Biogas Safety first!

Quotes
‘Biogas is a key component of decentralised renewable energy supply, but it will
only achieve long-term acceptance if biogas plants are operated in a professional
manner. It is just as important to observe the state of the art in this field as in
other forms of power generation. This means that everyone involved, manufacturers,
distributors and operators, must comply with relevant regulations and
requirements (in particular European directives such as the Machinery Directive
2006/42/EC and the ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU). They must properly assess
any hazards that may exist in relation both to occupational health and safety and
to protection of the environment, and then formulate and implement the necessary
protection measures. This implies a certain technical challenge in order
to understand the process engineering underlying the plant acquired from the
manufacturer, but also an organisational challenge in the need to prepare the
supporting documents.
In Germany, for example, the German Biogas Association (Fachverband Biogas
e.V.) constantly collaborates with authorities and specialised bodies to deal with
complex issues and find practical solutions. A huge range of working aids, fact
sheets etc. have been produced, the principal content of which we are pleased to
be able to present to you in this publication.
After all, as I said: only safe plants will ensure the acceptance
of biogas over the long term.’
– Josef Ziegler,
Spokesperson of the Safety Working Group
of the German Biogas Association
‘In the area of renewable energy and energy efficiency, GIZ is currently implementing
more than 170 projects in over 50 countries, of which more than 20
focus on biogas or have a biogas component. Thus, from a development policy
perspective it is well known that biogas has a lot of advantages, like the reduction
of greenhouse gas emissions, provision of reliable green energy and the creation
of jobs.
In comparison to Germany, most of our partner countries do not have specific
requirements concerning safety in biogas plants. Moreover, it is obvious that possible
accidents in biogas plants are very harmful for sustainable biogas market
development. The issue of safety is therefore an important part of our work and
crucial to our partners in order to make sure that biogas projects become sustainable,
efficient and safe.’
– Bernhard Zymla
Head of Energy and Transport
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
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