WELTEC BIOPOWER Builds 500-kW Plant in France

For WELTEC BIOPOWER, the participation at the BioEnergy Decentral part of the EuroTier proved very successful. Thus, the biogas plant manufacturer from Vechta, Germany, was also able to use its booth as a platform for signing a contract for the establishment of a 500-kW plant in Saint-Varent in western France.

The French project developer Methaneo is the contracting partner of WELTEC. The Paris-based company has elaborated its own concept for „cooperative agricultural biogas plants“. It develops, finances and erects the plants in cooperation with local partners who have detailed knowledge of the regional circumstances.

The biogas plant project„Cap‘Ter Methanisation SAS“ strengthens the value chains and material cycle in the vicinity of the plant location, thereby promoting the region‘s economic power. The collaboration helps Methaneo to implement this philosophy and to benefit from WELTEC‘s long-standing experience.

„We have decided for WELTEC BIOPOWER as our cooperation partner because this company is capable of integrating our concept in its biogas plants“, explains Yann Mercier, Director of Methaneo. „During our meetings in Paris and Vechta, we were especially impressed by the performance of the technology and biology department“, adds Fabien Guitonneau, „Cap‘Ter“ project manager and Technical Manager at Methaneo.

Construction work will begin in January 2013, and the plant is to go live and starting feeding electricity into the French grid as early as July 2013. The 4,900 m3 stainless-steel fermenter is to be filled with an agricultural substrate mix consisting of cattle manure, sheep manure, chicken manure and grain residue.

WELTEC has accumulated a wealth of experience in France, especially in the construction of agricultural biogas plants. The plant in Saint-Varent, in the département of Deux-Sèvres, is already the sixth WELTEC project in this country. In 2009, the company from Lower Saxony had entered the French market, establishing its first two plants.

Jens Albartus, CEO of WELTEC BIOPOWER, believes that the cooperation with Methaneo has great potential for the future: „The investment mood in France is positive in our segment. In 2012, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency for the development of regenerative energies (ADEME) received twice as many project enquiries than in the prior year, and counting.“

„We are very happy that the EuroTier in Hanover, Germany, provided a suitable setting and the right time for the conclusion of this contract“, says Alain Priser, who is responsible for WELTEC‘s business in France. Thus, the trade show in Hanover again lived up to its reputation of being an international hub for the decentralised energy supply industry.

Thanks to its strong international business, WELTEC BIOPOWER was able to buffer the slump of the domestic demand in 2012. According to the German Biogas Association, the year-on-year decline of the construction of new plants in Germany amounted to about 80 percent. Nevertheless, biogas technology ‚Made by WELTEC BIOPOWER‘ remains in vogue around the globe: Owing to the international orientation that the company has pursued since its foundation, 2012 will be remembered as one of the most successful years in the company‘s history of 11 years.