European support for biogas plants to the tune of €2.4 billion mean biogas investments in Czechia are likely to increase significantly in 2024, according to an analysis from consulting firm EGU Brno.
According to last year's data from the Czech Biogas Association, there were 574 biogas plants in the country, with a total installed capacity of 367 megawatts (MW).
The subsidies, approved by the European Commission, will be used to support projects such as combined heat and power generation, the provision of power balance services, the conversion of biomethane and its injection into the distribution network or the use of biogas in transport, EGU said.
"Biogas plant operators are advised to consider investing in cogeneration of electricity and heat. While the use of biogas to generate electricity for profit only requires that the cost of biogas does not exceed EUR50 per megawatt hour (MWh), the profit from the sale of heat is what increases the return when using cogeneration.
"In addition, the support for biogas plants with a cogeneration unit up to 500 kWe announced from 2024 onwards pushes the threshold of acceptable costs to between EUR80 and EUR100/MWh, thus at least doubling the profitability of such a solution," EGU Brno managing consultant Petr Cambala said.
Another technology that will be supported by the "green bonus" from the new year is the conversion of biogas into biomethane. According to EGÚ Brno, biogas upgraded to low-emission biomethane could replace up to 20% of the fossil natural gas supply in the country by 2030.
However, insufficient production capacity can be a problem, it added.
Czechia can expect “significant increase” in biogas investment next year
