Overview of biomethane markets and regulations ... - Green Gas Grids
Overview of biomethane markets and regulations ... - Green Gas Grids
Overview of biomethane markets and regulations ... - Green Gas Grids
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
total costs for the grid connection. The grid operator has ownership <strong>of</strong> the grid<br />
connection station <strong>and</strong> bears the operation costs for compression, odorization, gas<br />
measurements <strong>and</strong> adjustment <strong>of</strong> the heating value. Since the grid connection<br />
represents a bottle neck for <strong>biomethane</strong> injection <strong>and</strong> is <strong>of</strong> significant importance<br />
for the pr<strong>of</strong>itable operation <strong>of</strong> the entire plant, a minimum availability <strong>of</strong> the grid<br />
connection station <strong>of</strong> 96 % per year must to be guaranteed by the grid operator.<br />
The German Association for <strong>Gas</strong> <strong>and</strong> Water (Deutscher Verein des <strong>Gas</strong>- und<br />
Wasserfaches / DVGW) is in charge <strong>of</strong> providing technical st<strong>and</strong>ards. The gas<br />
quality requirements are stipulated in the technical st<strong>and</strong>ards DVGW G260 <strong>and</strong><br />
G262. The rules <strong>of</strong>fer the possibility <strong>of</strong> feeding <strong>biomethane</strong> as an additional gas,<br />
apart from feeding <strong>biomethane</strong> as a substitute for natural gas. This implies that<br />
<strong>biomethane</strong> <strong>of</strong> different heating value (<strong>of</strong>f-spec) can be fed into the grid as long as<br />
the resulting gas quality is in line with the specifications. This case can be observed<br />
in Pliening, Bavaria where <strong>of</strong>f-spec <strong>biomethane</strong> is fed into a large transmission<br />
pipeline.<br />
Support schemes<br />
Germany creates a market dem<strong>and</strong> for <strong>biomethane</strong> by introducing several<br />
incentives, such as<br />
n Feed-in tariffs for renewable electricity,<br />
n Renewable Heat Obligation <strong>and</strong><br />
n Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.<br />
In 2000, the Renewable Energy Act (Erneuerbare Energien Gesetz / EEG) was set<br />
into force, providing <strong>regulations</strong> for grid access <strong>and</strong> the remuneration for renewable<br />
energy. Renewable energy has priority access to electricity grid <strong>and</strong> receives<br />
technology specific feed-in tariffs. The remuneration decreases annually by a<br />
certain percentage in order to consider cost decrease due to the learning curve.<br />
Once the RES production plant begins operation, it receives the same feed-in tariff<br />
for a guaranteed period <strong>of</strong> 20 years. Germany has a large proportion <strong>of</strong> black <strong>and</strong><br />
brown coal in electricity production, thus the country makes considerable efforts to<br />
reduce its carbon footprint in this sector. The tariff scheme focuses on green<br />
electricity production <strong>and</strong> also <strong>biomethane</strong> utilisation is eligible for feed-in tariffs<br />
only when being used for CHP. For CHP operation, 100 % heat utilisation is<br />
m<strong>and</strong>atory in order to justify the energy consumption for upgrading, injecting <strong>and</strong><br />
transport.<br />
The Renewable Energies Heat Act (Erneuerbare Energien-Wärmegesetz /<br />
EEWärmeG) became effective in 2009. It stipulates that 14 % <strong>of</strong> Germany’s heat<br />
dem<strong>and</strong> (in terms <strong>of</strong> final energy) is to be sourced from RES. Buildings erected<br />
after 1 st <strong>of</strong> January 2009 are obliged to employ renewable energies for their heat<br />
supply. When using biogas, the obligation is generally met if 30 % <strong>of</strong> the heat<br />
energy dem<strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong> the respective building is covered, provided that the biogas is<br />
used in CHP. In case the supply is from the gas grid, requirements on the<br />
sustainable production <strong>of</strong> the <strong>biomethane</strong> (state <strong>of</strong> the art technology, emission<br />
control etc.) are to be fulfiled.<br />
The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (Biokraftst<strong>of</strong>fquotengesetz /<br />
BioKraftQuG), announced in 2006 <strong>and</strong> introduced in 2007, rules that all suppliers <strong>of</strong><br />
vehicle fuel are obliged to admix a minimum percentage <strong>of</strong> bi<strong>of</strong>uel to vehicle petrol<br />
<strong>and</strong> diesel fuel. Operators that fail to fulfill this quota have to pay a fine per litre <strong>of</strong><br />
fuel for which they fall short <strong>of</strong> the quota. Thus, refuelling station operators who<br />
exceed the quota, benefit from additional revenues from trading their allowances.<br />
Page 22