Farmer and motor sportsman Jānis Vinters celebrates his 50th birthday today (19 December)!

Farmer Jānis Vinters produces heat for his own needs at the “Līgo” farm using renewable energy sources. The farm grows maize, which is also used for biogas production. The maize is ensiled in tunnels and then loaded into fermentation units.

Fermentation uses maize, as well as biological residues from two hectares of greenhouses and grain harvesting. When we visited the farm, manure from a neighbouring farm was being loaded into the tanks for the first time.

Vinters explains that new regulations come into force next year, requiring that at least 50% of the raw materials used in biomethane production must be various waste products, including manure. This will force producers to change the volume of raw materials used. Vinters feeds the electricity produced into the general grid, while the heat is used for the greenhouses and grain drying.

The greenhouses actually require six times the amount of heat produced at the farm’s own station, so two woodchip boilers are also used for heating. If there were no need for heat on the farm, Vinters suggests it could be used for heating the adjacent village.