Biogas can be used to produce electricity, heat and fuel. The most important raw materials (substrata) for biogas production are: wet organic waste sewage sludge fish sludge livestock manure other organic material The gas yield is often better when you combine different raw materials. Livestock manure and sewage sludge constitute a potentially large source for the production of biogas. Raw materials from forestry are often less suitable for biogas production due to their high cellulose and lignin content, which requires more pre-treatment. After the microorganisms have done their job and produced methane, you are left with a liquid residual product called bioresidue. The bioresidue is a nutrient-rich mass that is suitable as fertilizer for plants. Source: Norwegian Environment Agency But after the opening at Stord, things have gone almost as the neighbors feared in advance. There has been a strong smell of propane over a large area. And despite several attempts to get control, the company has not been able to stop the smell. Jonas Gahr Støre opened the biogas factory in Stord in May last year. Here with Jan Kåre Pedersen, former managing director of Renevo (left). Pedersen has now sold out of the business. Photo: Eli Bjelland / news Fish waste can have an odor Now the State Administrator in Vestland, who gave the company a discharge permit, has announced that Renevo can stop all receipt of waste. “Emission of odors above set limits has consequences for many people in a large area. The number of odor complaints shows this. The state administrator is now announcing that we will order a halt to receiving waste if the business cannot document that the odor limits will be maintained by 30 June 2023. This means that if the measures that are now being implemented do not work as planned, we will order the business to stop receiving of all waste, not just fish silage, to reduce odor emissions. “ It was the newspaper Sunnhordland that first mentioned the newest report. Environment Director Kjell Kvingedal at the State Administrator in Vestland tells news that fish silage may be the reason why the factory has smelled so strongly. The company has now stopped receiving this waste. – Experience from other facilities shows that this type of waste can cause odor problems, he says. They are now waiting for feedback from Renevo about what they will do to sort things out. When the State Administrator in Vestland gave a discharge permit to Renevo before the opening, they were ordered to only have a noticeable smell 7 hours a month. Instead, they have released more than 20 times as much smell. Ingvild Losnegård Koløen and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre during the opening in May last year. Gahr Støre was full of praise for the factory. Photo: Eli Bjelland / news Neighbour: – The situation is better Before Easter, the company was at the municipal council in Stord to inform about the problem. Then the management at the time promised that the situation would improve just before Easter. – Yes, and the situation has improved. But they still struggle to stay within the limits, says neighbor Stein Bratseth, who lives in Kårevik in Stord. From his outdoor area, he has a direct view of the factory. – They should simply have seen the plant on pause until they had gained control, he says. Neighbor Stein Bratseth says the odor problem has lessened since Easter, but that they are still there. Photo: Olav Røli / news Lucky with the direction of the wind Renevo’s managing director, Eilef Stange, wrote in an e-mail to news that they take the smell problem very seriously. And that they have a clear goal of staying within the emission loop. With even more cleaning equipment, he thinks they will be able to do it. – The improvement in odors has been great in recent months, and that is good for everyone, says Stange. Neighbor Bratseth is happy that the last period of fine weather came with the “correct” wind direction. – When there is a northerly wind, the smell is blown out to sea and not towards us, he says. It is not that far from the free area that Stein Bratseth and his neighbors have by the sea at Stord and to the biogas factory. He is lying directly behind the boat in the background of the picture. Photo: Olav Røli / news
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The state administrator threatens to close the biogas factory because of the bad smell – news Vestland
