Construction preparations are progressing for the biogas production plant of Suomen Lantakaasu Oy, a joint venture of food company Valio and energy company St1.
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Suomen Lantakaasu Oy and the city of Kiuruvesi, Finland, have agreed on the zoning of the future site and the location of the biogas production plant complex. The choice of the site was influenced by consultations with residents during the selection process.
The biogas plant will produce renewable liquefied biogas from the manure and other agricultural by-products of cattle farms in Upper Savo.
At the same time, hygienised biofertiliser will be produced for use by local farmers. It is more efficient and environmentally friendly than untreated manure and less odorous than untreated liquid manure.
The site selected for the plant is located on the south side of Pyhäsalmentie road, four kilometres from the centre of Kiuruvesi.
The choice of this site was guided by the conclusions of the North Savo ELY Centre’s environmental impact assessment, which was completed in July, and by consultations with residents during the assessment.
The site is defined as an industrial area in the regional plan. The site is flanked by the municipality’s old landfill areas, which are currently used as a landfill site and logging storage site.
The plant investment is also seen as an opportunity to develop the road network in the region. Discussions on Pyhäsalmentie road’s light traffic routes and improving intersections in the area have already started with the ELY Centre responsible for the road and the Regional Council of North Savo.
The city has also started preparing the zoning changes for the selected site.
The Suomen Lantakaasu Oy plant being designed for Upper Savo is a so-called hybrid plant. This means that there is one industrial-scale, centralised liquefied biogas production plant in Kiuruvesi and smaller satellite biogas plants in clusters of several farms elsewhere in the Upper Savo region.
This will keep the biogas feedstock transport distances as short as possible. Suomen Lantakaasu Oy will collect manure from farms and will provide the farms with the bio-fertiliser generated in the production of the biogas.
The farm’s nitrogen fertiliser cost will decrease because the amount of soluble nitrogen in biofertiliser is as much as 20-30% higher than in manure. The plant is scheduled for completion in 2026.
There is a growing interest in biogas production among Valio dairy farms in the region because it has a positive impact on farm profitability and improves nutrient cycling on the farm. ■