Author: Deborah du Val de Beaulieu.
Apsley is a 1050 acre farming operation in the Bourne Valley. In 2011 we decided to invest in a biodigester and farm for energy using anaerobic digestion. 40 farms supply us with break crops which supports a healthy crop rotation on ours and other local farms. We produce 4 products: renewable electricity, biomethane (green natural gas), liquid food grade CO2 and fertiliser certified for use on organic farms.
We feed the biogas plant with crops such as oats, rye and maize which produces biogas (Methane and CO2) and as the main by-product, digestate (which has similar agronomic properties to manure). The biogas is blown into an engine which drives a generator, producing renewable electricity for our own use and is also fed into the grid.
We also produce biomethane by cleaning the biogas, which is then injected into the gas network heating the equivalent of 7000 homes in Andover all year round. We complete a full Carbon model every quarter which shows our biomethane to have over a 95% fossil fuel saving compared to natural gas.
Our CO2 capture and liquification plant, which we added in November 2016, is in full production. It produces food grade CO2, putting the bubbles in beer & fizzy drinks.
The majority of the digestate is spread on the land in the spring to fertilise new crops, dramatically reducing our use of fossil fuel derived fertiliser. Eighteen months ago we launched a local home delivery service (within 30 miles) for our digestate which comes in solid and liquid form. It is a great product, used by gardeners for various applications, and contains 3 top nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium as well as many essential trace elements to promote strong and healthy plant growth.
We have seen a huge increase in birds and wildlife since we have started using organic digestate fertiliser. Our garden mulch and liquid plant feed have been approved by the Soil Association for use in organic farming, allotments and gardens. This can be ordered online at https://mulch.apsleyfarms.com