Europe has reached an installed capacity of 6.4 billion cubic meters of biomethane per year, which is 37% more than in 2022-2023.
These data were published by the European Biogas Association (EBA).
Its specialists have compiled an exhaustive map with all known biomethane installations in Europe printed on it. This is the fifth edition of this map. It contains data as of June 2024.
Source: gie.eu
According to it, the number of biomethane plants in Europe reached 1,548 units. Compared to previous editions of the European Biomethane Map, the number of plants has increased dramatically (483 plants in the 2018 version, 729 in the 2020 version, 1023 in the 2021 version and 1322 in the 2022-23 edition).
More than 80% of registered biomethane plants are recorded to be connected to the gas network, with almost half of them (49%) connected to the distribution network and 14% to the transmission network.
Analysts noted that the total installed capacity of European biomethane will help avoid almost 29 million tons of CO2 emissions annually and produce 830,000 tons of organic fertilizers per year.
They calculated that the existing plants could also provide 5 million European households with renewable energy for a year or 145,000 bio-LNG for a year, meeting Europe's long-term energy security and climate mitigation goals.
Germany remains the largest producer of biomethane in the EU. But experts noted that the country has suspended the construction of new factories.
France is one of the leading countries in the development of biomethane production, and has almost doubled its capacity compared to the previous edition of this map.
Italy also showed significant growth. The country has increased the number of factories by 4 times and their total capacity by more than 3 times.
Great Britain and Denmark retained their positions among the top five producers of biomethane in Europe.
“The Biomethane Map 2024 highlights the significant growth of the biomethane sector, demonstrating the industry's determination to achieve the REPowerEU targets. To sustain this progress, it is crucial for EU Member States to define clear targets and pathways, and for the EU itself to support the sector with long-term policies and administrative simplification for operators. This commitment will ensure a reliable and sustainable energy transition across Europe," said Julia Kancian, EBA Secretary General.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that in April that Ukrainian electricity and biomethane will receive origin marking. Earlier, on March 20, the Verkhovna Rada approved in general, draft law No. 9456 "On amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine regarding the customs clearance of biomethane", which was supposed to unblock the export of biogas to the EU. And May 14 Volodymyr Zelensky signed this document.
