On a sprawling 75-hectare family farm in the secluded reaches of Friesland, northwest Netherlands, a pioneering project is underway. Here, in a region where cows nearly outnumber people two to one, the Heeg family farm is part of a national experiment designed to convert cow manure into biogas.
As 175 cows graze and produce manure, it falls onto a slatted floor where it is mechanically swept into an anaerobic digester located just outside the barn. This dome-shaped facility processes the dung, breaking it down with bacteria to produce biogas. Additional machinery extracts nitrates and phosphates to create fertilizer, leaving behind organic matter that is spread back onto the fields of the Heeg farm.
This initiative is spearheaded by FrieslandCampina, the Netherlands’ largest dairy collective, which collaborates with 13,500 of the country’s 17,000 dairy farmers. The project has set an ambitious goal to equip 1,000 large farms with the technology to generate energy from cow manure over the next four years, marking a significant step towards changing the Dutch dairy industry’s reputation regarding agricultural emissions.
Farmers participate in an innovative program where they lease anaerobic digesters, benefiting from a 12-year fixed price for the biogas they produce, supported by a Dutch government subsidy. So far, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has allocated €150 million to support this “cow power” initiative.
“Previously, we simply spread manure across our fields. Now, I can process it to produce both energy and fertilizer, making every part of the process beneficial,” says 27-year-old Pieter Heeg. He anticipates earning €10,000 annually by selling surplus energy to Jumpstart, a cooperative initiated by FrieslandCampina to assist farmers with the leasing and installation of digesters.
Since Henk Kamp, the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, initiated the Heegs’ digester 20 days ago, it has generated 9,342 kWh of electricity—sufficient to power three homes for a year. During the launch event, Kamp highlighted how this project contributes to the Netherlands’ goal of sourcing 14% of its energy from renewable resources by 2020.
The pressing need for manure processing in the Netherlands is driven by its acute environmental challenges. Agriculture contributes about 10% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, predominantly methane from the dairy sector, with livestock producing around 74 million tonnes of manure annually. Direct land application of this manure is not viable as it leads to nitrate and phosphate runoff, which causes excessive algae growth and water pollution. In response to exceeding the EU’s phosphate limits, the Netherlands has resorted to transporting manure to neighboring countries like Poland, Hungary, and Germany for use as fertilizer.
Oscar Schoumans, associated with Wageningen University & Research, highlights the Netherlands’ significant environmental impact in terms of manure, livestock density, and nutrient surplus. “On European Commission maps, the Netherlands and Flanders are marked distinctly due to these issues. We’re seen as the problem areas,” he explains. Although Schoumans recognizes efforts to address these challenges, he doubts the efficacy of the FrieslandCampina initiative due to its voluntary nature and its lack of focus on managing excess nutrients. “We should view manure as a valuable mineral resource, not just waste,” he suggests.
Meanwhile, some analysts question the economic viability of the biogas initiative given the availability of cheaper fossil fuels. Hans van den Boom, a renewable energy relationship manager at Rabobank, expresses skepticism about the economic rationale behind individual farm digesters. He advocates for larger, centralized digesters as a more financially feasible solution. “The effectiveness of smaller, farm-scale digesters has not been proven yet,” he notes.
Conversely, Jan Willem Straatsma of FrieslandCampina remains hopeful about the potential of the biogas project. While acknowledging the presence of large-scale digesters within the initiative, he champions the smaller systems for their ability to minimize manure transportation and reduce associated costs and environmental impacts. “Implementing smart technology directly on farms offers a more efficient solution,” he asserts.
In the fields, the Heeg family maintains a positive outlook. Amidst the backdrop of grazing Holstein Friesian cows, their farm operates in anticipation of becoming a model for sustainable change, driven by the energy produced from their own livestock.
