Monday, 25 January 2021
Spanish infrastructure company Ferrovial Servicios and French biomethane technology company Waga Energy have signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the output of a plant producing biomethane from landfill gas. The PPA is a first for landfill gas technology in Europe.
The production site will be based at the Can Mata landfill, in the Els Hostalets de Pierola municipality about 40 km from Barcelona.
The biomethane produced will be based upon proprietary Waga technology, upgrading the raw biogas output of the landfill to green natural gas replacement grade. The site will be connected to the Spanish national gas grid.
The plant will be commissioned in 2022, with a capacity to treat 2 200 cubic metres of landfill gas per hour, which will result in 70 GWh a year of biomethane injection. The substitution of natural gas for this amount of biomethane would result in a CO2 emissions reduction of 17 000 tonnes.
The Can Mata landfill site is operated by Ferrovial Servicios. To date, the landfill gas has been used directly to power the nearby Piera Ecocerámica ceramic factory. Under the PPA arrangement, Ferrovial will sell some of the landfill gas to Waga Energy. Waga will also finance and construct the processing plant, and organise gas network connections.
Antonio Aliana, Regional Director of Ferrovial Servicios in Catalonia, said: "The agreement signed with Waga Energy strengthens Ferrovial’s commitment to sustainable development. This circular economy project will make it possible to produce biomethane, for the benefit of our citizens, thanks to the most advanced technology for the recovery of biogas from waste gas. We hope that this innovative green energy project will be extended to other sites that we operate, as part of our strategy to transform waste into resources".
Mathieu Lefebvre, CEO and co-founder of Waga Energy, concluded: "This significant project with the Ferrovial Servicios group marks the culmination of three years of hard work by both parties. Landfill gas-to-biomethane injection projects are complex from a technological, regulatory, and financial point of view. Our unique expertise in this area, combined to our commitment to the energy transition, have enabled this major renewable gas project in Spain to materialize".
At this stage it is unclear how the PPA is set to handle associated green attribute/biomethane certificates. However, if this agreement is the harbinger of further investment in landfill biomethane capacity, this will likely lead to an increase in biomethane certificate supply.
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