Energy Farmer of the Year uses 2G technology

Farmer Hermann-Josef Benning from Reken honored in Berlin
Hermann-Josef Benning, Energy Farmer of the Year 2015, runs a 72-hectare arable farm with his family. For the 52-year-old, generating energy from the fields is as natural as producing food.

Faits et chiffres

Application:
Installations de production de biogaz et de biométhane
Pays:
Allemagne
Cogénération:
agenitor 212 & avus 800a
Puissance (kW):
400 kW & 851 kW / 445 kW & 923 kW
Opérateur:
Hermann Benning

Once a year, Germany's leading agricultural newspaper, dlz agrarmagazin, recognizes exceptional achievements in agriculture with the CeresAward. Prizes are awarded in a total of eleven different categories, covering the entire spectrum of agriculture. 2G is proud that 2015 Energy Farmer of the Year, Hermann-Josef Benning, also uses technology from Heek in his innovative ideas.

The Benning family has been growing spinach for almost 30 years. No wonder, since their 72-hectare farm is located close to Iglo's deep-freeze plant in Reken. When the question of further business development arose at the end of the 1990s, it quickly became clear that more space was not available in the Münsterland region, which is strong in processing. So they broke new ground, became energy manager. Energy farmer of the year uses 2G technology. Farmer Hermann-Josef Benning from Reken was named in Berlin and set up two wind turbines on his own land. In 2004, the first biogas plant was built, initially designed to produce electricity. However, the use of heat was just as important to the operators from the start.

The outdoor and indoor swimming pool in Reken, 3.5 km from the farm, was the first heat consumer, supplied by a satellite CHP plant installed on site, which was fed with gas from the farm via a micro gas pipeline. Other heat consumers at other locations followed: the high school and the Benediktushof in Maria Veen, as well as 15 residential buildings and a pig sty in Hülsten. Four more satellite CHP plants were installed for this purpose, which produce heat on site. This includes an agenitor 212 from 2G.