The manure turns into electricity // Anna and Hans Samuelsson Skeppshult

On their farm, they do not have to worry about skyrocketing electricity prices. The farm produces its own electricity, using the cows' manure. It is easy to be impressed by the facility at Kalset Mjölk. In the large stable where the dairy cows are during the winter, loose farming applies. The cows move around freely, eat when they feel like it, stand by the massage brushes when it itches somewhere on the body and walk voluntarily towards the milk room when it is time to empty the stiff udders. The manure that ends up on the stable floor is transported via conveyor belts to culverts where it is first transported to a manure well before it goes on to the digestion chamber, where the methane gas is taken care of. In the chamber where the gas is produced, 40 degrees heat prevails. Inside the closed container, it bubbles and moves like a leavening dough. The methane gas emitted there goes via pipes to two engines, ordinary explosion engines that are powered by the gas and which in turn drive a generator that creates the electricity. - The plant has the capacity to produce 1,000 kilowatt hours a day, Hans says. - But in the summer the cows go out and then we do not produce as much electricity. In one year, there will be 275,000 kilowatt hours. It is enough to be able to supply 12-13 villas with energy and enough to cover the farm's needs. But you can not cut the cables to the mains for that. On some days, the farm's electricity needs are greater than its own production. Then you have to buy electricity. Other days it is overproduction and then you sell instead. The plant also provides some excess heat which is taken care of and used to heat the workshop and the dwelling house. The farm is also Krav-certified, which means that you do not use fertilizers or pesticides. - We want a self-sufficient farm, says Hans as an explanation for the investment in our own electricity production. There is also an advantage that has to do with the sense of smell. The manure that goes out of the digestate chamber and then out into the fields is different from ordinary manure. - We get a nutritious manure that does not smell as strong. The electricity that is created is just a plus. Without it, the methane gas would go up in the empty air. From a climate impact perspective, it is neutral. Although the combustion in the engines creates carbon dioxide, the methane gas is prevented from mixing with the atmosphere. Excerpt from "Värnamo Nyheter" / 2022-04-04 At the engines powered by the gas, which in turn drives the generator.