Amendment of the Act on Renewable Energy Sources: definition of biomethane, producer register, guarantees of origin, support up to 1 MW

On 17 August 2023 the Sejm passed an amendment to the Act on Renewable Energy Sources (Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) 2023, item 1762), which for the first time in Polish law comprehensively regulates biomethane. The act introduces a definition of biomethane, a register of biogas producers run by the President of the Energy Regulatory Office (URE), guarantees of origin for biomethane and a support system for installations of up to 1 MW. It enters into force on 1 October 2023. For the industry this is a breakthrough: until now biomethane did not exist in national rules as a separate product.

What is changing

The most important elements of the act:

• Definition: biomethane is gas obtained from biogas, agricultural biogas or renewable hydrogen, purified and injected into the gas grid, transported in compressed or liquefied form or used to refuel vehicles,
• Registers: a new register of biogas producers run by the President of URE (producers submit half-yearly reports), and biomethane from agricultural biogas is covered by the register of agricultural biogas producers run by the National Support Centre for Agriculture (KOWR),
• Guarantees of origin: introduced for biomethane; the guarantees of origin register is run by the Polish Power Exchange (Towarowa Giełda Energii),
• Certificates of origin for agricultural biogas: the rules on them are repealed,
• Energy cooperatives: may supply biomethane up to 20 million m³ per year,
• Support system: for installations of up to 1 MW (in terms of electrical capacity) the producer applies to the President of URE; the fixed purchase price of biomethane is equal to the reference price set by regulation of the minister of climate, indexed to inflation; the producer has the right to coverage of the negative balance for 20 years, no later than 30 June 2048. The condition is starting production within 48 months of obtaining the certificate, and PLN 12 per kilowatt is paid for capacity reservation.

The support applies to installations that inject biomethane into the gas grid. The Council of Ministers may set by regulation the maximum capacity covered by the system in a given year.

Significance for the industry in Poland

For investors this is a signal that biomethane plants can be planned with clear rules on registration, certification and support. Agricultural installations of up to 1 MW can switch from cogeneration to biomethane and benefit from a long support period. Guarantees of origin make it possible to sell the "green" attribute of the gas to industrial customers, and the registers increase market transparency.

Limitations: the support applies to installations of up to 1 MW, so larger projects will have to rely on the market or other mechanisms. Grid connection rules and the charges set by operators will also be important.

What to pay attention to

Investors should prepare an application for a certificate from URE, take care of capacity reservation and compliance with the feedstock criteria. It is also worth talking to the grid operator now about connection conditions.

What next

After the act is published, the minister of climate will issue a regulation setting the reference price of biomethane, and URE will prepare procedures and report templates. The market will watch the first projects and the results of talks with grid operators.