A farm in the Philippines’ Zamboanga Peninsula is converting waste from more than 10,000 chickens and pigs into electricity through a biogas facility, cutting its monthly power bill by more than 90% while reducing odour from livestock waste, GMA NEWS reported.
The seven-hectare Rockefeller Farm, owned by Lester Uy and Heidi Ong, collects animal waste and deposits it into a pit where microorganisms break down the organic matter and produce methane-rich biogas.
The gas is then used to generate electricity through a 300-kilovolt-ampere biogas generator, which can power the entire farm for about 15 hours. The output is also sufficient to supply electricity to a rural village, according to the farm.
Before installing the system, the farm spent about 900,000 pesos a month on electricity. Its power bill has since fallen to around 40,000-50,000 pesos a month, Uy said.
The process also produces nutrient-rich material that can be used as fertiliser. The farm uses some of it for its own crops and distributes the rest to workers for use on their farms.
The biogas system has helped address both waste management and energy costs, with the owners also seeing potential for wider use of the technology.
Uy said the technology could be adapted for landfills, which could generate larger quantities of biogas from organic waste.
The farm is among the beneficiaries of the Department of Science and Technology’s Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program, which provides support to micro, small and medium enterprises for equipment, technical training and consultancy.
DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said earlier this month that the agency was considering assistance for more than 10,000 small and medium enterprises over the next two years as it expands its programmes.
