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B I O G A S P R O D U C T I O N I N E U R O P E , D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

Foreword 3

Methodology and disclaimer 4

Sources 5

Number of biogas plants 6

Biogas production 11

Biomethane production 14

Jobs 18

Support schemes 19

Future prospects 26

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Cover photo: AB Energy

F O R E W O R D

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

Dear members and colleagues,

You have just started to read the fourth Biogas Statistical Report of

EBA. As a rule, EBA report comes as the last one, following many other

reports on biogas industry. In return, we do present the most reliable

data, coming directly from the national associations. In our view only

the industry itself can provide data and answers we would like to pre-

sent to our readers.

As usual, it is Germany which occupies the first rows of all the statis-

tics. However, the dramatic change which started with Renewable En-

ergy Act EEG 2012 continues to hamper the industry. On the other

hand, the biogas industry is increasing in the other parts of Europe –

UK, Italy and Denmark, and we hope that the rest of Europe will follow

this trend.

I am sure you will find a good use of these figures and of the report al-

together. The biogas industry is facing tremendous policy changes, and

it is our responsibility to provide you with the most reliable data to

support our member associations to do political work in your home

countries, to support our scientists in their research on new technolo-

gies, and to support our companies with updated information. EBA Bio-

gas Report 2014 is here to support the work of all of you.

Jan Stambasky

EBA President

The EBA’s Biogas Report covers 27 EU countries (apart from Malta) and Switzerland. It contains compiled

data on the number of biogas and biomethane plants, production, information on support schemes and pre-

dictions of the biogas market in the nearest future. As much as we tried to provide the most recent and the

most accurate data, EBA cannot take any responsibility due to fluctuation and differences in the structure

of the information sources.

Diversity of sources Different data sources were used for compiling this report. The data comes mainly

from the national associations, national statistical reports or - in the absence of submitted data - from pre-

viously compiled data by EBA published in EBA’s regular country profiles. In case of no response from a

particular country, own research and experts’ knowledge was used to assess the development. The sources

and contributors are listed on the following page of this publication. Biomethane figures come from the Eu-

ropean Sustainable Biofuels Forum (ESBF) project that collects data on biofuels in Europe and that EBA is a

partner in.

Data limitations and uncertainties Responses from 24 countries were collected. Disseminated question-

naire contained detailed breakdowns on production, feedstock and support schemes, however, due to lack

of national databases or official registries in observed countries, contributors were unable to provide infor-

mation on all requested data. In total 24 countries reported on installed electrical capacities (MWel), 12 on

biogas production (GWh/year), 21 on generated electricity (GWh) and 14 on thermal energy production

(GWh). Therefore, some comparative data have uncertainties, in particular breakdowns of types of biogas

plants and biomethane upgrading units.

Statistics for Romania and Bulgaria come from the recently published EBA’s country profiles that were

based on findings and support from the national associations and partners in those countries. Lithuanian

data come from the Biogas Report 2013, backed up by own findings. In spite of no response from Luxem-

bourg and Spain, the authors assumed no improvements in the countries compared to the last edition the

report .

Indicators Indicators used for comparing different biogas performances and benchmarking were popula-

tion and biogas production per capita.

M E T H O D O L O G Y

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

D I S C L A I M E R This report was materialised thanks to efforts of EBA members and collaborators providing all the re-

quired statistical data and information. The report is primarily intended for EBA members, free of

charge, and for sale to other interested parties. Use and reproduction of this report and the data con-

tained are allowed, provided that the source is acknowledged. Users shall agree that use of the data con-

tained in this report is made under their own responsibility.

C O N T A C T S Agata Prządka, Technical Advisor [email protected] +32 (0)2 400 1087

Erneszt Kovács, Assistant to the Technical Advisor [email protected] +32 (0)2 400 1089

S O U R C E S

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

Austria

Franz Kirchmeyr, AGRE Austrian Compost & Biogas Association Tel.: +43 6643040761 [email protected]

Belgium

Wallonia - Cécile Heneffe, ValBiom, [email protected] Tel: +32 10 47 38 18 Flanders - Erik Meers, Biogas-E, [email protected]

Bulgaria Bulgarian Biogas Profile, November 2014, EBA

Croatia Ana Marija Špicnagel, IPS Konzalting +385 44540373 [email protected]

The Czech Republic

Jan Stambasky, Czech Biogas Association Tel.: +42 0777208020

[email protected]

Cyprus

Anthi Charalambous, Cyprus Energy Agency [email protected] Georgios Maroulis, RES legal [email protected]

Denmark Søren Tafdrup, Danish Energy Agency [email protected]

Estonia Ahto Oja, Estonian Biogas Association Tel.: +372 5082990

[email protected]

Finland Ari Lampinen, Finnish Biogas Association

[email protected]

France Claire Ingremeau, ATEE Club Biogaz Tel.: +33 146564142

[email protected]

Germany

Oliver Gehrke, German Biogas Association Tel.: +49 816198 46 813 [email protected]

Greece

Efthimios Sakkas, Hellenic Biogas Organization Tel.: +30 2102522350

[email protected]

Hungary

Attila Kovacs, Hungarian Biogas Association Tel.: +36 306014137

[email protected]

Ireland Percy Foster, Composting & Anaerobic Association of Ireland [email protected]

Italy

Lorenzo Maggioni, CIB - Italian Biogas Association Tel.: +39 3939678055 [email protected]

Latvia Andis Karklins, Latvian Biogas Association Tel.: +37 129425176

[email protected]

Lithuania Biogas Report 2013, EBA Darius Strazdas, UAB Manfula

Luxembourg Biogas Report 2013, EBA Jean Schummer, Luxembourg Biogas Association

The Netherlands EBA expert research

Poland EBA expert research

Portugal Flavia Duarte, IrRADIARE [email protected]

Romania Romanian Biogas Profile, May 2013, EBA

Slovakia

Alojz Bernát, AVEOZ Association of energy producers from renewable sources [email protected] Lada Uskobova, Novaenergo [email protected]

Slovenia

Nina Barbara Križnik, Slovenian Biogas Association [email protected] Tel.: +386 01 5898 293

Spain Francisco Repullo, AEBIG - Spanish Biogas Association, [email protected]

Sweden Hanna von Bahr, Energigas Sverige [email protected]

Switzerland Arthur Wellinger, Biomasse Schweiz Tel.: +41 52 365 43 85 [email protected]

UK

Ollie Moore, ADBA Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association Tel.: +44 020 3176 5440 [email protected]

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

During the previous year Europe saw an

increase in the number of biogas plants

with a total of 14 572. That was 760 more,

compared to the number of plants in 2012

(Table 1, Figure 1). That is an increase of

5.5%, much lower than the 12% growth

rate last year. Significant changes occurred

in different parts of Europe, mainly due to

recent changes in support schemes, that

led to the expected outcomes.

N U M B E R O F B I O G A S P L A N T S

Figure 1: Biogas plants in Europe in 2012 and 2013

Biogas plant in Aiterhofen, Germany. Photo: Schmack Biogas GmbH

8700 9035

Table 1: Biogas plants in Europe in 2012 and 2013

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

Country Total number of

biogas plants 2012

Total number of biogas plants

2013 Agriculture Sewage Landfill Other*

Austria 436 436 201 95 15 125

Belgium 119 118 38 21 23 36

Bulgaria 3 11 8 1 2 0

Croatia 12 11** 11 0 0 0 Cyprus 15 14** 14 0 0 0

The Czech Republic 481 554 382 98 56 18

Denmark 176 155** 67 53 29 6

Estonia 3 11 5 2 4 0

Finland 78 81 12 16 40 13

France 557 610 140 60 301 109

Germany 8 700 9 035 7 850 980 0 205

Greece 22 22 4 11 3 4

Hungary 50 70 35 13 20 2

Ireland 27 27 5 11 8 3

Italy 1 264 1 391 1 121 60 210 0

Latvia 37 53 44 1 6 2

Lithuania 21 21 0 9 9 3

Luxembourg 33 33 26 4 0 0

The Netherlands 252 252 105 82 41 24

Poland 186 206 42 67 97 0

Portugal 26 38 8 8 16 6

Romania 7 8 n/a n/a n/a n/a

Slovakia 92 109 91 8 10 0

Slovenia 33 31** n/a n/a n/a n/a

Spain 22 31 31 0 0 0

Sweden 242 264 39 137 60 28

Switzerland 606 620 97 463 6 54

UK 312 360 62 146 75 52

TOTAL 13 812 14 572 10 438 2 346 1 031 690

*Other - biowaste and industrial biogas plants **Fluctuations due to different sources n/a - not available

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

CENTRE OF EUROPE,

CENTRE OF ATTENTION

A positive trend continued in central Eu-

rope where Hungary, the Czech Republic,

Poland and Slovakia have recorded contin-

uous increases in numbers of biogas

plants. The Czech Republic has opened 73

new plants, Hungary 20, Poland 30 and

Slovakia 19. This resulted in an overall in-

crease of 18% in the region.

DEVELOPMENTS IN THE WEST

Countries that reported a relatively big

number of new plants are those which are

already forerunners in the total numbers:

France with 53 new plants. The UK with 48

and Sweden with 20. Although UK is now

having the majority of biogas plants based

on landfill gas, in 2013 the biggest increase

was in agricultural plants. This increase in

the UK reached 13% this year. Sweden also

opened new agriculture based biogas

plants along with a smaller number of

landfill biogas plants, a total growth of

7.5%.

While most of the countries reported new

biogas plants being commissioned, some

countries reported the same numbers like

the previous year, including Austria with

436 plants, the Netherlands with 252

plants and Ireland with 27. In the case of

Austria, this occurred due to the local caps

that were imposed over the last few years

in these counties. Belgium even saw a clo-

sure of few plants: 2 landfill and 3 sewage

based biogas plants in Wallonia.

SLOWDOWN IN THE KEY

BIOGAS COUNTRIES

Unlike previous years when numbers of

biogas plants in Germany and Italy were

doubling (Italy, 2012) or increasing by

more than thousand a year (Germany,

2011), 2013 brought a rather humble in-

crease in the numbers, relatively smaller

than in the years behind. The German bio-

gas industry is suffering from the new Re-

newable Energy Act (EEG). Further chal-

lenges and a significant slow down in de-

velopment are expected, as the FiT were

reduced since August 2014, while from

2016 FiT for biogas plants above 100 kW

are seen to be cut, capping the plants at

100 MW of installed capacity. Therefore, a

lot of work occurs around plant

repowering and “flexibilisation” of plants.

Regardless of these changes, Germany still

dominates the market, not only by the

number of plants but also services provid-

ed and the know-how.

Italy alongside with Germany occupies the

top with 1 391 plants. However, 270 new

plants opened last year were just a portion

of the 2.5 fold increase recorded two years

ago. The Italian support scheme changed

in 2013, like in Germany, also limiting the

number of new biogas plants, since those

would be the plants affected by the de-

crease in FiT.

Switzerland completes the top 3 with 14

new plants built, but this presents the av-

erage growth over the last several years.

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

and the Czech Republic have them slightly

less in the overall share, 46% and 69%.

Some countries however have all their pro-

duction based on agriculture feedstock,

like Croatia and Cyprus.

Other countries have a rather mixed share

of landfill, sewage sludge and agriculture

based plants, with France, Finland and Po-

land producing biogas mainly from organic

waste and on landfills. The United King-

dom and Sweden extract biogas from sew-

Agriculture72%

Sewage16%

Landfil7%

Other*5%

Figure 2: All biogas plants in Europe in 2012 by type

NEW MARKETS?

Few countries that recently entered the

biogas industry have even upgraded their

capacities and opened new plants. Bulgaria

has eight new plants with several more un-

der construction, Estonia built eight new

plants reaching eleven now. Romania

opened one new plant. Serbia got its first

biogas plant in the north province of Voj-

vodina and its newly founded national as-

sociation became a member of EBA.

AGRICULTURE BASED BIOGAS

PLANTS DOMINATE

As expected, agriculture based biogas

plants that run on energy crops, agricultur-

al residues and manure have the biggest

share in the total number of biogas plants,

making up to 2/3 of all plants (Figure 2 and

3). Germany and Italy have 86% and 80%

of their biogas plants operate with agricul-

tural feedstock respectively, while Austria

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Other* Landfill Sewage Agriculture

Figure 3: Biogas plants in European countries in 2013 by type

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

Feedstock for biogas varies across Europe.

However, countries like Finland, Sweden

and Portugal have very limited use of agri-

cultural feedstock. Sweden’s

6 million tonnes of sewage sludge is fed

into its 137 plants. In case of the UK, the

other country with the largest share of

sewage sludge based plants -

1.6 million tonnes were processed in 146

plants. Agricultural based plants dominate,

that is a fact, however the feedstock still

varies and mostly relies on agricultural

residues, mainly manure that is very often

backed up with energy crops.

There is also a clear corresponding share

of industrial feedstock (food and beverag-

es industry) and the number of such plants

in Belgium, UK and Switzerland.

age sludge. Finnish electricity and thermal

energy generated from landfill biogas

plants make up to 50% each in the overall

biogas generated electricity and thermal

energy although the number of biowaste

plants is increasing. Landfill based plants

in the UK generate the largest share of

electricity (78%), but a growing number of

agricultural plants might reverse this

trend.

Although Greece has only three landfill

based biogas plants out of 22, those repre-

sent 64% of the total installed capacities

(two major plants with capacities of

23.4 MWel and 11.4 MWel).

The big share of agricultural biogas plants

in Europe (Figure 2) can be explained by

the corresponding shares of such plants in

the breakdown of leading biogas produc-

ing countries. Germany, Italy and the Czech

Republic make up for almost 75% of total

biogas plants and are predominantly pro-

ducers from agricultural sources.

Other in Figure 2 and 3 refers to industrial

food and beverage and biowaste.

BIOGAS AND ITS

VERSATILE FEEDSTOCK

Figure 4 shows the breakdown of feed-

stock use (share) in biogas plants in coun-

tries that provided the data. However,

landfill sites were excluded from this

breakdown and only amounts of sub-

strates for biogas plants were covered by

this graph.

Figure 4: Feedstock use in biogas plants

* Belgium (Flanders), Italy (Lombardia)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100% Other

Green waste

Biowaste

Energy crops

Sewage sludge

Industrial

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

B I O G A S P R O D U C T I O N

Country Biogas production

[GWh/year]

Installed electrical

capacity

[MWel]

Generated electricity

[GWh]

Thermal energy

production

[GWh]

Austria 1 570 81 555 660

Belgium n/a 175 785 184

Bulgaria n/a 14 n/a n/a

Croatia n/a 11 58 n/a

Cyprus n/a 10 n/a n/a

The Czech Republic n/a 359 2 241 n/a

Denmark 1 289 n/a 401 n/a

Estonia n/a 10 33 n/a

Finland 556 n/a 151 404

France n/a 259 n/a n/a

Germany 65 731 3 543 24 419 34 762

Greece 1 029 47 217 198

Hungary 1 226 61 443 104

Ireland n/a 30 1 0.5

Italy n/a 1 105 8 890 11 110

Latvia 684 54 275 294

Lithuania n/a 21 33 n/a

Luxembourg 8 7 n/a n/a

The Netherlands n/a 219 1 043 n/a

Poland 1 953 145 658 281

Portugal 651 64 248 2,4

Romania n/a 9 n/a n/a

Slovakia n/a 96 n/a n/a

Slovenia n/a 34 n/a n/a

Spain n/a 19 80 n/a

Sweden 1 686 n/a 46 521

Switzerland 1 067 95.4 277 251

UK 16 591 1 389 6 636 0.4

TOTAL 92 315 7 857 46 885 48 519

Table 2: Biogas production in Europe in 2013

n/a - not available

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

1 Average energy consumption per household in EU is 17 793 kWh (Odysee - Mure, 2013)

2 The numbers correspond to the total generated electricity collected from national biogas associations (21 countires)

298

213

146134

105

72 70 66 6245

35 28 25 24 20 17 14 11 5 2 00

50

100

150

200

250

300

[kWh el per capita]

Figure 5: Biogas production per capita in Europe in 2013

According to EBA’s data, collected for

2013, the total installed electrical capacity

in Europe reached 7 852 MW. 47.5 TWh of

electricity were delivered to the European

network. Apart from the electrical power,

175.3 PJ (48.7 TWh) of thermal energy was

produced, too. The combined amount of

electrical and thermal energy corresponds

to an annual consumption of 5.4 million

average European households1, the num-

ber of households in Belgium and Slovenia

put together. All electricity currently pro-

duced in Europe could replace seven nu-

clear reactors or produce nearly as much

power as 15 coal power plants with an av-

erage capacity of 500 MWel2.

As of 2013, the highest biogas production

per capita was observed in Germany, fol-

lowed by the Czech Republic, Italy and Lat-

via (Figure 5).

When comparing the 2013 biogas produc-

tion to the goals for 2020 introduced in the

National Renewable Energy Actions Plans

(NREAP), there is still a significant gap left

in reaching the national goal in most of the

EU countries (Figure 6). Some countries

like Portugal, have reached its 2020 goal or

in case of Sweden, are well ahead of its

goal. The UK, Austria and Germany are ex-

ceptional, too, as the countries have al-

ready reached more than 85%, 80% and

70% of their NREAP expectations respec-

tively. The targets for these countries were

from the very beginning rather moderate

and therefore, with the current growth fac-

tor, they will achieve their targets without

any doubts. Central European countries,

especially the Czech Republic, Austria and

Hungary continuously increase their pro-

duction and with such trends they could

[kW

hel

per

cap

ita]

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

meet the targets in the upcoming years.

Serious doubts about reaching the 2020

goals are seen in the case of Poland and

Spain, mostly due to their very high targets

and an extremely slow or even non exist-

ent development of new installed capaci-

ties.

Figure 6: Biogas production in 2013 and planned biogas production (electricity, heating & cooling, transport) by 2020 as

stated in the National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs) in chosen countries

2339

9380

1879

302

25831592

2557

586

17677

5950

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000

Biogas production 2013 NREAP 2020 Biogas production target

6573190122 20 046

[GW

h]

Biogas plant in Chynorany, Slovakia. Photo: Biogest

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

In 2013 the biomethane industry kept

growing. As of 2013 there were 48 new

plants commissioned in addition to the ex-

isting 234 plants in 2012 (Table 3 and Fig-

ure 7). The total biomethane production

increased between 2012 and 2013 by

2 483 GWh, yielding in a total of

7 063 GWh (Table 3). The installed capaci-

ty of biomethane plants amounted to

1.303 billion m3 of biomethane.

Although it is difficult to provide a provi-

sion of biomethane production in 2014,

B I O M E T H A N E P R O D U C T I O N

preliminary forecast for 2014 speak cau-

tiously about 20 additional installations. In

the first half of 2014 plants with at least

56.33 million m3 of annual production ca-

pacities were installed in Europe in addi-

tion to the existing capacities.

Table 3 contains the data on biomethane

production and number of plants and fea-

tures only countries with recorded bio-

methane production.

Table 3: Biomethane plants in the years 2012 - 2014 and support for biomethane in Europe

Country

Biomethane

plants

2012

Biomethane

plants

2013

Biomethane plants

feeding

into the grid in 2013

Biomethane

upgrading

capacity in 2013

[Nm3/h]

Tariff or bonus for biomethane in 2014

[EUR/MWh]

Biomethane

plants

2014 *

Austria 10 11 8 2 800 202 12

Denmark 1 3 2 1 450 51 premium 7

Finland 4 5 2 1 111 - 9

France 3 4 3 1 015 125 7

Germany 120 154 135 90 390 - 159

Hungary 1 1 0 25 - 1

Italy 1 2 0 950 94,12 premium n/a

Luxembourg 3 3 3 850 - 3

The Netherlands 19 23 19 11 900 1.03 €/Nm³ 24

Poland 0 0 0 0 69.90 certificate n/a

Slovakia 0 0 0 0 0 107.53

Spain 1 1 1 4 000 - 1

Sweden 53 54 21 27 995 - 55

Switzerland 12 15 15 4 175 - n/a

UK 4 6 5 2 130 92 premium 7

TOTAL 234 282 180 148 791 - +20

* Forecast

Table 4: Biomethane production and filling stations in Europe in 2013

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

Country

Biomethane

production

[GWh/year]

Biomethane use in transport

[GWh]

Biomethane use in transport

[%]

Biomethane filling stations

[100% biogas]

CNG filling stations*

Austria 70 n/a n/a 3 180

Belgium 0 0 0 0 16

Bulgaria 0 0 0 0 110

Croatia 0 0 0 0 3

Cyprus 0 0 0 0 0

The Czech Republic 0 0 0 0 88

Denmark n/a n/a n/a 0 7

Estonia 0 0 0 0 5

Finland 33 11 33 22 25

France 20 n/a n/a 4 310

Germany 7 231 103 1.5 288 920

Greece 0 0 0 0 7 Hungary 4 4 100 1 19

Ireland 0 0 0 0 0

Italy 15 15 100 2 1040

Latvia 0 0 0 0 2

Lithuania 0 0 0 0 5

Luxembourg 26 n/a n/a n/a 7

The Netherlands 900 n/a n/a n/a 141

Poland 0 0 0 0 86

Portugal 0 0 0 0 5

Romania 0 0 0 0 0

Slovakia 0 0 0 0 14

Slovenia 0 0 0 0 7

Spain n/a n/a n/a n/a 69

Sweden 900 869 96.5% 205 205

Switzerland 77 n/a n/a 137 139

UK n/a n/a n/a 8 9

TOTAL 9 366 1 002 approx. 10% 670 3 419

*NGVA Europe, 2014 n/a – not available

Figure 7: Number of biomethane plants and upgrading capacity in 2013

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

A PUSH FOR BIOMETHANE

Although the German domination on bio-

methane market is still crushing, there is a

fresh breeze coming from the other parts

of Europe. In the UK, apart from the six

plants built until the end of 2013, there

will be in total 18 projects commissioned

in 2014 and another 15 are expected to be

completed in 2015. Most of the projects

are based on the waste feedstock with

some addition of agricultural residues or

energy crops. This evolution has been pos-

sible thanks to several changes on national

level: an increase of the oxygen concentra-

tion limit in the biomethane from 0.2% to

1%; introduction of attractive Feed-in Tar-

iff and agreement on the ownership model

between the biomethane producer and the

gas distribution network.

Biomethane production is evolving well in

France, too. In 2013 one more biomethane

project was commissioned, making a total

of four upgrading installations. Three addi-

tional projects are supposed to be finished

in 2014. In the North, Finland has increased

its production capacity by approx. 15% in

2013, but prognoses speak about tripling

those capacities in 2014 and going for even

higher numbers in 2015. All existing plants

were using biogas from sewage sludge or

mixed agricultural residues. Denmark, since

the introduction of new FIT in 2013, gained

momentum and opened two new plants in

2013 and another four in 2014, increasing

the upgrading capacity up to 5 210 Nm3/h

or annual production of 45.64 million m3 .

Germany, besides currently existing 154

biomethane plants with a capacity of

21%

40%

5%

30%

3%

1%

Pressure SavingAdsorption

Water Scrubber

Physical basorption

Chemical absorption

Membrane separation

Cryogenic separation

Figure 8: Split of biomethane upgrading units in Europe in 2012

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

788.4 million m3 in 2013, should have an-

other 28 new projects commissioned be-

fore the end of 2014. According to the Ger-

man Energy Agency DENA, 151 plants are

connected to the grid, while only three in-

stallations are off-grid. In 2015 the bio-

methane industry will certainly slow down

due to amendments to the German Renew-

able Energy Act introduced in August

2014, where bonuses for gas upgrading

have been cancelled. In addition, the FiT

decreased by 40% when compared to the

EEG from 2012.

Biomethane is currently being upgraded

by several available technologies and the

breakdown of currently used technologies

can be seen in Figure 8.

BIOMETHANE TRADE

According to expert reports, a small scale

trade is taking place inside of the EU (for

instance between Germany and The Neth-

erlands, or Germany and Sweden) and be-

tween Germany and Switzerland (approx.

81.5 GWh of biomethane was imported to

Switzerland in 2013). There are also

some minor biomethane exports from

Norway to Sweden, although quantities

are not known.

In December 2013 partners of the project

GreenGasGrids, under aegis of EBA, pub-

lished a European Biomethane Roadmap,

in which the estimated technical poten-

tial for biomethane (syngas and anaero-

bic digestion) for the EU-27 was indicat-

ed to be between 151 and

246 billion Nm3/year or 4.577 to

8.884 PJ/year. Is it predicted that by

2030 about 30% of the produced biogas

will be upgraded to biomethane. Taking

into account consequent political com-

mitment and efficient support schemes,

the authors assess that by 2030

18 billion Nm3 of biomethane from syn-

gas and anaerobic digestion could be pro-

duced for grid injection and gaseous fuel.

Biomethane filling station in Forbach, France

Table 5: Jobs in renewable energies and biogas sector in 2013

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

The large majority of jobs has been created

in Germany. The number corresponds to

approximately 5.5% of the total jobs in the

renewables energy business in Europe and

although not high, it proves significance

and stability of the industry, active espe-

cially in rural areas, as it increased from a

4% share last year. Due to the low re-

sponse on number of jobs in renewable

energy sector and biogas sector in particu-

lar from national associations, the esti-

mates for total numbers are taken from

REN21 and EuObserv’ER.The total number

of jobs in renewable sector, as well as

biogas sector, in particular, as reported by

both REN21 and EuObserv’ER, are

reaching almost 70 000, what is slightly

less than the number of jobs in 2012 and

represents a decrease in jobs by 2% in

biogas sector. This confirms the stability of

the sector compared to others as the total

number of jobs in renewables, including all

renewable energy sources has fallen 28%

since 2011, according to REN21.

J O B S

Country Jobs in renewables

sector

Jobs in biogas sector

Germany 363 100 41 000

UK 939 254 2 650

France n/a 1 700

Ireland n/a 100

Spain n/a 150

Slovenia 188 n/a

Italy n/a 3 670

TOTAL

REN21 report 1 245 000 68 500

EuObserv’ER report

1 218 230 68 895

n/a – not available

Figure 6: Types of the support schemes in Europe in 2014

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

S U P P O R T S C H E M E S

The most widespread form of subsidising

RES was Feed-in Tariff (FiT) for electricity

(Figure 6). Nonetheless, European Com-

mission’s long term goal is to move away

from the FiT towards Feed in Premium or

other support instruments which, accord-

ing to them, give incentives to producers to

respond to market developments. The

highest support was received by plant op-

erators in Switzerland (380 €/MWh for

plants up to 50 kWel with bonus for agri-

cultural residues and bonus for heating

use), Italy (276 €/MWh for plants with ca-

pacities up to 300 kW), Germany

(237 €/MWh for plants up to 75kWel fed

on manure), Latvia (233.12 €/MWh for

plants up to 80 kW with efficient CHP) and

Bulgaria (232 €/MW), as presented in Fig-

ure 7. However, the Bulgarian FIT is very

difficult to predict on the longer run, as it

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

is revised and according to the recent

trends, decreased every year in June.

Spain has switched to premiums in 2014,

while support for biogas plants was ceased

in Cyprus and the Czech Republic. Sweden,

where one certificate is issued for each

MWhel produced, has an established

scheme based on CO2 and energy tax ex-

emptions, which supports the consumers

and creates demand on biogas and bio-

methane, what makes certificates less im-

portant for growth of the sector. Luxem-

bourg has increased the Feed-in-Tariffs for

almost all renewable energy sources in

2014. Biogas incentive increased by 31%,

while biogas from sewage sludge raised by

44%. The new rules will contribute to

Figure 7: The highest maximum support for biogas in 2014

achieving the government’s goal to in-

crease the share of renewable energy by

2020 from the current level about three to

eleven percent. The UK saw a launch of

two new support schemes. On-Farm AD,

launched in October 2013 to help support

the development of new farm based AD in

England. The fund will be applicable to

plants below 250 kW which have access to

slurry and/or manure. Rural Communities

Renewable Energy Fund is a £15 million

fund launched in June 2013. It provides up

to £150 000 of funding for feasibility and

preplanning development work to help

community renewable energy projects be-

come investment ready.

Photo: BTS Italy

Table 6: Overview on biogas support schemes in 2014

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

Austria

Type of support system for biogas Highest FIT for biogas [€/MWh] Duration [years]

FIT 193 15

Subsidies: No further subsidies if a plant receives FIT for electricity

Comments:

Mimimum efficiency must be over 60 %; Plants under 250 kW must use at minimum 30 % farm fertilizer as feedstock (based

on fresh mass); CHP Bonus for plants reaching a efficiency from over ~ 75 % = 2 €c/kWh electricity; Upgrading Bonus for

plants where biogas will be upgraded, injected into gasgrid and power production as application efficiency must be higher

than ~ 75 % = 2 €c/kWh electricity; No further subsidies if the plant gets feed in tariffs for electricity

Belgium


Quota (Green Cert.); different for

Wallonia and Flanders 110 in Flanders and 100 in Wallonia

15 for Wallonia / 10 for

Flanders

Certificates: 100 €/MWh for Wallonia and between 93 €/MWh and 110 €/MWh for Flanders

Tax reduction: Tax reduction for investment up to 42% (Wallonia)

Subsidies: Wallonia: from 9% to 27.5% for companies, 20% for farmers, 50% for feasibility studies for townships, 50% for energy audits,

feasibility studies for companies; Flanders: investment subsidy of max 45% - 55% - 65%, max €1 million per project

Comments: Investment subsidy for Flanders is organised by a call system. Maximum €1 million/project, total budget €1.302.100

Bulgaria


FIT

232*

*Tariffs are revised and set by the regulatory authority

for energy every June 30

15

Croatia


FIT 189 14

Subsidies: FIT for biogas (156 €/MWh - 189 €/MWh), for small scale systems 50% if biogas (el. And th.) is used for own purposes

Comments: In 2013, HROTE (Energy market operator) paid €11.292.153,62 of subsidies through the FIT for biogas plants contracts

Cyprus


FIT n/a n/a

Subsidies: EU structural funds for the years 2014 - 2020

Comments:

Biogas is no longer supported in Cyprus. During 2009-2013 the respective support schemes for the promotion of RES

included biogas as a supported technology. However, it should be noted that there are provisions concerning RES support in

The Czech Republic


FIT 128* 20

Comment: *Support for biogas plants was ceased in 2014

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

Denmark


FIP n/a n/a

Comments: Plant numbers and biogas production data are the compiled data for 2013. Generated electricity is estimated since officiel

statistics are not released yet. Feedstock data are not compiled for 2013. Therefore included feedstock data are estimated.

Estonia


FIP 53.7 12

Comments:

New investment support programme for biomethane plant constructions is under development by Environmental

Investment Centre (EIC). Many upcoming measures for building local biomethane production/demand network are ongoing

phase. Currently specific investment subsidy for CHP does not exist. State plan is to support biomethane production for

transport through investment support for biomethane consuming buses.

Finland


FIP n/a 12

Subsidies: Investment subsidy up to 40%

France


FIT 199.7 15

Tax reduction: 10 €/t of waste (on TGAP fee), 20 €/t of waste if flow of leachate

Subsidies: Subsidies from Regional Council and/or national programmes and it depends on a project

Germany


FIT

237.3*

From 1.1.2016. degression of 0.5% per quarter. If cap

of 100 MW is exceeded, degression will amount to

1.27% per quarter

20

Tax reduction: Tax exemption for use of biogas and biomethane in CHP and as a fuel. Partial exemption for electricity tax, operation of

CHP and biogas plant

Subsidies: KfW subsidies of up to 30% for biogas plants, KfW and BAFA subsidies for heat distribution networks, biogas pipelines and

storage

Greece


FIT

230*

Annual increase by 25% of the inflation rate 20

Subsidies: 35%-40% investment subsidy

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

Hungary


FIT

112*

*annual increase by the rate of inflation minus 1% 7-15

Subsidies: 20%-60% from the EU cohesion fund, EU agriculture and rural development funds

Ireland


FIT

157*

Annual adjust of the reference prices by the increase, if

any, in the consumer price index

15

Italy


FIT 276 20

Subsidies: Construction grants in some areas

Comments: Different incentives for biomethane injected into natural gas grids, used in transport or in high efficientcy cogeneration plants

Latvia


FIT

233.12*

*20% degression after 10 years 10 (100%) + 10 (80%)

Comments: Subsidised electricity tax, 5% - 10% of income; subsidies not longer available; no difference in support of biogas production

from landfills, agriculture or WWTP

Lithuania


FIT n/a 12

Subsidies: Investment subsidy of 50%

Luxembourg


FIT n/a 15

The Netherlands


FIP

150*

* base tariffs are set on annual basis 12

Tax reduction: 41.5% tax reduction for upgrading plants

Poland

Type of support system for biogas Highest price for biogas [€/MWh] Duration [years]

Quota 71 min 10

Subsidies: Loans and subsidies from FNOSiGW up to 45% direct on investment

Tax reduction: Exempt from the tax on the sale and consumption of electricity

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

Portugal


FIT n/a 15

Romania


Quota n/a 15

Subsidies: Investment subsidies in agricultural sector

Slovakia


FIT

134.08*

* guaranteed for three years and shall not be lower than

90% of the tariff previously applicable

15

Subsidies: Investmeent subsidy up to 30%

Tax reduction: Exemption from excise duty for CBG

Slovenia


FIT 160.56 15

Subsidies: Subsidies from Commmon Agricultural Policy from 40% - 70%

Spain


FIP n/a 15

Comment: A new remuneration system is in place. It consists in two remuneration concepts, a fixed amount depending on installed

electrical capacity, under or over 500 kWel., and year of entering into service, and a second remuneration to compensate

operation and maintenance. The first payment (remuneration to investment) pretends to "guarantee" a profit of 7,5% to the

investment, to be recovered along 25 years.

Sweden


Quota 20 15

Tax reduction:

Biogas used for heating and electricity exempted from CO2 and energy taxes; biogas for transport exempted for CO2 tax as

long as sustainable. Tax exemptions for customers buying biomethane as a vehicle fuel. 40% reduction of income tax for use

of company NGVs until 2017

Subsidies: Investments in biogas plants or gas station for biogas could get a subsidy of 45% of the investment costs (maximum 25

million SEK, ~ €2 million

Comments: In 2015 a new sceme are planned: a production subsidy for biogas and biomethane produced from manure. The support is

maximun 2 euro cent per kWh. In Sweden there are tax exemption for the customers that by biomethane as a fuel. In general

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

Switzerland


FIT 380 20

Comments: There is a cap with a waiting list for all RE of several thousand plants

United Kingdom


FIT or quota (Renewables Obligation

Certificate); Renewable Heat

Incentive (RHI)

197*

* an inflation-indexed payment rate table is published

every year prior to February 1

20

Tax reduction: Electricity from renewable sources is eligible for tax relief

Subsidies: On-Farms AD: launched in October 2013 to help support the development of new far based AD in England. The fund will be

applicable to subsidise 250 kW plants which have access to slurry and/or manure.

AD Loan fund: launched in 2011 to help support the construction of food waste digesters. The scheme offers loans of

between £50.000 and £1 million.

Rural Communities Renewable Energy Fund: a £15 million fund launched in June 2013. It provides up to £150.000 of

funding for feasibility and preplanning development work to help community renewable energy projects become investment

ready

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

F U T U R E P R O S P E C T S

HALFWAY THROUGH

The year 2015 will be an important indica-

tor for the whole renewable energy indus-

try. Six years since adoption of Renewable

Energy Directive RED 2009/28/EC and

five years after the introduction of Nation-

al Renewable Energy Action Plans, Mem-

bers States are halfway from their 2020

renewable energy targets. According to the

project Keep On Track, half of the EU coun-

tries will fail to meet their 20% renewa-

bles target by 2020 and there are doubts

about four other Member States reaching

their targets, as progress stood in 2014.

Biogas was so far performing well, but

negative changes or cuts in the support

schemes in some countries during the last

two years are likely to take the wind out of

Europe’s sails in the coming years.

(UN)SUPPORTIVE MEASURES

Since July 2014 all new support schemes

have to correspond to the new Guidelines

on State aid for environmental protection

and energy. The aim of the guidelines was

to bring more competition into renewables

and to make them more competitive. In

fact, the guidelines allow FIT only to biogas

plants below 500 kW of electric capacity,

while those between 500 kW and 1 MW

can be granted a premium. From January

2017, all plants above 1 MW will undergo a

technology-neutral bidding process, unless

Member States can explain to the Commis-

sion why such bidding processes could not

work in particular circumstances. These

guidelines apply to the period up to 2020;

however, they should prepare the ground

for achieving the objectives set in the 2030

Framework. Also in 2014, the Council

adopted a non-binding target for renewa-

ble energy of 27% and a binding GHG re-

duction target of 40% by 2030. Since there

are no national targets but only a Europe-

an one for 2030, it is very likely that only a

handful of ambitious Member States will

push on towards an energy transition and

will invest into new technologies and ca-

pacities, while the rest of Europe will lag

behind, feeling no obligation to contribute

to the single EU target.

The guidelines and the recently estab-

lished climate and energy targets for 2030

will shape the renewable energy policies

and define biogas development in the com-

ing few years. The first country introduc-

ing the new guidelines with even stricter

rules was Germany.

CHALLENGES AHEAD IN

SUPPORT SCHEMES

In Germany experts are forecasting stagna-

tion of the industry. For 2014, the number

of new plants is estimated at 94 (41 MW of

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

installed power), while in 2015 the equiva-

lent value will be even lower. The

100 MWel cap on annual biogas production

growth, introduced by EEG 2014, will most

probably not be reached due to bad overall

conditions. Since August 2014 all new

plants above 500 kWel have to sell electric-

ity directly to the market, and in January

2016 direct marketing will apply to all

plants above 100 kWel.

Contradictory signals are now coming also

from Sweden. According to the new State

Aid Guidelines, the CO2 and energy tax ex-

emptions, which build a baseline of biogas

and biomethane support, are now consid-

ered by the European Commission as state

subsidies and in January 2016 they might

be withdrawn. Furthermore, for 2015 the

Swedish government planned a manure

incentive of 2 €c/kWh for biogas based

manure. Premiums, however, will be

capped to the budget of €2.5 million per

year and will not truly boost the biogas

market. The decisions on these two issues

are still pending and the recent fall of the

government will only create more uncer-

tainty for biogas producers.

In Latvia no new plants will be built until

2016. The government has suspended the

issuing of permits for construction of new

renewable energy plants with FIT. In Janu-

ary 2014 a new act came into force, which

imposes 5% or 10% tax on all income

gained from the electricity production: 5%

applies to agricultural enterprises with uti-

lization of min. 30% manure, efficient use

of heat or high reduction of GHG. Tax on

the other producers amounts to 10%.

The two other Eastern European countries

with a large biogas potential – Hungary

and Poland – showed promise in the

course of 2013 revision of their support

schemes. In 2014, Hungary backtracked

and stopped promising any changes, the

current system based on FITs will proba-

bly be kept. The Polish government is still

working on the RES act, which will move

away from green certificates towards FITs

distributed in an auction system, where

the cheapest technologies have the priori-

ty. According to the Parliamentary com-

mission, the new act should be approved

before next elections in autumn 2015.

FUTURE POLICY

Despite of the hard times ahead for the

sector in Central and Eastern Europe,

many other countries are maintaining

their biogas-friendly policies and even

gaining momentum. The UK for example,

has almost doubled the number of agricul-

tural and waste-based plants between

2011 and 2013. According to WRAP, at the

moment the country has given planning

consents to 285 plants with a total in-

stalled power of 276 MW, which will in-

crease the total of running biogas sites to

over 600. With the development of the

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

English biomethane market, CNG as a vehi-

cle fuel will begin to increase. The only ob-

stacles which may hinder this positive

trend are sustainability criteria coming in-

to place for energy crops and high tariffs

for injecting electricity into the grid. In bio-

methane, decrease of Renewable Heat In-

centive can be expected, which currently is

under revision and should apply as of Jan-

uary 2015. At the time of publication the

RHI reduction was set at 10%.

In the course of 2015 and 2016 in Europe,

we can expect the further development of

biomethane. Italy incentivised biomethane

production in December 2013. Biomethane

will receive different tariffs depending on

its final use: injected into the grid, use as

biofuel or electricity production. We ex-

pect a biomethane boom in early 2015,

when the EU and Italian standards will be

adopted.

Also Finland is on track to decarbonize its

transport sector. Biogas consumption in

transport increased by 168% in 2013,

while consumption for power and heat

production decreased by 2%, when com-

pared to the previous year. This means

that the transport will be the dominant

growth factor for biogas in Finland. In Sep-

tember 2014 at least 31 plants were under

construction or in planning stage, all in

possession of environmental permits.

Speaking about biogas in the North, it is

worth to mention Estonia. The local Envi-

ronmental Investment Centre works ok

new investment support programme for

biomethane plant constructions. The gov-

ernment wishes to develop biomethane as

a transport fuel for buses.

AT THE EU LEVEL ...

At the EU level, important decisions are

scheduled for 2015. After many delays, the

Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) dossier

will be handed over to the European Par-

liament in January 2015. If the agreement

is reached in April, full implementation of

iLUC in Member States is expected in 2017.

According to the present draft, biomethane

for transport from dedicated crops (cereal

and other starch rich crops, sugars and oil

crops) will be capped at 7%. The rest of

the 10% target is planned to be fulfilled

with advanced biofuels and renewable

electricity. As it stands today, biomethane

from straw, manure, sewage sludge, bio-

waste, biomass fraction of industrial waste

and other non-food cellulosic material is

considered as advanced fuels and the ener-

gy producer from them will be counted

twice towards the 2020 targets.

Another relevant dossier for biogas pro-

ducers is the Fertilisers Regulation pro-

posal which will be passed on by the Euro-

pean Commission to the European Parlia-

ment and the Council in early 2015. Alt-

hough the final version of the proposal was

B I O G A S R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

not published yet, it is encouraging to see

that digestate will be recognised as organic

fertiliser which can be sold across the EU.

The final vote on this is likely to take place

either at the end of 2015 or in 2016.

A dossier with a possible strong impact on

the AD sector is the Commission’s Circular

Economy Package, which aims to ban land-

filling and limit incineration of organic

waste as well as to significantly increase

the EU recycling targets. In this matter, AD

is recognised as a recycling process. The

recycling industry and environmental or-

ganisations asked the European Commis-

sion for a prompt implementation of the

proposal, particularly after the Commis-

sion contemplated the withdrawal of its

own proposal back in November. In 2015,

we can expect negotiations between both

co-legislators. From the very beginning

EBA advocates for an ambitious regulation

that requires the separation and reuse of

waste materials in a sustainable way.

All EBA’s efforts aimed at ensuring that

European legislation is adequate and in

line with the interests of the biogas indus-

try will continue throughout 2015. This

will include close monitoring of any new

proposals, as well as meetings with key

MEPs, the Latvian presidency and Commis-

sion officials.

This biogas Report 2014 was created

by European Biogas Association,

December 2014

European Biogas Association

Rue d’Arlon 63-65

1040 Brussels

+32 (0)2 400 1089

www.european-biogas.eu

[email protected]

/european.biogas

/European_Biogas

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