German biogas specialist Weltec Biopower is currently building three anaerobic digestion plants in Northern Ireland. All three 500kW plants will shortly be completed and will go live in summer 2018. Two of them are being set up in County Antrim in north east Northern Ireland. Another plant is being built in Benburb in County Tyrone. Thus, Weltec will soon account for nine of a total of about 40 biogas plants across the country. In recognition of this strong overseas commitment, the company recently qualified for the second place in the German Foreign Trade Award.
At first glance, the three new 500kW plants look similar. From now on, all biogas plants will largely be charged with slurry and pig, cattle and poultry manure as well as a small amount of renewable raw materials. Nevertheless, the Weltec engineers have developed an individual concept for each plant, as the substrate composition and retention times vary. For example, the plant in County Antrim will only have one 2,625 cubic metre stainless steel digester. The second plant, which is located nearby, provides for two digesters with a capacity of 2,625 cubic metres each. The plant in Benburb will use a slightly larger stainless steel digester in order to extract as much energy as possible from the substrates.
The strong market position of Weltec in the United Kingdom has a solid basis. From the outset, the company from Lower Saxony has played a key role in the field of AD plant construction. Thanks to the individual approach, the flexible substrate use and especially the short construction time, the overseas demand for technology 'made by Weltec' has been high for many years.
