Biolectric: The Greenest Electricity in the UK?

Digging Deeper Into CO₂ Savings

We often talk about green energy in terms of what it generates. But when you look at a Biolectric anaerobic digestion system, the real environmental impact isn’t just in the clean electricity — it’s in everything it replaces.

So just how deep do the carbon savings go?

Let’s break it down.

♻️ 1. Fertiliser Replacement = Huge CO₂ Savings

Digestate from a Biolectric system is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium — but unlike synthetic fertiliser, it doesn’t take massive amounts of fossil energy to produce.

🔍 Producing 1 tonne of ammonium nitrate emits around 3.6 tonnes of CO₂e.
A larger Biolectric system (e.g. 74 kW) can offset up to 50% of synthetic fertiliser use per year, depending on nutrient planning and farm type.

👉 That’s a savings of up to ~180 tonnes of CO₂e per year, just by switching from artificial to homegrown nutrients.

Bonus? Digestate improves soil structure, moisture retention, and microbial health — which means longer-term carbon capture too.

🚛 2. Transport Emissions: Zero-Mile Fertiliser, Bedding, and Energy

Every tonne of fertiliser or bedding you don’t need to import is a tonne you don’t need to transport. And Biolectric hits several key areas:

• Fertiliser

No haulage of bagged product, no delivery trucks.
Savings: ~1.13 kg CO₂e per mile per tonne (average HGV emissions)

• Bedding

Farmers drying their own green bedding with Biolectric heat avoid imported bedding materials and their embedded emissions.

• Energy

Using farm-generated electricity avoids not only power grid losses (which can be up to 8%) but also avoids the upstream carbon impact of electricity generation. UK average grid mix is still over 50% non-renewable during key farm hours.

🛏️ 3. Drying Green Bedding with Renewable Heat

Many progressive dairy farms are now switching to green bedding — recycled manure solids separated from slurry. It’s cost-effective, sustainable, and when handled correctly, highly comfortable for cows.

But moisture is the enemy of cow comfort, and drying green bedding is essential for hygiene, mastitis control, and longevity in the cubicles.

That’s where Biolectric heat comes in.

By capturing the excess thermal energy from the generator, Biolectric systems can be used to dry green bedding on-site, turning a waste stream into a soft, dry, cow-friendly product — all without diesel burners, electric heaters, or external dryers.

✅ Key Benefits of Drying Green Bedding with Biolectric:

Zero fossil fuels – uses free heat from the system
No added emissions – circular, on-farm process
Improved cow comfort – drier bedding = happier cows
Healthier herds – reduced mastitis and bacterial load
Lower bedding costs – replacing purchased materials

A 74 kW Biolectric system can easily provide enough heat to support continuous green bedding drying, especially when integrated with a heat exchanger or forced-air drying system.

And because the heat is a by-product of energy generation, it’s not costing the farm anything extra.

🌱 Closing the Loop

Drying green bedding with Biolectric heat is a great example of circular farming in action:

Slurry is digested to create electricity and heat
Heat dries separated fibre from the same slurry
That bedding goes back into the cubicles
When soiled, it returns to the slurry store — and the cycle continues

This closed-loop approach replaces purchased inputs, reduces emissions, and improves animal welfare — all while lowering running costs.

💡 4. Offsetting Grid Electricity = Cleaner Load Profile

UK grid electricity — even in 2025 — still includes gas, imports, and legacy coal. The carbon intensity varies, but in winter, the grid can still emit 200–400 g CO₂/kWh.

A 74 kW Biolectric system producing over 600,000 kWh/year could be offsetting 240+ tonnes CO₂e/year, just on electricity alone.

And that’s before you factor in any exported power, displacing even more emissions elsewhere on the grid.

🌾 5. Methane Capture: Tackling the Farm’s Largest Emission Source

On most dairy farms, manure management is the single largest emissions category, driven by methane and nitrous oxide.

Biolectric systems trap and burn this methane, converting it to CO₂ — which, while still a greenhouse gas, is far less potent than methane (28–34x lower impact over 100 years).

✅ One 74 kW Biolectric system can reduce 150+ tonnes CO₂e/year in avoided methane emissions alone — depending on herd size and slurry handling.

a Totalling It Up: A Conservative Annual Saving

Source	Approx. CO₂e Saved
Avoided methane	150+ t
Fertiliser replacement	180 t
Grid electricity offset	60+ t
Bedding/heat	20+ t
Transport savings	10+ t
Total	~600+ t CO₂e/year

That’s the equivalent of taking over 200 diesel cars off the road every year — or eliminating the energy-related emissions of around 220 UK homes. From one 74 kW farm-based system.

✅ Why It Matters

Most “green energy” is focused only on what it produces.
Biolectric is different — it’s just as much about what it avoids.

No fuel imports. No synthetic fertiliser. No methane leaks.
It’s a system that uses what the farm already has to create energy, fertiliser, and resilience — while slashing emissions across the board.

🐄 In Summary: Why Biolectric Could Be the Greenest Electricity in the UK

✔ Captures and destroys methane on-site
✔ Uses existing slurry — no crops or added feedstock
✔ Offsets fossil fuels, fertilisers, bedding and transport
✔ Improves soil health and supports circular farming
✔ All from a fully automated, farmer-friendly system
✔ Available in sizes from 11 kW to 74 kW to suit a range of farms

If you want low-carbon, circular, renewable energy — it doesn’t get much greener than this.