The biogas and biomethane market is shaped by EU rules (including the RED directives, the Methane Regulation and the EU ETS) and national ones (the Renewable Energy Sources Act, the Energy Law, the Waste Act).
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On 5 April 2022 the European Commission proposed amending the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED). The draft extends it to more farms, including cattle, which affects manure and slurry management.
An agricultural biogas plant usually does not need a URE licence, only an entry in the KOWR register. Check when a licence is necessary: capacity, type of biogas, heat and gas trading.
On 8 March 2022 the European Commission proposed reducing EU demand for Russian gas by two thirds already this year. Among the measures – accelerating renewable gases, including biomethane.
On 27 January 2022 the Commission adopted the CEEAG guidelines to replace the 2014 EEAG. They cover renewables, cogeneration and heating, and support is to be based on competitive tenders.
On 2 February 2022 the European Commission adopted a complementary act to the taxonomy, which allows some investments in natural gas and nuclear energy to be regarded as transitional. What does this mean for renewable gases?
The act of 26 January 2022 caps gas prices for households and some institutions in 2022. Sellers receive compensation from a fund fed, among other things, by revenue from ETS allowance auctions.
The EU database (UDB) is meant to track liquid and gaseous renewable fuels from production to sale. We explain the purpose, the scope of data and the significance for biomethane producers.
Lei 14.300 of 6 January 2022 introduces a legal framework for distributed micro- and mini-generation in Brazil: net metering with the grid and gradual charges for use of the grid.
Until the end of 2021, new renewable installations, including those running on biogas and biomass, could join the joint Norwegian-Swedish certificate system. The system is due to run until 2035.
Korea raised the RPS obligation for large generators from 9% in 2021 to 25% in 2026. In 2020 the ministry halved RECs for co-firing imported pellets.
In 2021 the legal status of digestate depended on the feedstock and the chosen route: waste with R10 recovery, by-product, end-of-waste status or a fertiliser with a ministerial permit. We compare these routes.
On 9 December 2021 Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2139 with taxonomy criteria for climate objectives was published in the Official Journal of the EU. It covers biogas, digestion of biowaste and sewage sludge, and landfill gas.
On 30 November 2021 the European Commission approved the extension of the Polish RES auction scheme for 2022–2027. Support takes the form of a variable premium on top of the market price.
How a RES auction run by the President of the Energy Regulatory Office (URE) works, which baskets agricultural biogas competes in, what documents and security are needed and how long support lasts.
The European Parliament adopted an own-initiative resolution on the "Farm to Fork" strategy with 452 votes in favour, 170 against and 76 abstentions. MEPs backed the ambitions but demanded impact assessments.
On 5 October 2021 the President signed an amendment to the Act on Renewable Energy Sources (act of 17 September 2021, Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) 2021, item 1873): FIT/FIP until 30 June 2024, the possibility of extending auctions to 2027 and a licensing threshold of 1 MW.
Regulation 142/2011 sets the hygienisation parameters in a biogas plant (70°C for 60 minutes, particles up to 12 mm), the exceptions, alternative parameters and the microbiological standards for digestate.
The Commission proposed amending the Renewable Energy Directive: a binding 40% target in 2030, new sub-targets in transport and industry, and tightened sustainability criteria for bioenergy.
On 14 July 2021, the Commission presented a package of proposals to translate the 55% emissions reduction target into law: review of the ETS, RES, energy efficiency, effort sharing and new instruments.
On 30 June 2021 the transposition deadline for Directive (EU) 2018/2001 expired. The directive sets a 32% RES target, sustainability criteria for biogas from 2 MW and a system of guarantees of origin.
After adoption by Parliament and the Council, Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 was signed on 30 June 2021. It enshrines the 2030 (−55% net) and 2050 (climate neutrality) targets as binding.
A biogas plant processing UPPZ must obtain approval from the county veterinary officer. We describe the steps: application, pre-start inspection, conditional and full approval, veterinary number.
A biogas plant can be sited on the basis of a local plan or a decision on development conditions. We explain what to check before buying a plot and what changes the years 2023–2026 brought.
On 20 April 2021 Serbia adopted a renewables act: a market premium awarded in auctions for 15 years, with tariffs only for small sources. Until now biogas had about 17 eurocents/kWh.
