Economic Viability
Investment calculations have shown that in suitable regional conditions the PROGRASS® concept permits a profitable utilisation of semi-natural grasslands. The economic profits of the approach is decisively influenced by the following factors:
- Pellet / briquette price
- Location close to a biogas plant generating low-cost waste heat
- Close distances between plant and grassland sites
- Geographic proximity to an existing biomass pellet or briquette production facility (pellet blending) or to a biomass furnace (eg heating plant)
- Increase of prices of solid fuels
- Investment costs
- Labour costs
- Maintenance and repair
- Costs of processing energy
- Costs and composition of grassland substrates
- Grassland harvest yields
- Transport costs
- Public funding and subsidies (EU area payments, environmental measures applying to agriculture)
- Amount and interests for external capital
Considering characteristic regional conditions, calculations of land use options and plant investment show that the approach can represent a valuable economic alternative. In addition, it contributes to preserving regional economic structures and to protecting semi-natural grassland habitats.
Furthermore, the combination of the IFBB-procedure with a biogas plant (IFBB Add-on) leads to improved economic efficiencies of semi-natural grassland uses by numerous synergy effects.
Products
Biogas Plant
"It's a sensible thing, I said to myself, to be engaged with regional development if you want to do your region a favour. So I studied that and focused on regional economics and infrastructure, because I thought, that's something that is very useful."
Dr. Bernhard Schneider
"To be self-sufficient in terms of energy is a very important aspect in regional economics. There is a common consensus that we can not afford not to utilise energy-techniques."