Peiting's Biogas Plant Stalls as Approvals Drag On Beyond 2024
Plans for a Biogas Plant Turning Manure into Biomethane and Fertilizer Sparked Debate in Peiting in 2024—Here's Where the Project Stands
Peiting – It's not every day that a municipal committee leaves its own jurisdiction. But this time, it was necessary, the Peiting council members agreed. "We want to get a whiff of this ourselves," Hermann Möld declared during the October 2024 session, voicing what many of his colleagues were thinking after the presentation they had just heard.
The skepticism centered on a proposal by the Swiss company Renergon, which had outlined plans to build a biogas plant near Eselbrunnenweg. The facility's operation was anything but ordinary: delivered horse and poultry manure would be fermented in special containers, producing biomethane and fertilizer. The former could be fed into Peiting's existing gas grid, while the latter would be returned to the farms of origin, as company representatives explained during their pitch.
Yet they failed to allay concerns about potential odor nuisance. So in November 2024, the councilors took matters into their own hands, visiting a similar plant in Biberach for firsthand insight. From the investor's perspective, the trip yielded positive results: by late January 2025, the committee overwhelmingly approved the necessary zoning plan.
Since then, however, the project has gone quiet—raising questions about whether the investor may have lost interest along the way. One person who should know is Franz Seidel. His family-owned contracting firm, Seidel Bau (where his son, Franz Seidel Jr., serves as managing director), is slated to operate the biogas plant. When asked by the Heimatzeitung, Seidel confirmed that nothing has moved forward since the council's decision. The reason? Renergon first needed to get another project up and running in Brandenburg, he explained. Now that this is nearly complete, work on the Peiting planning process can begin in March.
"An Insane Review Process"
This next phase will determine whether the project stands any chance of realization. As early as a year ago, Mayor Peter Ostenrieder warned that the proposal faced "an insane review process." Key concerns include not only potential odor emissions but also traffic impacts from truck deliveries and collections, as well as whether the site complies with zoning connection requirements.
