Energy from Biogas in the National Renewable Energy Action Plans Jan Stambasky EBA Executive Board Member Workshop on Bioenergy in the National Renewable Energy Action Plans, EUSEW, 25th March 2010, Brussels

Outline What potential do we have for biogas? Biogas production potential Case studies: typical examples Specific measures for biogas injection into the grid Upgrading of biogas Quality requirements Regulatory measures Main national measures to consider for CHP and transport Biogas for CHP applications Biogas as a vehicle fuel 3 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010

European Biogas Association Germany (Fachverband Biogas and FNBB) Estonia (Eesti Biogaasi Assotsiatsioon MTÜ) France (ATEE Club Biogaz and Méthéor) Great Britrain (REA – Biogas Group) Ireland (Sustainable Energy Ireland) Italy (Consorzio Italiano Biogas) Latvia (Latvijas Bigazes Asociacija) Lithunia (Bioduju Asociacija) Louxemburg (Biogasvereenegung) Netherlands (DSM) Austria (ARGE Kompost & Biogas) Poland (Polskie Stowarzyszenie Biogazu) Romania (Asociatia Romana Pentru Biogaz) Sweden (Svenska Biogasföreningen) Switzerland (Biogas Forum Schweiz) Spain (Asociación Española de Biogás) Czech Republic (Česká bioplynová asociace) Hungary (Magyar Biogáz Egyesület) 4 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 4

Biogas Production Potential Big potential for the EU Biogas = versatile renewable energy source Energy utilization space heating, cooking local power production automotive fuel natural gas substitute Rural area development sustainable agriculture nutrient recovery and soil improvement securing current jobs, new ‘green’ jobs creation …this is the potential of biogas 5 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 5

Biogas Primary Energy Production (2007) (ktoe) history Landfill Gas Sewage Gas Biogas (agro) 6 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 6

Case Study 1: Poland Very early stage of biogas sector development (2009) Robust potential… 3rd biggest substrate pool in the EU 10,700,000 hectares of arable land total estimated biogas potential of 20,000 MWel … but not used yet 6 biogas plants (agro) in 2010 276 GWh from all biogases in 2009 quota system for RE low feed-in tariffs (11-13 cents per kWh) lack of a systematic road map for biogas production and utilization 7 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 7

Case Study 2: Austria 1999: First federal RE act, but 9 different local support schemes in each state of the federation 2002: First federal support scheme on biogas Power from Biogas plants 324 biogas plants (295 with feed in tariffs) 77.2 MW el. 570 GWh (0.9 % of the total power consumption, power for 160,000 households) Biogas upgrading Pucking (2005) Bruck an der Leitha Margarethen am Moos (Filling Station, 2007) Eugendorf (Filling Station) Leoben (2010) Asten (2010) 8 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 8

Case Study 2: Austria Mid term potential (by 2020) Potential of 600 Mio. Nm3 of methane 550 Mio. Nm3 for CHP 50 Mio. Nm3 for fuel 500 new biogas plant 1.5 Mio. tonnes CO2 savings 1.1 Bln. Euros investments 4000 new jobs Long term potential 1.9 Bln. Nm3 of methane 9% of power demand Long term road map needed 9 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 9

Case Study 3: Czech Republic Very quick development in the past two years RE Act (2005) introduced the support scheme it took two years to develop the first project since then 40 plants (25 MWel) per year 10 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 10

Case Study 3: Czech Republic Long term potential (agro biogas) 1.0 Bln. Nm3 of methane (10 TWh) 1.7 Bln. Euros investments 15,000 of ‘green’ jobs Long term road map needed 11 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 11

Conclusions of the Case Studies All the countries need a mid/long term EU biogas road map Low developed countries to introduce and/or to support the local biogas support schemes Developed countries to support and strengthen their future goals National Renewable Energy Action Plans Mid-term road map till 2020 Include issues on power, heat and fuel All the possible products from biogas EBA is here to give advises Ready to help with filling up REAP templates Giving examples of the success stories in the EU 12 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 12

Upgrading of Biogas Biogas cleaning Removal of trace impurities from the biogas like sulphane, ammonia, siloxanes etc. Removal of water droplets and moisture Biogas upgrading Removal of carbon dioxide Removal of nitrogen in some special cases (landfill gas) Biomethane Fully upgraded biogas up to the identical chemical and physical parameters of natural gas Suitable for grid injection, or vehicle fuel applications 13 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 13

Technologies for Upgrading Physical adsorption pressure swing adsorption (PSA) Absorption in liquids water scrubbers glycol-based scrubbers MEA scrubbers Membrane separation based on membrane ultra-filtration processes Cryogenic separation very suitable for getting pure liquefied streams (LBG, CBG) 14 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 14

Technologies for Upgrading Physical adsorption pressure swing adsorption (PSA) Absorption in liquids water scrubbers glycol-based scrubbers MEA scrubbers Membrane separation based on membrane ultra-filtration processes Cryogenic separation very suitable for getting pure liquefied streams (LBG, CBG) 15 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 15

Quality Requirements Application H2O H2S Siloxanes CO2 Heating no <1000 ppm Cooking yes CHP no condensation <500 ppm High pressure compression recommended Fuel and grid quality Hot fuel cell 16 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 16

Quality Requirements Application H2O H2S Siloxanes CO2 Heating no <1000 ppm Cooking yes CHP no condensation <500 ppm High pressure compression recommended Fuel and grid quality Hot fuel cell 17 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 17

Biomethane: Where is the Bottle Neck? Biomethane today Case Studies: it would be feasible to replace roughly 10% of natural gas consumption with biomethane in most of the EU Member states (long term goals) technology is developed agriculture is ready Major obstacles technical restrictions regulatory barriers !!! 18 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 18

Required Parameters of Biomethane Biomethane composition (very country-specific) methane content: from (>50%) 80% to 99% carbon dioxide: <2% to <6% oxygen: 100–3000 ppm sulphur compounds: <5 to <100 ppm moisture content at different levels and conditions various restrictions on siloxanes, halogenes, etc. required composition differs in terms of values as well as in definitions (mol%, vol%, ppmV) Biomethane properties (even more specific) calorific value differs country to country Wobbe index differs even within one country (FR, GE) 19 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 19

Required Parameters of Biomethane Technical measures on national levels not harmonized at all with only several major natural gases within the EU market, we are going to have many standards on biomethane Technical measures on international level CEN: working group TC234 WG9 European standard on non-conventional gases grid injection it should set up reasonable quality criteria not discriminating renewable gases too ambitious standard will prevent biomethane injection 20 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 20

Regulatory Restrictions Germany limited access due to feed-in tariffs preference for CHP utilization Italy no injection allowed so far… Austria only biomethane of agriculture origin United Kingdom too tight requirements on oxygen (<0.2%) 21 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 21

Regulatory Restrictions France no gas injection from WWTP and landfills due to hygienic limits and chemical composition no injection so far Czech Republic not binding requirements, suggestions only (for DSOs) DSOs require better quality than for natural gas low compensations 22 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 22

Conclusions on Biomethane Grid Injection Technical measures may be national or international differences should be reasonable, if any in many countries are required higher quality standards for biomethane than for natural gas (discrimination) Regulatory measures mid/long term biomethane injection roadmaps needed together with ambitious, but realistic goals REAPs with 2020 targets on biomethane would be much appreciated 23 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 23

Biogas for CHP and Transport Application H2O H2S Siloxanes CO2 Heating no <1000 ppm Cooking yes CHP no condensation <500 ppm High pressure compression recommended Fuel and grid quality Hot fuel cell 24 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 24

Biogas for CHP and Transport Technical measures for CHP and transport applications basic requirements given by the national or EU air-quality protection acts (engine emissions) transportation fuels are basically limited by the quality required by engines (CHP quality) quality needed for high-pressure compression is only a technical obstacle, i.e. it has a solution certain upgrading is needed to avoid compression work on inert gases Local combined heat, power and vehicle fuel production is feasible fossil fuel independent micro-regions 25 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 25

Biogas for CHP Applications National regulatory measures priority grid connection fixed or predictable feed-in tariffs some may be very complex (EEG 2009) renewable heat support implementation started Opportunity in REAPs mid-term goals (2020) clear strategies any new regulatory measures should harvest most of the biogas advantages 26 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 26

Biogas for CHP Applications Biogas: the grid compensation 27 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 27

Biogas as a Vehicle Fuel Major obstacles low market volume trade absence competition with natural gas in some regions Possible solutions guarantee of origin system of certification common European biomethane market 28 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 28

Expert Biogas Group Joined expert group of EBA and AEBIOM advisory help with filling up the REAP templates providing examples for an optimized integration of biogas consultancy on methodologies national potential of biogas production setting-up realistic mid- and long-term goals We are ready to help to cope the 2020 targets with sustainable heat, power, and vehicle fuels with sustainable agriculture, soil improvement and rural development on top of it! 29 EUSEW, Brussels, 25 March 2010 29

Energy from Biogas in the National Renewable Energy Action Plans Jan Stambasky Executive Board Member European Biogas Association stambasky@european-biogas.eu www.european-biogas.eu 30