IN ASSOCIATION WITH
AD 2010: POWERING THE WAY FORWARD
part of Germany, Jameln) and it is available in articles of the previous act, the new act has However, efficiency is a core topic in the
Biogas: A German
times when it’s most needed. 66 articles. And in many cases, the devil is in biogas industry. When biogas is converted
However, this steep rise was followed by the details. For all the cases in which it is not in a cogeneration unit, electricity and heat
a dramatic fall: The prices of major biogas completely clear how to interpret the law are produced in a ratio of one to two (some
energy crops, such as corn and cereals, there is a so called EEG Clearing Center 35–40% is electricity and 65–60% is heat).
rose by up to 100% at the 2007 harvest time. which has to find fast and for both sides Earlier biogas plants used the heat for heating
However, the price for electricity remained satisfying solutions. stables and homes, any excess amount
constant. The gap biogas plant owners At present, approximately 4,500 biogas remained unused. Modern biogas plants use
success story
were facing was becoming wider and plants in Germany produce about 12.8 an adapted heat concept as standard.
wider. The uncertainty in the industry was million megawatt-hours of electricity, which is The lawmakers responded to this situation
reinforced by the discussion in connection sufficient for some 3.8 million homes. Most and increased the cogeneration bonus from
with the scheduled second revision of the plants are located in southern Germany and two to three Euro cents. To guarantee the
Renewable Energies Act; the first version are owned by farmers. intended efficiency and avoid misuse, the law
of which suggested a reduction of the However the use of biogas as an energy contains clear definitions as to which heat
base compensation by 0.5% – the advent source was also discovered by other players. utilisation methods can and which cannot
of doomsday for many German farmers The first public utility companies have since receive the bonus. The scope of concepts is
who were deep in the red even without the jumped on the biogas bandwagon. The wide: From greenhouses to district heating
proposed reduction. injection of treated biogas in the natural gas systems, wood drying systems, refrigeration
Finally, after many rounds of talks between network is of particular interest to them. systems and heat-based treatment of
politicians and the representatives of the The first injection storage facility went into fermentation residue – there is virtually no limit
German Biogas Association (Fachverband operation in Pliening, east of Munich, at the to possibilities and ideas.
Biogas eV) the responsible persons end of 2006. Over 30 systems followed the One alternative is to separate the places
understood the situation and tabled an example, about the same number will follow at which biogas is produced and electricity
amended bill which brought new hope to the suit in 2010. All plants together injected about generated. The gas can be transported
industry. Since 1 January 2009, not only has 191 million cubic meters of biogas into the without problem in gas micro-networks.
the base compensation and the bonus for natural gas system in 2009. Unlike the natural gas system, a gas
renewable primary products been increased Cities and villages find biogas an micro-network contains only biogas and
by one cent, the “liquid manure bonus“ of interesting energy source in many respects: that biogas needs no treatment. It connects
four cents encourages the fermentation of Many local authorities ferment biological the biogas plant with the cogeneration unit,
animal faeces in biogas plants. waste in their biogas plants collected from which is located some distance away at a
This makes the construction of biogas households and, in addition to electricity and place with a high and continuous demand
plants appealing, especially for small stock heat, sell the fermentation product as fertilizer of heat, for example, in the basement of a
farmers. In 2009, about 600 new biogas to florists and do-it-yourself stores. school, an indoor swimming pool or beside
plants started production – a lot of them in the However, the injection of biogas in the a greenhouse. As a rule, gas micro-networks
150 kilowatt bracket. natural gas system is still in its nascency. have a length extension not exceeding five
Another fundamental change of the Several different treatment methods are kilometers. Slowly, the development of biogas
amended act is the adoption of what is called known, all of which are still quite expensive use is gathering momentum in Europe. Still,
a “positive list” in connection with the bonus and a potential source of profit only for plants about one of two plants in Europe is sited in
for renewable primary products. Before 1 generating over 500 kW. According to a Germany. Demand from abroad is picking up,
January 2009, waste of biological origin study undertaken by Institut für Energetik however, and the number of German firms
such as brewing waste or cereals slurry, und Umwelt in Leipzig, a total of 500 billion setting up branches in neighbouring
was generally incompatible with that bonus. cubic meters of biogas could be produced in countries is rising. Italy, where the quota
Whoever used one of these materials as Europe, which would replace all natural gas model has recently been replaced by an
feedstock in their biogas plant forfeited the imports from Russia in the long term. injection law similar to the German example,
bonus for good. The new law permits their Gas injection is bound to gain importance is a lively market. So far, over 40 countries
use even if the gas obtained from them is not in future. However, it will remain one choice worldwide have made the German Renewable
eligible for compensation under the bonus for among several others. The future belongs to Energies Act the basis of their energy
renewable primary products. the site-adapted biogas plant, which can be supply of the future.
RWW

In fact, it can be stated generally that in the 50 kW category as a sideline source of
the biogas industry can earning for the stock farmer or in the 800-plus ü This article first appeared in ‘International
fundamentally be satisfied with kW bracket injection biogas in the natural Sustainable Energy Review’ in April 2009
the amended law – even if it gas network. Basically, it cannot be said that
has not become easier in a large plant is more efficient than a
any way. Instead of 22 small plant, or vice versa.
006-07 AD EUROPE.indd 76-07 AD EUROPE.indd 7 88/3/10 17:20:55/3/10 17:20:55
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16