The European Commission's REPowerEU Plan proposes a Biomethane Action Plan to stimulate the renewable gas value chain and achieve the production of 35 billion m3 (bcm) of biomethane by 2030. A Plan that has been welcomed by the European Biogas Association (EBA).
The detailed plan which was presented by the European Commission on May 18, 2022, includes a targeted revision of the Fit for 55 energy efficiency and renewable targets, together with the necessary measures to accelerate renewable energy sources (RES) permitting and recommendations to facilitate renewable gas injection.
According to the European Biogas Association (EBA), this is a stepping stone to the achievement of climate targets, the circular bioeconomy, and the security of supply across Europe.
After the Commission’s communication on March 8, 2022, the announced detailed plan provides a set of tools to disentangle the EU from Russian fossil fuels, as well as to boost the European Green Deal and drive investment to a more sustainable, resilient, and sovereign energy mix.
The industrial alliance proposed by the REPowerEU is an essential instrument to steer cooperation between policymakers, investors, and the biomethane value chain to drive technological innovation, address bottlenecks, such as cross-border trading, and ultimately speed up the expansion of the sector, said Harmen Dekker, CEO of the EBA.
The plan is structured around three key areas of action: diversification of energy sources, acceleration of the clean energy transition, and increase of energy savings.
This will require a smart combination of investments and reforms starting this year.
The full value chain of biogas and biomethane producers, and users, is ready to cooperate with public authorities and civil society organizations to identify current bottlenecks and propose solutions for a sustainable scale-up.
The additional EUR 37 billion of targeted investments proposed by the Commission can support the development of new capacity and infrastructure to accommodate biomethane into the gas grid and create energy communities, Harmen Dekker said.
According to the EBA, biogas and biomethane production has already created 210 000 green jobs in Europe and is saving 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq) in GHG emissions.
We shall not forget about the dossiers that are being negotiated by the co-legislators: high targets should be accompanied by long-term perspective and clarity on REDIII sustainability requirements. The European Parliament and the Council have now a great opportunity to set a solid sustainability framework for biogas and biomethane encouraging the use of sustainable feedstocks and avoiding retroactive measures, ended Giulia Cancian, Secretary-General of the EBA.
