Before a new manure digester is built in Coevorden, more research must be done into the possible consequences for the environment and the surrounding area. This is the advice of the Environmental Impact Assessment Committee for the province of Drenthe.
The province may want to grant a permit for such a manure digester, but first had the effects on the environment investigated. If it is up to the Nature Energy company, there will be a digester that produces a maximum of 25 million cubic meters of gas and 600,000 tons of fertilizers. “This requires 616,000 tons of animal manure per year. This leads, among other things, to 242 extra trucks per day,” says the committee.
According to the committee, there is still too little insight into the emissions released by such an installation. Other ways of processing manure have also not been sufficiently researched. “It is also unclear whether the installation limits the negative environmental consequences as much as possible. The nitrogen emissions and measures are also uncertain and the safety risks have not been fully worked out.”
The province has been advised to postpone a decision on the permit and first supplement the environmental report.