Environment ministry eases rules to turn livestock waste into solid fuel

The environment ministry on Tuesday revised a presidential decree to streamline the installation and operation of facilities that convert livestock manure into solid fuel, treating animal waste as a renewable energy resource rather than merely a pollutant.

Under the amended Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Management and Use of Livestock Manure, operators must submit detailed plans for facility operations and secured usage sites during the permitting process. Authorities will review submissions to ensure proposed plants meet specific compositional standards before granting approval.

The revision relaxes technical requirements to encourage market participation. The minimum calorific value standard for fuel made entirely from livestock manure drops from 3,000 kcal/kg to 2,000 kcal/kg. The ministry now permits non-briquetted solid fuels with safety measures and allows auxiliary raw materials to supplement calorific value up to a mixing ratio of less than 40 percent.

The decree mandates official modification permits for any changes affecting fuel quality standards. Operators must record processing methods and usage volumes in a management ledger and preserve these documents for at least three years.

Kim Eun-kyung, the ministry's director for water environment policy, said the revision would contribute to carbon neutrality in the livestock sector while activating the solid fuel market and improving public water quality.

The environment ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plan to invest 29.8 billion won between this year and 2029 on research and development for cow dung solid fuel production, utilization technologies, and pollution prevention measures.

A demonstration project will optimize combinations of raw and auxiliary materials to produce high-calorie solid fuel exceeding 3,500 kcal/kg at a rate of 15 tons per day. The total 4,500 tons will be tested in 330-megawatt power generation co-firing systems and 4-megawatt combined heat and power boilers.