Oktogreenfest Cordun 2024: Genesis Biopartner Opens New Biogas Plant in Romania
The Genesis Biopartner Group officially inaugurated a new biogas plant in Cordun commune, Neamt County, after an investment of about EUR 17mn. The event, suggestively titled Oktogreenfest, was an example of sustainable organization, including tree planting, guided tours of the plant and other activities dedicated to promoting environmentally friendly practices.
The inauguration was attended by local and national officials, business representatives and business partners, marking an important step for the development of renewable energy in Romania. Among those who took to the Oktogreenfest stage were the Minister of Environment, Water and Forests, Mircea Fechet, the Mayor of Cordun Municipality, Adrian Ciobanu, the Prefect of Neamt County, Adrian Bourceanu, the General Commissioner of the National Environmental Guard, Andrei Corlan, together with representatives of Genesis Biopartner: Mihai Pal, Director of the new Cordun site, Horia Bardeanu, General Manager of the company and Michael Dietrich, founder of the group.
A 100% sustainable event
The inauguration was organized with a special focus on sustainability, reflecting Genesis Biopartner’s values and vision. The event included activities such as the planting of trees inside the station’s courtyard as a sign of commitment to the environment. Guests were also invited to take guided tours of the station to get an up-close look at the state-of-the-art technologies used to convert organic waste into renewable energy.
“Our biogas plant in Cordun is the second biogas plant we have inaugurated, after the one in Filipestii de Padure 13 years ago. We have two more stations started, one in Timisoara County and one in Dolj County, and we have three other sites in the country where we are developing. It is the most modern station of its kind in Romania, with the latest technology in the field. The biogas plant uses organic waste, biomass or food residues and transforms them into biogas, and the biogas is in turn transformed, through cogeneration, into thermal energy and electricity which is injected into the grid. We are talking about a big environmental impact in terms of recycling organic waste, which, instead of being harmful to the environment, rotting and emitting methane – the biggest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide – is recycled and turned into heat and electricity. We want to expand in all regions of the country, and we have chosen this area of Cordun, where we have developed other projects in the past, because we have been welcomed with open arms and we have a favourable environment for development. We aim to become the largest processor and recycler of biodegradable waste in Romania. We have been waiting for this day for 13 years and I am extremely happy and excited to be here today, for which I would like to thank the whole Genesis team,” Michael Dietrich said.
Biogas plant – a sustainability project
The new biogas plant in Cordun, part of the innovative Sustementality for live by Genesis Biopartner concept, will process organic waste and convert it into electricity, heat and organic fertilizer with minimal environmental impact. The sustementality concept represents a vision of the Genesis Biopartner Group to promote a sustainable mindset for sustainable living, closing the natural waste cycle and contributing to the circular economy.
“Here in Cordun we have a modern facility, we can process quite large capacities of different types of waste, we have a generous waste processing hall with robust, state-of-the-art equipment, sorting belts, unpacking systems, plastic separation systems, so we try to recycle plastics. The waste, once received, undergoes a treatment process, then it is fed to a fermentation line, which can produce more than 1,000 cubic meters of biogas per hour, the biogas we treat, we feed it into two cogeneration plants, we produce electricity that we deliver to the national energy system, and we produce heat energy that we use for self-consumption. From our point of view, the most important thing is that at the end of the process we end up with an organic, environmentally friendly fertilizer, which we give back to nature, where our raw material that we had at the beginning of the process came from. It basically closes the loop, and by analysing our day-to-day work, we have come up with our own, original concept – ‘Sustementality for life’ – where we try to set an example: with a healthy mindset we will be able to do something for future generations,” Horia Bardeanu explained.
Economic and environmental impact
The Cordun biogas plant will initially create 20-25 direct jobs and dozens more will be generated indirectly through local collaborators and suppliers. The investment also supports local budget and infrastructure development, strengthening Cordun as a regional economic hub.
“This station helps us to recycle food waste from the Moldovan region and creates new jobs. Such projects are essential for economic development and the return of those who have gone abroad,” Adrian Ciobanu said.
“I am glad to see that when we talk about the environment and how we leave our children, the next generations, a cleaner environment than we found it, we also talk about investments, jobs. I am happy when, at the same time, we can protect the environment, but we can also attract investment. In Romania, we manage almost 2 million tons of biowaste every year, and instead of ending up in biodigesters, in treatment plants, most of the time they end up in landfills, where they generate pollution, odour discomfort, higher costs – in the end – for citizens who pay the sanitation tax every month, and I appreciate to see that there are situations where, with private capital, we manage to have such investments,” Mircea Fechet added.
About Genesis Biopartner
Genesis Biopartner, a pioneer in the development of renewable energy projects and sustainable solutions in Romania, is a holding dedicated to investments in biogas plants. This group develops, builds and operates state-of-the-art biogas plants, characterized by high availability, operability, robustness and traceability, resulting from the operational experience gained in over 12 years of activity.
Currently, Genesis Biopartner owns two biogas plants, one in Filipestii de Padure, Prahova County, with a capacity of 2.13 MW electrical and 2.00 MW thermal, and another in Cordun, Neamt County. The group is also building two other biogas plants in Pischia, Timis County and Almaj, Dolj County. All three stations in Cordun, Pischia and Almaj will have an installed capacity of 2.99 MW electrical and 2.87 MW thermal.
