Overview of biomethane markets and regulations ... - Green Gas Grids

Germany
Status quo- biogas plants and biomethane plants
With more than 7,000 biogas plants at the end of 2011, Germany takes the lead in
biogas production in Europe. The fast and wide deployment of this green technology
has been a result of a continuous and supportive policy that specifically attracted
the farming community to step into biogas production.
After several years of investigation at own pilot plants and conducting study tours
to Sweden and Netherlands, the first biogas upgrading facilities in Jameln, Pliening
and Straelen started operation in Germany in 2006. By December 2011, 84 plants
had been commissioned that upgraded biogas to biomethane and injected the gas
into the natural gas grid as well as few plants sold the upgraded gas directly as
vehicle fuel at fuel stops. According to market research about 75 more are expected
to start operation in 2012 or due to the long project development phase of
biomethane projects in the following years. There exists a considerable variation in
the plants size, ranging from few large facilities with a biomethane production
capacity of up to 10,000 m³ / h (e.g. Güstrow, Zörbig, Schwedt), plants of medium
size (e.g. Wüsting, Aiterhofen), and rather small plants producing less than
300 m³ / h (e.g. Ronnenberg, Kißlegg-Rahmhaus, Eggertshofen), however, the
average plant size is a production capacity of approximately 550 m³ / h.
Capacity Biomethan [Nm3/h]
100.000
80.000
60.000
40.000
20.000
0
Upgrading capacity [Nm3/h
BM]
Number of plants in total
5.973
21.976
35.116
55.706
91.636
1.105 2.635
34
© Fraunhofer UMSICHT
15
3
7
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012*
Year
54
84
159
* prognosis
Figure 4: Biomethane production in Germany: number of plants in
operation and upgrading capacity installed, status March 2012
Depending on the plant size and transportation costs as well as capitalizing on
financial incentives, energy crops such as maize and rye silage are the most
commonly used substrates for biomethane production, while manure is mainly
treated in smaller biogas plants with onsite electricity generation. The increasing
amount of energy cropping, especially regarding maize silage, has been the subject
of critical debate recently. Therefore, the new Renewable Energy Act, which came
into force in 2012, limits the proportion of maize and cereal grains in the biogas
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Number of plants
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