Page 16 - European Energy Innovation magazine - autumn 2022 edition

Autumn 2022 European Energy Innovation
16 BIOGAS AND BIOMETHANE

A new policy context for

assessing biogas and

biomethane

By Peter Zeniewski, Energy Analyst at International Energy Agency (IEA)

he EU’s biogas and and environmental regulations. procedures, factory-style fabrication
biomethane industry is The EU plan encourages national of standardised biodigesters and
growing, and has been biomethane strategies to evaluate related equipment, dedicated biogas
Tgiven a large boost by potential and identify barriers to fi nancing facilities, and robust
the RePowerEU plan, which aims production as well as enabling support schemes such as quotas,
to achieve a target of at least 35 conditions at the local and national feed-in tariffs, and contracts for
bcm (350 TWh) annual biomethane levels. It also suggests an integration difference, in addition to an EU-
production by 2030. of biomethane into an EU-wide wide system for low-carbon gases
strategy for rural development and certifi cation.
There are many EU and national local job creation, including the use
policies already in place that of energy communities and farmers Potential and costs of biomethane
support biogas and biomethane, cooperatives. in the EU
and several near-term actions are The IEA has produced country-level
proposed in the RePowerEU plan to The growth in biomethane production estimates of the feedstock potential
support its development. An industry envisioned in the RePowerEU plan within the European Union, using
partnership has been proposed would imply a 40% average annual Eurostat, FAO and World Bank data.
that would serve as a platform for growth rate from 2023-30 compared The largest potential lies in Germany,
public-private engagement and the to 17% between 2015-2021. Factors France, Spain and Italy, owing to their
sharing of best practices around that could accelerate growth size, population and relatively large
permitting, fi nancing, incentives include streamlined permitting gross agricultural output. Comparing

Biogas and biomethane production in the European Union by type and feedstock
Biogases by type Biogases use by feedstock
250 250
TWh
200 200

150 150

100 100

50 50

2010 2015 2021 2010 2015 2021
Agricultural sources Municipal sources
Biogas Biomethane Industrial sources Other/unknown

www.europeanenergyinnovation.eu