EBA releases 2020 statistics report

On 25 January 2021, the European Biogas Association (EBA) released their 2020 edition of their annual statistical report, which points to strong gains in the sector up to the end of 2019.

The full report, which covers the state of biogas and biomethane production in Europe,  is available from their website for 850 Euros, with an abridged version accessible for free.

The sector biogas production of 167 TWh (15.8 bcm) produced by 18 943 plants - the number of plants being a steady increase (4%) over the previous year (18 202 from 2019 report). 

By comparison biomethane production saw strong growth, amounting to 26 TWh (2.43 bcm) from 725 biomethane plants, which is an increase from the previous year where there were 610 such plants.

Other takeaways from the EBA press release:

• Feedstock usage for biogas has trended strongly towards residues and wastes since 2013, away from crops.
• France has over 1 000 biomethane projects at various stages, and is set to become a big player in the European biomethane market (see also below).
• The report summarises studies of the biogas and biomethane market to determine growth potential, with strong consensus of a doubling in production in ten years (to 2030).
• The report also has a focus on the energy dense forms of biomethane, bio-LNG and bio-CNG (Liquified and Compressed Natural Gas respectively), which are seen as growth areas.

“Biogas and biomethane are accessible sources of renewable energy: the sector is ready for expansion and perfectly placed to make a significant and sustainable contribution to the EU Green Deal,” said Harmen Dekker, EBA Director.  

“A supportive and consistent legislative framework will accelerate our ongoing progress and encourage investment, helping our sector to reach a minimum of 380 TWh by 2030, with further growth in the years thereafter” noted Dekker.

France and biomethane certificates

There is already a functioning biomethane certificate registry in France managed by the national gas distributer GRDF. Certificates are used for disclosure for end-users, and can be used to seek exemptions from certain environmental taxes.

However, unlike the UK and German markets, the French biomethane certificate market is strictly domestic. This is likely to change once the RED II implementation takes place in France, allowing the Union to take advantage of an increasing French supply of biomethane and associated certificates.

A summary of the French biomethane register can be found on the REGATRACE website here.

Source
EBA press release