1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

29. Energy from Biogas in the National Renewable Energy Action Plans
Jan Stambasky
Executive Board Member
European Biogas Association 30