- Nearly 300 biogas plants contribute 8 TWh, avoiding 3.6 million tons of emissions annually.
- Proposed regulations aim for non-discriminatory, cost-efficient biogas network connections.
- Cost-sharing system limits biogas plant operator's network connection costs to a fixed amount.
- Regulations will be regularly reviewed to align with EU defossilization and biogas production goals.
Overview
With nearly 300 biogas plants and a capacity of 800 megawatts, the industry contributes significantly to domestic biogas production, supplying 1.1 million households with green energy and avoiding 3.6 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
Regulatory Goals
The proposed regulations aim to acknowledge climate, geographic, economic, and energy-political realities, ensuring non-discriminatory access and connection of biogas plants to the gas network. They focus on improving cost-efficiency and creating incentives for large connection capacities while simplifying application and approval processes.
Design Proposals
Key proposals include adopting existing network connection obligations into binding regulations, maintaining the cost-sharing system, and ensuring reliable, fast, and cost-efficient network construction. The network operator must provide a binding cost schedule and realization plan, with the plant operator having the option to undertake planning and construction to reduce costs.
Operational Considerations
The operation and troubleshooting of feed-in facilities will be managed by the network operator, with plant operators having the opportunity to provide related services. Regulatory requirements for feed-in facilities will be adjusted to reduce costs, drawing on successful approaches from France and Italy.
Regular Review
All regulations will be regularly reviewed to ensure they support political goals for defossilizing the gas market and enhancing sustainable biogas production in the EU. Adjustments will be made as necessary to improve cost efficiency in response to regulatory influences on revenue opportunities in biogas markets.
