AGRICULTURAL BIOGAS PLANTS IN POLAND

In Poland, for years there has been observed a growing interest in the production of energy from renewable sources, including agricultural biogas. Electricity from biogas is one of the future directions of energy development and it may be the additional source of income in rural areas. The aim of the study was to analyse the production parameters of agricultural biogas plants, present their location in Poland and determine the reduction of carbon dioxide emission obtained by producing electricity from agricultural biogas. There were 306 biogas plants in Poland, of which 96 were agricultural biogas plants. The total electric power of installed biogas plants was 235.4 MWe in 2017, and 43.7 % represented agricultural biogas plants. The share of agricultural biogas plants in the installed electric power from renewable sources amounted to approximately 1.2 %. The electric power of a single biogas plant ranged from 0.08 to 2.4 MWe, on average 1.05 MWe. The largest number of agricultural biogas plants (45 %) were medium power installations (0.5-1 MWe). However, 60 % of the electric power of all agricultural biogas plants was installed in objects with power over 1 MWe (39 installations). The production of agricultural biogas was territorially diverse. The total installed electric power was from 0.8 MWe (Holy Cross) to 12.7 MWe (West Pomerania). The average electric power of biogas plant depended on the region and it varied between 0.58 MWe, for Lesser Poland, and 2 MWe for the Opolskie Province. The production of electricity in agricultural biogas plants amounted to 437.1 GWh, in 2016. The reduction of CO 2 emissions resulting from the use of agricultural biogas plants was 247 Gg, in 2016.