Sunshine Holdings powers Lonach Dairy Farm entirely on bio gas
Energy costs are certainly a growing concern for all Sri Lankan
businesses. Against a backdrop where energy costs are increasing
sporadically, business organizations, especially manufacturing ones, are
looking for new alternatives and formulas that ensure the profitability
of their businesses vis-à-vis challenges.
In this context, a new prototype has been created by a dairy farm to
reduce operational costs and to achieve a range of environmental
benefits. Lonach Dairy Farm, owned by Sunshine Holdings, has achieved
remarkable success by becoming self-sufficient in their energy
requirements through the completion of a biogas project within the
premises of the farm. The primary source of energy for the bio gas
project is cow dung and urine, collected from the farm.
Lonach Dairy Farm, located in Lonach Estate –Watawala employees over
40 people and is owned and managed by Watawala Plantations PLC, a
subsidiary of Sunshine Holdings PLC.
The farm very hygienically channels the waste from the cow sheds to
the processing plant. At the plant it is fed into a complex machine
referred to as a “digester” and spills into specially engineered
submerged concrete chambers. The complex hydraulic filling process of
these tanks creates a constant liquid wave movement which generates the
required methane gas which in turn fills up into a huge balloon shaped
heavy duty plastic structure, where its pressure is carefully monitored
and piped to the diesel engine which has been modified to run on bio-gas
mode. When it comes to production, Lonach produces 100m3 of biogas per
day, becoming one of the largest biogas producers in Sri Lanka.
This digester, Sunshine Holdings says, is one of the most technically
advanced digesters available in the Sri Lankan market to produce bio gas
in the most effective and efficient manner. The farm, according to
Sunshine Holdings, presently has 150 cows, and the digester used at the
farm can accommodate waste produced by 600 cows. Therefore, Sunshine
Holdings says, the farm has the capacity required for growth.
The bio gas project has successfully aligned the farm with two of its
very important objectives –driving sustainability through operational
cost efficiencies and safeguarding the environment. The bio gas project
has made the farm totally self-sufficient in terms of its electrical
energy needs as it does not draw electricity from the national grid. The
plant produces 140 units of electricity daily which is used for the milk
storage chillers, the milking machines, the grass choppers used for the
cattle feed, lighting for the cow sheds, premises, offices etc.
Another valuable by-product of the process is the digested “Slurry”,
which is used as compost, again reducing the operational cost of the
farm. Group Managing Director of Sunshine Holdings PLC Vish Govindasamy
said, Watawala Plantations PLC selected Lonach Estate to start a Dairy
Farm Project as it had more bare land and ample water sources to meet
the requirement. “On the other hand, it had suitable elevation; 1,100
meter above sea level- and medium climate to grow fodder throughout the
season,” he added.
Bio gas generation, obviously, has a range of environmental benefits
and it primarily makes the environment more conducive for all living
beings by reducing the emission of methane, which is far more dangerous
than the emission of carbon dioxide. On the other hand, it provides a
formidable solution to the waste issue, a growing concern for most farms
and factories. Bio gas plants are considered an effective and efficient
method of treating industrial waste.
The Lonach Farm and biogas project, were spearheaded by G.
Krishnamoorthy, who is presently the Project Manager of the farm.
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