Weltec Biopower Builds Biogas Plant in Taiwan
Construction is scheduled to begin in 2023; commissioning is planned for 2024. Together with its Asian partner Melchers Taiwan, the German manufacturer Weltec Biopower is building a biogas plant in the southwest of the island state. According to the company, it is its first biogas plant in the country.
Regarding the 360-kilowatt plant, the German biogas firm, which has realized facilities in many countries, is responsible for the engineering, the execution and the complete service including biological analyses. The construction at the operator’s headquarters in Tainan City, on the southwest coast of Taiwan, is scheduled to begin in 2023; commissioning is planned for 2024. In addition to the electricity fed into the grid, part of it will be used for the plant‘s own use, Weltec described the exploitation of energy. “The heat from the biogas plant is also used to heat the operator’s production facilities directly at the plant and via a local heating network: among other things, it is used to supply a pigsty that is equipped by WELTEC’s parent company WEDA Dammann & Westerkamp.
The circular economy concept envisages using the pig manure produced as the main substrate for the operation of the biogas plant.” The stainless-steel fermenters would take into account the special requirements of the island state: due to its tectonic position, Taiwan experiences strong earthquakes with far-reaching consequences with above-average frequency. “The special stainless-steel construction and high stability of the biogas plant is adapted to the high earthquake probability and the local wind load specifications. Another advantage is that only a small amount of work is required for the on-site construction, as the project is intensively accompanied by the Weltec team.”
As underlined, Taiwan aims for a climate-neutral economy by 2050. At the end of March 2022, this goal was published by the government in Taipei as part of a new roadmap. “The roadmap envisages billions of dollars in state investment for this project,” the German biogas firm stated. “It is expected that especially already experienced market players such as Melchers Taiwan and Weltec Biopower will play an important role in this process and are eager to cooperate with the authorities to support the implementation path.”
(Published in GLOBAL RECYCLING Magazine 3/2022, Page 13, Photo: WELTEC BIOPOWER GmbH)
