Our impact
Agrimaine Biogas Cogen plant, France
Background
The Project was initiated by AB2M, a company created in 2011 by c. 110 farmers in the Mayenne department (west of France). Meridiam joined the initial developers of the Agrimaine Biogas Cogen in May 2017 to jointly lead and finalize the development of the project which reached financial close in December 2017. The project refinancing closed in October 2021 with the support of three main commercial banks (Crédit Agricole Anjou-Maine, Banque Populaire Grand Ouest and Arkea). The project consists of developing, implementing, financing, operating and maintaining a 3.65 MW cogeneration power plant.
Agrimaine Biogas Cogen project is one of the two methanization projects selected under the CRE (Commission de Régulation de l’Energie) #5 tender and, as such, benefits from government support through a preferential long-term tariff for the electricity generated.
The project company has secured long-term biomass supply contracts with AB2M. The c. 110 farmers involved in the project produce approximately 20% of the biomass of the area and provide 99% of the project needs (150,000 Mt/year).
Stage:
In Operation
ESG/SDG Key Facts
The Project contributes to the goals set by the French Energy Code regarding waste treatment, the recovery of non-recyclable solid waste, and the replacement of fossil fuels by renewable energy sources:
• reduction of methane and CO2 emissions (93kt CO2eq avoided over the project lifetime),
• heat is provided to the local Lactalis plant, enabling that plant to reduce its fossil fuel consumption,
• the digestate from the biogas plant is redistributed to the farmers and used as fertilizers.
Meridiam has also undertaken a thorough impact assessment on Agrimaine in 2020, which was updated in 2021 as part of the review of externalities and impacts from our portfolio of biogas assets in Europe, with the support of ENEA. This assessment demonstrated the project’s highly positive impact on the socio-economic environment of the area, which is sometimes suffering from depopulation and from challenges related to the profitability of farming businesses. The 110 shareholders of AB2M are all farmers located in a 25 km area around the biogas unit. This model provides them with extra revenue through the sale of biomass production and contributes to reducing their cost base by using of digestate as fertilizer.
SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing)
Odour impact: The plant implemented a higher-grade biofilter to lower the risk of odour inconvenience in the neighbourhood.
Digestate recycling: An additional investment was made to implement a hygienisation/pasteurisation unit guaranteeing all
bacteria are killed before the products are returned to the farms as fertilizers.
SDG 4 (Quality Education)
A collaboration with a local school (agro-engineering) has been in place for several years, through the organisation of on-site visits.
SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation)
A rainwater collection system for on-site use was installed in 2022 as planned, which allowed the plant to recycle 90% of rainwater. Additionally, 44% of recuperable wastewater was recycled during 2023.
SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy)
Alternatives for on-site electricity use are being explored such as the installation of gas congenators, which could potentially offset the plant’s consumption by up to 80%. On site EV charging points are available to employees. For 2024, the asset plans to buy and rent Evs for staff. One EV-charging station for Agrimaine’s fleet is currently under construction. In 2023 the plant generated 34,580 MWh of renewable energy.
SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)
After additional safety and optimisation investments made in Q4 2021 and Q1 2022, more upgrades were completed in 2023 to add redundancy to the sanitation equipment, thereby increasing the reliability of the outflow treatment process.
SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production)
In 2023 the share of waste recycling was 100%.
SDG 13 (Climate Action)
In 2022, the asset decreased its GHG emissions by nearly 18% of Scope 1 and 2 emissions vs. 2021.
Sources:
[2] https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/49/034/49034419.pdf
Learn more about the project:
Meridiam launches the biggest crowdfunding campaign to finance a methanation unit in France
