Agriculture: those farmers who choose methanization to produce biogas

Nina Droff, edited by Romain Rouillard 06:17, March 04, 2023

It has now been a decade since this farmer from Seine-et-Marne installed a methanization unit on his farm.

With Europe 1, he admits that he does not regret his choice for a single second.

It must be said that the use of renewable energies in agriculture is on the rise.

To the point that the National Federation of Farmers' Unions (FNSEA) and the renewable energy union signed Friday at the agricultural show a "memorandum of understanding" to promote their use on different farms. 

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Among these solutions, agro-photovoltaics or anaerobic digestion are among the preferred solutions.

On the farm of the farmer met by Europe 1, the process begins in the barn, at the foot of the 150 cows, straw and above all manure.

"This manure, rather than staying at the end of the field for several weeks or several months and generating greenhouse gases, it can be recovered and integrated directly into the methanizer", he explains. 

More than 500 biogas units installed in ten years

Once collected, the excrement and all the other bio-waste from the farm are stored in the two large green tanks of the methanizer.

"We will therefore incorporate organic matter into this tank, heat everything around 38-40 degrees. The process generates biogas", develops the operator.

With its production, the farm supplies six municipalities, but this biogas can also be used directly on the farm. 

“We could very well use this gas as fuel for our vehicles to run a boiler and supply heat needs,” notes the farmer.

The bet is a winner, particularly in the event of the unexpected.

"It is an activity which brings in significant income for the operation and which has allowed us to get through the few years of crisis that we have experienced".

In France, more than 500 agricultural methanisation units have emerged over the past ten years.