Small biogas plants help innovative Swiss farmers to avoid methane emissions. Thus, these projects enable the agricultural sector to contribute to climate protection as well as to a more decentralized energy production.

Project standard: ISO 14064-2

Project Description

On farms, large amounts of manure in liquid and solid form ac-cumulate. Fermentation processes that take place under anaer-obic conditions can lead to the formation of methane. If animal excrements are stored in open containers, the gases that are formed can leak into the atmosphere.

Hence, farms can be a major source of different greenhouse gases, especially methane, but also to a lesser extent of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide.

As methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, the potential for the agricultural sector to contribute to climate protection is large. In a biogas plant, the fermentation processes are selectively managed such that the formed me-thane can be stored and used.

In a downstream communal power and thermal unit, methane is used to produce heat and renewable electricity. The electric energy is fed into the electricity grid, while the thermal energy is used to substitute fossil fuels such as oil or gas on the farm.

The carbon credits are issued for the methane reduction as these are not accounted for in the national greenhouse gas inventory. Hence, the emission reduction is not subject to double-counting (in the compliance inventory and in these projects).

While these projects contribute to climate protection, it also helps farmers to make their production more cost effective due to reduced energy bills.

The methane reduction is hence embedded in a broad sustainability approach because the ecological targets lead to social and economic improvements as well.

Social and economic Benefits

• These projects contribute to a decentralized energy production.
• The biogas plants require specialized know-how, which fosters local employment.
• The substantial value chain stemming from these projects generate local economic profits.
• The renewable energy source helps farmers gain independence as they are less dependent on the imports of fossil fuels.

Environmental Benefits

• Not only are methane emissions reduced, the projects also lower the emission of other greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide.

• The projects make an important contribution to the energy turnaround as it reduces the use of fossil fuels.