EBA 2014 biogas report reveals increased production
The European Biogas Association (EBA) has released its Biogas Report 2014, which found there are now more than 14,500 biogas plants in Europe and this figure is still growing.
In central Europe, countries such as Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic experienced an 18% increase in the number of biogas plants. Other key producing countries included the UK, France and Sweden, which continue to develop at a steady rate.
The report states: 'The combined amount of electrical and thermal energy produced today from biogas in Europe corresponds to the annual consumption of the households in Belgium and Slovenia put together. Such a production could replace 15 coal power plants with an average capacity of 500MWel.'
However, stagnation has been observed in some of Europe's largest biogas producing nations, such as Germany, Austria and Italy, where crucial changes in support schemes are either expected or already taking place. Additionally, the Czech Republic and Cyprus have also ceased support for biogas plants.
The EBA says it will continue to work to ensure continuous growth of biogas-based energy across Europe as it is important for the continent's energy security and decarbonisation.
'The biogas industry is facing tremendous policy changes, and it is our responsibility to provide the most reliable data to support our member associations to do political work in your home countries, to support our scientists in their research on new technologies, and to support our companies with updated information.
Jan Štambaský, EBA president, says: 'The dramatic change which started with the German Renewable Energy Act EEG 2012 continues to hamper the industry. On the other hand, the biogas industry is increasing in the other parts of Europe – UK, Italy and Denmark, and we hope that the rest of Europe will follow these positive developments.'
The number of biomethane plants has also grown, reaching 282 plants across Europe with a total production of over 1 billion m3. The share of biomethane used in transport is around 10% of the total produced biomethane in Europe.
