Methane regulation, gas and hydrogen package and IED revision enter into force

Four EU legal acts that the energy and agricultural industries had been following for months entered into force on 4 August 2024, twenty days after publication in the Official Journal of 15 July. Three of them – the methane regulation and two acts of the gas package – directly affect the gas and biomethane market, and the fourth – the revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) – concerns large farms, that is, suppliers of substrates to biogas plants.

What entered into force

What this means for biomethane

The gas package introduces definitions of renewable gases, requires firm capacity to be provided for renewable gas installations, provides for high tariff discounts at entry points from such installations and opens the way to implementing acts on the integration of large volumes of biomethane. At the same time, the methane regulation, although it concerns fossil fuels, raises standards for imported gas and in the longer term narrows the distance between fossil gas and biomethane.

For agricultural biogas the IED is important: larger pig and poultry farms will be subject to integrated permitting requirements; cattle farms did not come within scope, but the Commission is to assess by the end of 2026 whether to extend the scope.

Significance for the industry in Poland

Entry into force marks the start of the countdown to transposition deadlines. In the case of the gas directive, the state has two years to adapt energy law, including the rules for connecting renewable gas producers. At the same time Poland was working on auctions for biomethane in the Act on Renewable Energy Sources, and the injection of biomethane into the grid had not yet started. For gas system operators this means a need to update network codes and development plans.

For farmers the advice is practical: it is worth checking your livestock numbers and your status under the IED, because national rules will introduce thresholds and transitional periods.

What next

The coming months will be about work on national implementing rules and preparing operators for new obligations. The methane regulation will require implementing MRV systems on the importers' side, and the gas directive will require decisions on the rules for connecting renewable gas producers. In the case of the IED, setting thresholds and transitional periods for Polish farms will be key. Readers should follow draft laws at the Government Legislation Centre (Rządowe Centrum Legislacji).