From sugar beets to clean energy in the northern province of Vojvodina
This case study explores a carbon project located near the city of Vrbas in the northern province of Vojvodina, Serbia - a significant initiative focused on generating renewable energy through biogas.
About
Challenges:
The MK Group Energy Biogas project in Serbia addresses several critical challenges:
- The project tackles the issue of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which are a significant contributor to climate change. The problem of excessive CO2 emissions, especially from traditional energy sources, is central to the environmental concerns that the project aims to address.
- The project addresses the challenge of managing agricultural and industrial waste. Serbia, like many other countries, faces issues related to the disposal of organic waste from farming and food processing, which can lead to environmental degradation if not handled properly.
- Serbia’s reliance on non-renewable energy sources is another problem that this project aims to address. The country’s energy sector has historically been dominated by fossil fuels, leading to concerns about sustainability, energy security, and long-term economic stability.
- The project also responds to the need for creating sustainable economic growth within Serbia. The challenge here is to balance economic development with environmental stewardship, ensuring that the country can grow its economy without compromising its natural resources.
Solutions
The project highlights a number of technical solutions to address these challenges:
The proposed project activity has total number of two cogeneration engines installed at the biogas power plant, with the capacity of 1.2 MWe/h each
The MKG Energy Biogas Plant biogas-to-energy conversion project that will generate renewable energy by capturing biogas -from organic waste- which will be the fuel to produce thermal and electrical energy through the use of a cogeneration system.
With reference to thermal energy, the Biogas plant will self-consume the equivalent of 5,000 MWh annually; whilst 14,200 MWh annually, will be sent to CARNEX (a company that belongs to MK Group).
Impacts
- The annual feed-in electricity is estimated to be 19,920,000 KWh annually; and heat energy recovery equivalent of 19,200 MWh annually.
- The 5% of electricity generated from the project activity would be used for self-consumption, resulting that 18,924 MWh annually of electricity will be sold up to the Serbian National Grid.
- The plant is also expected to benefit from Serbia’s feed-in tariff system for renewable energy, ensuring its economic viability and encouraging further investment in the sector. MK Group’s commitment to renewable energy is part of a larger €900 million investment plan into wind, solar, and biomass projects across Serbia by 2026.