German City to Generate Energy from Waste
28th May 2009
The German city of Lünen is building a dedicated biogas network, powered by agricultural waste, offering an alternative to oil, coal and Russian gas.The city in the north-western Germany state of North Rhine-Westphalia lies on the Lippe River and the Seiten Canal, just north of Dortmund, and has a population of some 91,000 inhabitants.Lünen is the first city in the world to build and manage a biogas network. Fed by local farms, who deliver animal waste, as well as corn, wheat and grass the power plant is located in the industrial port. This feedstock is turned into biogas in anaerobic digesters. The plant produces 6.8MW, enough energy to supply 26,000 houses with heat and electricity.
