New WELtec Biogas Plant in Czech Republic is now operational

Currently, the Czech market for renewable energies is experiencing a veritable boom. Especially long-standing biogas plant manufacturers like WELtec BioPower GmbH from Vechta benefit from this development. The technology of the German plant builder is in high demand among international customers. Of the more than 200 biogas plants already built, exports account for more than 20 percent. In more than 25 countries, the enterprise supports its customers with service centres and full customer service.

WELtec BioPower received an order for the establishment of a biogas plant in Liberec, Northern Bohemia, in summer 2009 which the farmer and the investor will feed with maize, manure, and grass silage.

The 1.2-million-euro plant, which is operational since january 2010, has two fermenters with about 88,000 cubic feet each and two final storage units with a volume of 141,000 cubit feet. At the combined heat and power plant, a 536-kW gas-engine genset generates green energy sufficient for the equivalent of 1,000 three-person households.

The EU and the Czech government provide special investment incentives for biogas plant projects in the Czech Republic. As the per-capita carbon dioxide emissions in the Czech Republic are high up on the global list, there is a great need for reduction of CO2 emissions. In line with the EU climate protection goals, the government intends to generate 10 percent of the energy from alternative sources by 2010. Back in early 2008, this ratio was only about 4 percent in this country.

As early as 2005, an attractive feed-in act for ecological power generated by decentralised plants started to trigger a rapid increase in the production of electricity from green sources. The feed-in tariffs are capped in terms of the time and amount: depending on the biomass used, Czech power producers receive 12.9 or 15.2 ct/kWh for a period of 15 years. The eco tax, which was introduced in 2008 and which makes fossil energy sources more expensive, serves as an additional incentive.

All in all, the European fund offers EUR 5 billion for environmental projects until 2013. Moreover, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development backs a rural development programme. The programme provides farmers with a total of EUR 250 million for agricultural diversification and alternative energy sources. In this way, it will be possible to co-finance about 160 plants in the Czech Republic. Agricultural plant operators can benefit from investment subsidies of up to 30 percent.

Established in 2001, WELtec BioPower GmbH in Vechta, Lower Saxony, Germany, is a leading provider of complete biogas plants. Based on the long-standing experience of its parent companies and the modern approach of young engineers, the company, with its staff of close to 60, offers complete biogas plants from one source.
As the hydrogen sulphide and ammonia compounds contained in biogas corrode unprotected parts, WELtec makes use of stainless steel fermenters. This ensures a long useful life of the plant. WELtec BioPower uses only proven system components and develops most of the technologies internally, such as fermenter technology, mixing technology, control technology, hygienisation systems, and digestate processing solutions.
WELtec BioPower biogas plants are characterised by a modular structure. This enables individual and flexible solutions – from compact plants to large computer-controlled plants in the megawatt range, gas processing technology, and waste recycling plants.
By continuously expanding its export rate, WELtec BioPower GmbH is the only leading manufacturer of biogas plants that was able to generate more sales and earnings over the past three years despite the negative market trend.
A key success factor of WELtec BioPower is the quality of the premium plants. Thanks to its advanced production depth, WELtec does not need to outsource any parts or material and guarantees a consistently high quality around the globe.
In 2008, WELtec BioPower GmbH became one of the first providers of complete biogas plants to be certified by TÜV Rheinland according to DIN EN ISO 14001:2004 and the quality management standard DIN EN ISO 9001:2000.

WELtec BioPower GmbH
Zum Langenberg 2
D-49377 Vechta Germany
Contact: Thomas Wilkens
Phone: +49 (0)4441 / 99 97 8-220
Fax: +49 (0)4441 / 99 97 8-8
E-Mail: T.Wilkens@weltec-biopower.de

This release was published on openPR.