It was a first for the festival sector: the Werchter Parklife 2021 series of concerts fully and effectively ran on locally produced green energy. The power was supplied, in part, by cow manure from Petra and Wim Verbreuken's dairy farm, De Laerhoeve in Kalmthout.
“We are strongly committed to sustainability and animal care in the running of our business. We were already running a small digester ten years ago”, says Petra. “It supplied power for our company. When, finally, that installation needed replacing, we bought a new one, capable of processing the manure of all of our cows, 170 in total. In short, we are converting all of the manure into electricity. That makes us not just self-sufficient, it also enabled us to supply green power to 60 families and pump power into Werchter Parklife.”
How does that even work? “We have a shed with a low-emission floor. The manure falls onto a closed, low-emission floor. The manure scraper pulls the dung into the basement. From there, it is pumped into a silo, where it is left standing for 30 days. Inside our digester bacteria help break down the manure into gas and green power. That power is then distributed by Bolt. I think it’s wonderful how we, as farmers, are able to produce green power in addition to the milk and artisanal yoghurt we make."”
TIP: You should definitely pay a visit to the Laerhoeve in Kalmthout and savour their delicious artisanal products!
Petra and Wim hope that more dairy farmers will follow their lead. “We really try to think of the future. We need green energy and doing it this way means that every single thing our cows is utilized.”
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