The company says that the plant is the largest of its kind of the world and the first in Europe to produce electricity from litter on such a large scale.
Annually, the power plant will convert 440,000 tonnes of litter into electricity, enough to supply 90,000 households. Its CO2 emissions will be o more than if the manure were spread across fields. Duurzame Energieproductie Pluimveehouderij, a cooperative association of 629 poultry farmers, is supplying the litter, with 70% coming from the south of the country. The Dutch poultry industry produced 1.2 million metric tons of litter annually and, to date, some 800,000 metric tons had been exported for processing.
Ashes from the plant, which are rich in potassium, will be sold as a by-product for use as a fertilizer.
