Disposal of agricultural waste is one of the major challenges in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). This includes the fertilizer / manure from the animal handling facilities, and waste generated during slaughter and meat processing. Disposal of such materials poses a major environmental problem, as well as a health risk for the community. Biogas power plants can be a solution because they convert this waste into electrical, heat and fertilizer.
Investments in biogas plants are encouraged through guaranteed purchase of electricity at a feed-in tariff that is significantly higher than the market price. Subsidized purchase of electricity from power plants on biogas gives farmers an incentive to properly handle and dispose of waste, thus protecting water, soil and air from pollution. The guaranteed revenue from the sale of electricity will help farmers during market fluctuations, which will preserve existing jobs and create conditions for new ones.
The video that the USAID EIA prepared and will be displayed on the stand at the ENERGA 2019 Fair:
The quantities of electricity that will be purchased at the incremental purchase price (quotas) are defined in the entity action plans for the use of renewable energy for the period 2014-2020. In November 2018, the Action Plan of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FB&H) changed and introduced a planned purchase of 9.6 GWh of electricity from power plants to biogas in 2020, which corresponds to the production of a power plant of 1.2 MW.
By November 2018, the main obstacle to the construction of biogas plants in the FBiH was the lack of quotas for biogas plants, which exist for other power plants using renewable sources. USAID’s Investing in Energy Sector (EIA) project has made significant efforts to show the competent institutions the importance of subsidizing biogas plants and provide technical assistance in amending the FB&H Action Plan to include the biogas power plant quota.
Since June 2015, the USAID EIA project and the Spreca farm cooperate on technical issues related to the design and operation of the biogas plant, as well as the identification and removal of obstacles in the process of obtaining licenses. Construction of a 600 kW power plant at the Spreča farm, Kalesija began. To power a 600 kW power plant, manure of about 4,000 cows or 600,000 chicken or 80,000 pigs, which is an opportunity for a greater number of livestock breeders to provide enough quantity of manure and to obtain financing. In FB&H guaranteed purchase prices are very stimulating also for power plants of 150 kW and the return on investment is significantly shorter than 12 years of the duration of the contract for electricity purchase.
In Republika Srpska (RS), in 2020, the purchase of 13.48 GWh of electricity from power plants on biogas is planned, which corresponds to the production of a 1.7 MW power plant. The RS has already built a 1 MW biogas power plant within the company GOLD-MG, Donji Žabar, near Brčko. In RS, guaranteed purchase prices are favorable for installations larger than 500 kW, which indicates an even greater need for farmers’ association.
And after 2020, biogas plants will be encouraged and an Action Plan for the period 2020-2030 is currently being prepared.
