Growing the Margins and Canadian Farm and Food Biogas Conference and Exhibition 2010

Technology Tours

Below are itineraries for the two highly informative Technology Tours to be held prior to the 4th Annual Growing the Margins and 2nd Annual Canadian Farm and Food Biogas Conferences, March 10-11.   

In past years, these very popular tours have been sold out, so don’t hesitate to reserve your seat now.  (see www.gtmconference.ca and Registration)

Note:

• Tour #1 and Tour #2 both depart promptly at 8:00 am.  Pre-departure registration and check-in will be in the lobby of the London Convention Centre commencing 7:00 am.  Box lunch is provided.
• Both tours will return to London Convention Centre by 5:00 pm.
• Tours will be in early March, so please make sure to dress accordingly.
• Safety or similar boots must be worn on Tour #1.

Technology Tour 1: “Biogas and Beyond”

• Delph Blue Veal Inc: Delft Blue 500 kW biogas system (350 kW + 149 kW generators), built by PlanET of St. Catherines, will soon be producing biogas. Inputs are manure from the 3000 head veal operation, fats/oils/grease, and possibly biomass crops.
• Sleeman Breweries Ltd: Tour will highlight on-site anaerobic digester for managing wastewater and other in-house organic wastes of this Ontario craft beer brewer and distributor.
• University of Guelph: Lab tour highlighting the 20 litre mini digesters and processes used by the University to test co-substrates for anaerobic digesters. BMP (biochemical methane potential) tests seek to assist operators in optimizing digester co-substrate recipes.
• ENS Poultry: Building a 100 kW biogas system, with the owner Earl Martin and sons doing much of the work themselves. System, designed by CH4 Biogas of Ottawa, will take in beef and possibly other manures, as well as washwater from their poultry processing plant. System regulated under the new Renewable Energy Approvals process.
• Clovermead Farms: Currently building a twin digester biogas system that will produce 250 kW. Digesters will use manure from 450 head dairy farm and off-farm materials as inputs. Installing a liquid-solid separator to create bedding material for livestock.

Technology Tour 2: “Solar and Biomass”

• RWF Industries Vertical Wind Turbine: RWF uses BRON ENERGY's unique vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) designed to harness wind efficiently and effectively in order to reduce load placed on the diesel generator. Objective is to provide technology to remote areas that rely solely on diesel generators to produce electricity.
• SunSaver1: Operating solar farm with 12 active solar trackers with a peak capacity of 113 kW.
• PhotoWatt Ontario Inc.: (to be confirmed) A subsidiary of ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc., an Ontario-based company headquartered in Cambridge and part of the PhotoWatt Group based in France. PhotoWatt has been involved in Photovoltaic (PV) research, development and manufacturing since 1979.
• University of Guelph Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre:  Research with biomaterials using renewable biomass feedstocks for making value-added bio-composites.
• Guelph Turfgrass Institute:  Agroforestry research trials with willows and other biomass crops.  Tour includes new biomass harvesting equipment.
• Elora Research Station: Biomass research trials with switchgrass highlighting varietal differences, standability and affect of windrowing on leachate levels.