URE licence or register entry? When a biogas plant needs a licence

An agricultural biogas plant usually does not need a licence from the President of URE: the production of biogas and of electricity from agricultural biogas is exempt from licensing, and the activity requires an entry in the register of agricultural biogas producers kept by the National Support Centre for Agriculture (KOWR). A licence comes into play only for other types of biogas of higher capacity, for heat generation above 5 MW and — depending on scale — for trade in gaseous fuels.

The rule: Article 32 of the Energy Law

A licence is required to carry on business activity in the generation of fuels or energy, with exemptions. In 2022 the exemptions included:

• generation of gaseous fuels (and so of biogas itself),
• generation of electricity in a micro-installation or small installation,
• generation of electricity from agricultural biogas and solely from agricultural biogas in cogeneration,
• generation of electricity solely from bioliquids,
• generation of heat in sources with a total installed thermal capacity of up to 5 MW.

A small installation is a RES installation with an electrical capacity above 50 kW and not more than 1 MW (since autumn 2021); a micro-installation — up to 50 kW.

Which route to choose

The substrates decide the whole route. If even part of the feed in the digester comes from outside the list in Article 2(2) (e.g. fractions from municipal waste), the biogas is not "agricultural" and the installation ceases to benefit from the simplifications and from the KOWR register.

Sale of gas and heat

The mere generation of gaseous fuel does not require a licence, but its sale to customers may be treated as trade in gaseous fuels. In the 2022 text the licence applied to trade worth more than the equivalent of EUR 100,000 per year, with additional exemptions. For the sale of heat a licence is not needed if the capacity ordered by customers does not exceed 5 MW. If you are building your own gas network, also check the throughput threshold of 1 MJ/s for distribution.

Steps in practice

1. Examine the substrates. Check every planned raw material against Article 2(2) of the Act on Renewable Energy Sources.
2. Establish the capacity and the product. Electricity, heat, biogas or gas for the grid — each has its own threshold.
3. Choose a register or a licence. KOWR for agricultural biogas; URE for small installations and larger sources of other biogas.
4. Prepare the legal title and the compliance of the facilities. The KOWR register requires documents confirming legal title to the facilities and compliance with fire protection, sanitary and environmental requirements.
5. Plan the obligations after registration. A producer of agricultural biogas keeps documentation of substrates and production, submits quarterly reports and notifies changes in data within 14 days.

Typical mistakes

• Assuming that an agricultural biogas plant must have a licence, and waiting unnecessarily for a decision.
• The reverse: skipping the entry in the KOWR register because "no licence is needed".
• Adding waste from outside the list of substrates to the feed without analysing the consequences for the status of agricultural biogas.
• Not checking whether the planned sale of gas and heat exceeds the exemption thresholds.

A licence is only one of the consents. Regardless of it, environmental decisions, a building permit, grid connection consents and permits relating to waste or by-products are needed.

Three examples from practice

1. A 1.2 MW agricultural biogas plant running on slurry and silage. Agricultural biogas and the electricity from it are exempt from licensing. An entry in the register of agricultural biogas producers at KOWR is enough, provided that the feed falls within Article 2(2). Heat from cogeneration does not require a generation licence for sources up to 5 MW, and its sale does not either — where the capacity ordered by customers does not exceed 5 MW.
2. A wastewater treatment plant with 600 kW cogeneration on biogas from sludge. Biogas from a treatment plant is not agricultural, but the installation falls within a "small installation" (above 50 kW and up to 1 MW). An entry in the register of energy producers in a small installation is needed, not a licence.
3. A 3 MW power plant running on landfill gas. This is RES with a capacity above 1 MW, the biogas is not agricultural, so the generation of electricity requires a licence from the President of URE.

Equipment requirements at the first licence

When a licence is required for electricity from RES, the Act ties its first grant to requirements for the equipment: it must meet the conditions of Article 74(1) of the Act on Renewable Energy Sources or have valid confirmation of conformity with a certified equipment type (or a declaration of conformity) and have been manufactured no earlier than 72 months before the first generation of energy in the installation. It is worth checking this before buying a used generating set.

This text is for information purposes and does not constitute legal advice; before an investment or formal decision, check the current wording of the regulations and consult a lawyer or the competent authority.