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
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Sweden<br />
Status quo- biogas plants <strong>and</strong> <strong>biomethane</strong> plants<br />
Sweden started biogas production as early as 1960s at waste water treatment<br />
plants, mainly to reduce sludge quantity. Later, during the energy crises, the focus<br />
shifted towards energy production <strong>and</strong> several additional organic substrates started<br />
being used for biogas production.<br />
Sweden has always been active in developing renewable fuels <strong>and</strong> has pioneered<br />
work in the deployment <strong>of</strong> biogas upgrading technologies during the last two<br />
decades. According to the Swedish <strong>Gas</strong> Centre, in 2010 there were 47 plants in<br />
operation that upgraded biogas to <strong>biomethane</strong>, seven <strong>of</strong> which are connected to the<br />
public grid. The most common utilisation pathway for <strong>biomethane</strong> is the use in the<br />
transport sector. In 2010, 608 GWh <strong>of</strong> <strong>biomethane</strong> was produced, <strong>of</strong> which<br />
572 GWh (94 %) was sold as vehicle fuel. The Swedish example is the most<br />
successful in regard to the integration <strong>of</strong> biogas in the transport sector. Figure 10<br />
shows that the share <strong>of</strong> <strong>biomethane</strong> in CNG vehicle fuel already exceeds 60 %.<br />
Figure 10: Share <strong>of</strong> <strong>biomethane</strong> in Swedish supply for vehicle fuel in<br />
GWh (source SGC)<br />
About the half <strong>of</strong> the upgrading facilities are installed at waste water treatment<br />
plants. However, gas sourced from municipal solid waste, from agricultural<br />
biomass, <strong>and</strong> from industrial biowaste is also upgraded to <strong>biomethane</strong>. The<br />
technology most commonly used for CO2 removal is water scrubbing, but also PSA<br />
<strong>and</strong> chemical adsorption technology are applied as well.<br />
Sweden has enormous biomass potential in terms <strong>of</strong> BioSNG (renewable gas<br />
sourced from forest residuals), <strong>and</strong> thus the national government supports research<br />
<strong>and</strong> development initiatives in this sector. An example for R&D activities is the<br />
Gothenburg Biomass <strong>Gas</strong>ification Project (GoBi<strong>Gas</strong> project), run by Göteborg<br />
Energi. At the end <strong>of</strong> the project a gas production at commercial scale is envisaged<br />
with a capacity <strong>of</strong> 80 MW <strong>biomethane</strong>. The second large player, E.ON, is planning<br />
on erecting its own gasifier in either Malmö or L<strong>and</strong>skrona. All Swedish players<br />
interested in thermal gasification are cooperating on research <strong>and</strong> development<br />
under the auspices <strong>of</strong> the Swedish <strong>Gas</strong> Centre.<br />
Political targets for biogas <strong>and</strong> <strong>biomethane</strong> production<br />
By 2020, the Swedish Parliament decided the proportion <strong>of</strong> renewable energy<br />
should be at least 50 % <strong>of</strong> the total energy usage. The share <strong>of</strong> renewable energy<br />
in the transport sector must rise to at least 10 %. The government’s vision is that<br />
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