ONE of Greece's largest cattle and pig abattoirs is to add a hefty anaerobic digester to extract biogas from the waste materials it produces.

According to national statistics, the waste from animal husbandry and slaughtering throughout Greece amounts to some 17.5 million tonnes per year, with a potential biogas capacity of approximately 370 MW – but the biodigester capacity currently installed in Greece is only about 83 MW.

Now German anaerobic digester specialists Weltec Biopower have been tasked with building a 500kW biogas plant in Veria, northern Greece, specifically to handle abattoir waste, which is set to go live as early as mid-November this year.

The anaerobic digestion process will mainly use cattle manure and meat processing leftovers in its 4903-m³ stainless-steel digester, which will also be fed with production wastewater and fats, as well as inputs from farmers in the vicinity.

Greek investors are reportedly keen on such custom-tailored plants in order to make profitable and climate-neutral use of the wide variety of raw materials, with the aim of doubling green power generation from the current level of 30% to 60% by 2030. In the coming decade, Greece is expected to invest some €9 billion in such plants.