The West Swedish gas grid supplies industries, households, and companies with gas, and distributes a fifth of all energy used in southwest Sweden. Of the gas consumed during the first quarter of 2025, 39.3 percent consisted of biomethane aka renewable natural gas (RNG), according to the gas infrastructure and distribution company Nordion Energi AB.
According to Nordion Energi, this is the highest share of RNG ever used in the West Swedish gas grid and is a sharp increase compared to the previous quarter, when the share was 25.6 percent.
The record figure represents a clear break in trend, partly due to the reintroduction of the tax exemption for RNG. Nordion Energi’s goal is for 100 percent of the network to consist of RNG, both to increase security of supply and reduce the climate footprint, said Carolina Wistén, Customer and Marketing Manager at Nordion Energi.
Tax exemption effect?
The previous record was broken in the last quarter of 2022, when 38.1 percent of the gas in the gas network consisted of RNG.
Shortly afterwards, the Swedish tax exemption for biogas was removed following a ruling by the European Court of Justice, while a deteriorating economic situation weakened the willingness to pay for RNG.
Since then, the share of RNG in the network has steadily fallen to around 25 percent.
At the end of 2024, it was announced that the tax exemption could be reintroduced, which may partly explain the sudden break in trend.
The political rules of the game are important. With long-term and stable rules, development can proceed faster than today. A clear political goal for the use and production of RNG would have created greater security in the market, said Carolina Wistén.
Vision for 100 percent RNG in the grid
In 2024, Nordion Energi has adopted a plan to realize the vision of a 100 percent RNGb grid. Since the plan was adopted, interest in connecting more RNG plants to the grid has increased significantly, and around 20 existing and planned facilities have submitted requests to connect.
In addition, Nordion Energi recently made an investment decision for a liquefaction plant in the Port of Gothenburg, which can further increase the incentives for biogas producers to connect.
There is strong momentum in the market right now, both among users and producers of the gas. In addition to producing RNG using traditional methods, there are now also several new technologies that enable even more large-scale production in the future, ended Carolina Wistén.
