Farm waste fuels energy transition

Grain rejected for animal feed, which will be converted into biogas, being pushed into a grinder at Bio Energy Coevorden, which was acquired by Varo Energy, in Coevorden, Netherlands in April. — ©2023 The New York Times Company

EVERY day dozens of tanker trucks, many laden with animal manure and other kinds of agricultural waste, rumble through the gateway of an imposing steel-and-concrete plant in northeast Netherlands.

This pungent cargo will be mixed together into a slurry and pumped into massive tanks, where hungry bacteria will within weeks turn it into methane gas that will ultimately be sold to the energy grid to heat homes and generate electricity.