KTG Agrar paves the way for sales leap in 2010
Construction of a 3.2 MW biogas plant starts in Flechtingen
Hamburg, 5 October 2009 – Construction of a biogas plant with a rated electrical output of 3.2 megawatts (MW) has started in Flechtingen, Saxony-Anhalt, on behalf of KTG Agrar AG [ISIN: DE000A0DN1J4], one of Europe’s leading agricultural companies. KTG plans to take the plant into service before the end of the year. “The production of renewable energy is our third business segment besides organic and conventional agriculture,” says Siegfried Hofreiter, CEO of KTG Agrar. “Due to the reliable revenue stream from the production of biogas, we can today predict a leap in sales for the year 2010.” The company will invest more than EUR 12 million at the new site, which will generate revenues of roughly EUR 5 million starting next year. KTG Agrar already operates biogas plants with a combined electrical output of 8 MW. This capacity will almost be doubled by the first quarter of next year. As a result, the segment’s annual sales revenues of EUR 9 million (2008) will increase by roughly 100 percent, with the EBIT margin exceeding 20 percent.
The biogas generated in Flechtingen will power four modern combined heat-and-power plants via a micro gas grid. The electricity will be fed into the public grid, while the heat will be supplied to Flechtingen’s school and kindergarten. In addition some 150 households and a private rehabilitation clinic will be connected to the local heat distribution grid. “This project is a milestone for our city,” says an enthusiastic Dr. Dieter Schwarz, Mayor of Flechtingen. “We conserve the environment, reduce our dependence on fossil energy sources, create secure jobs and benefit from a low-cost energy supply.” The consumers connected to the local heat distribution grid will pay far less than they used to pay for gas or oil.
KTG Agrar’s biogas production is based on an integrated concept. The input materials are grown in the immediate vicinity of the plants. Besides energy maize, the company uses grass and straw as input materials, with millet also gaining importance. It is sown after the summer grain harvest and harvested in November. This kind of intercropping creates significant synergies. Expensive harvesting machines can be used for a much longer time, making them more profitable. In a few years’ time already, the company intends to use almost exclusively grass and intercrops as input materials for the production of biogas. “This will also put an end to the food or fuel debate,” says Siegfried Hofreiter: Besides the Flechtingen plant, construction of another biogas project of a similar size is scheduled to start shortly.