In France, multi-energy major TotalEnergies SE has announced that it has commissioned its eighteenth biogas production unit. With a maximum annual capacity of 160 GWh biomethane, it is the largest anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in the country to date.
Named BioBéarn and located in Mourenx in the southwest of France, this new unit has begun feeding its first Nm3 of biomethane aka renewable natural gas (RNG) into the natural gas transmission network operated by Téréga.
BioBéarn is slated to produce 69 GWh of RNG in 2023 and then ramp up progressively to keep pace with the rapidly growing demand for biogas while enabling the Lacq basin, a historical gas area,to pursue local and sustainable growth.
The project, which illustrates TotalEnergies’ commitment to promoting the circular economy, will convert 220 000 tonnes per annum of organic waste into 200 000 tonnes of digestate, a biofertilizer, and 160 GWh of RNG.
The development of BioBéarn began in 2016 and involved all local stakeholders, including over 200 from the farming and the food industry, the local community, and elected officials, allowing the project to adapt to the needs and potential of the territory.
TotalEnergies is proud to commission France’s largest biogas unit and would like to thank all project stakeholders for their support. This new plant is part of TotalEnergies’ commitment to promoting biogas, a clean gas that strengthens the country’s energy sovereignty and the development of the circular economy. This project allows TotalEnergies to increase its production capacity to 700 GWh in biogas and is a new step in the objective to reach 20 TWh by 2030, declared Olivier Guerrini, Vice President, Biogas Business Unit, TotalEnergies.
In France, TotalEnergies has now seven AD sites producing RNG for injection into the gas network and eleven biogas production units supplying electricity and heat via combined heat and power.
