Farm-scale biogas plant on a Finnish dairy farm with 100 cows. Biogas plant in the front and the cowhouse behind (photo Auvo Sairanen).

Biogas tool is a planning tool meant for biogas production where the maximal amount of feedstocks is 15 000 t per year. With the Biogas tool, it is possible to estimate the methane production from different feed materials, compare the profitability of different forms of energy production and utilization, estimate the nutrient concentration of digestate as well as estimate the size of the biogas plant investment and its profitability. The Biogas tool is freely available and was developed under the HANDIHEAT project co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme 2014–2020, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke).

The tool´s results are based on the user’s input values and the selection of provided alternatives. The tool will guide the user step-by-step through the nine stages. The Biogas tool uses pre-set estimation values based on research knowledge for different feed material and the efficiency of the process. The tool is developed by the Finnish partner and thus the background values regarding investment and operating costs are from Finland. However, it is possible to change or adjust the pre-set values.