More info about the ArreBeef project that will be relevant for...

More info about the ArreBeef project that will be relevant for similar projects in future. Shows just how crucial the experience of Fluence Italy was from a technical perspective plus the work with Fluence Argentina in the tendering process for RenovAr. No similar (same industry) biogas project in Argentina that ArreBeef could directly compare to, so Fluence will definitely draw on this ArreBeef experience to leverage other projects in the future across Argentina and wider South America. Also highlights difficulty in getting financing off the ground, which I believe Citrusvil 3MW project maybe suffering from.


Mauricio Accietto who was interviewed for the article below also presented at the Fluence Argentina + Fluence Italy partner day.
- Mauricio Accietto It shares the details of the ArreBeef project which will be the first anaerobic digestion plant in the refrigeration industry in Argentina. Value content in Partner Day W2E-Edición Buenos Aires 2019.

ArreBeef Energía will inaugurate its 1.5 MW biogas plant this year
June 7, 2019
By Nanda Singh

It would be the first industrial refrigeration plant that will generate energy within the RenovAr 2 program. Companies such as Fluence, Fimaco, ARINCO, CEMAD and SECCO participated.

The power generation project of ArreBeef Energía is based on the treatment of the organic waste from the ArreBeef cold storage plant, which today has a capacity in pens of 3000 heads and a slaughter capacity of 30,000 heads per month.

In detail, the electrical enterprise that begins with the separation of the organic material available from the primary treatment will result in an anaerobic digestion plant and a co-generation engine that transforms the methane present in the biogas into electrical and thermal energy, and its subsequent use for connection to SADI.

As one of those awarded in RenovAr, this project is close to its commercial operation start date. Having reached its financial closure, started its construction and obtained the effective execution principle, only its rating remains.

For this reason, Energía Estratégica Argentina communicated with Mauricio Accietto, Manager of Occupational Health and Safety at ArreBeef and a reference of ArreBeef Energía, to learn more about its generation project.

Are you going to open this year?

Yes, the intention is to comply with the last milestone of commercial authorization with a date set for November 19.

Will they be 1.5 megawatts?

Yes, the power that we will be delivering to the Network will be 1.5 MW, and we have the commitment with CAMMESA to be delivering at least 7200 MWh annually.

To comply with the Commercial Enabling Milestone, it does not necessarily mean that we are at our maximum expression of power, but that we do have the equipment capable of generating it. The important thing is to comply annually with the energy committed in the RenovAr contract.

What makes this flexibility possible?

It allows you to achieve, during the first year, an efficiency in the higher generation that is obtained in the first months of the start-up. The important thing is to deliver the committed energy annually.

What motivated them first to go for RenovAr and not to self-consumption?

We had been studying for some time how to be more efficient in the management of our organic waste, but it was within the framework of the Renovar Program that we were able to give the project an economic viability. Thinking about the project with an intention of self-consumption of electric power would also be possible, but surely with longer times in the repayment of the project.

Do you plan to expand capacity in the coming years?

At first, all the analyzes we were doing on the substrates point to a power of 1.5 MW but it is not ruled out that if we increase our production -and therefore increase our substrate- at some point we are able to expand our power. Today our main objective is to comply with the Commercial Room in a timely manner.

What background did you take into account for this technology with the same substrate?

The most difficult part for us was being able to compare ourselves and see how other plants are doing. We do not find at a country level a company or a project that I have a diet with the same substrates that we do.

Yes, we had the possibility of knowing other projects but of other agroindustries. The experiences served as indicators, although they do not necessarily represent our activity. So, we rely on taking our own samples for a long time to try to be as accurate as possible.

Did that allow them to know the power to bid?

The decision of which power to bid was based mainly on laboratory tests.

Did you work with Fluence from the first day?

Yes, it is one of the most important pillars because they are the ones who accompanied us in the trials, in the tender and they will provide us with all the necessary equipment to prepare our substrates, incorporate them into the biodigester and transform them into the biogas needed to generate 1.5 MW of electric power.

Is your contract key in hand?

Yes, I understand that it is a very convenient format for our country, since we take advantage of the experience that technologists have on the different projects they have carried out.

At what stage of construction are they?

We have finished the civil construction of our Biodigestor of 5000 m3, and we are currently together with ARINCO in the development of small civil works as the bases of the equipment that we have imported. On the other hand, we have in execution:

-construction of chopped and crushed sebum and parboiling station (FIMACO) -electrical grid injection of energy to the grid (CEMAD) -measurement and communication system to the system of energy delivered.

In RenovAr 2 many projects could not yet achieve financial closure, how is your case?

Yes, it is a very understandable situation. In our case, we were able to obtain financing because we have a Refrigerator as a strategic partner. ArreBeef Energía is a specific purpose company that emerges from ArreBeef SA.

They predicted an investment of 4.5 million and today they are in the 5.5 million ...

The variability of CAPEX has to do with that being a new project for us, in which we do not have our own experience: on the one hand, we were conservative when calculating the electric power; but, on the other hand, we try to make the decisions that give us the most security.

Therefore, we try to work with the best contractor of civil works, the best technologist for what is the generation of biogas and the best technologist for the crushing and chopping of different substrates.

We seek to be cautious in that decision making, minimizing risks. But these decisions imply that the costs are different from those initially estimated.

Did any internal or external barrier to the project also lead to increased costs?

I do not know if to call it barriers, but surely in projects of this scope, there are very difficult costs to anticipate them, from the aspect of equipment, works and documentation necessary to fit within the Program. That is why it is important to advise as much as possible, and know about projects that have gone through the same path.

As of Law 27,191, ArreBeef has to comply with a renewable percentage covering its demand. Do ArreBeef Energía plan to cover this quota in the future?

Initially, when we started in this search to be more efficient with our substrates, we did it within the framework of the law of renewable energies and together with the appearance of RenovAr, it was that we made this first decision.

http://www.energiaestrategica.com/arrebeef-energia-inaugurara-este-ano-su-central-a-biogas-de-15-mw/