Economic Evaluation of Biogas-to-Electricity Systems on Cage Layer Operations

Abstract

Increased bird density on egg production operations has led to high electricity consumption and manure handling problems. Anaerobic diqestion offers a source of energy (biogas) and a consistent method of manure management. This paper reports the results of a computer simulation model desiqned to evaluate the economic viability of biogas-to-electricity systems on four egg farms containing different numbers of hens. These results indicate that the economic viability of the investment analyzed is directly related to the number of hens and projected electricity prices.