The hidden power in food waste: Tapping into biomethane to mitigate loss of Russian gas

12 Aug 2022 --- Biological waste found at every step of the food chain can replace a fifth of Russian gas imports. According to the European Biogas Association (EBA), by 2050 the amount of gas extracted from biomethane can potentially equal what the EU imported from Russia in 2021.

The EU plans to increase its biomethane production tenfold by 2030, which EBA estimates will take building 1,000 biomass plants and an investment of €40 billion (US$41.18 billion).

The waste to create biomethane can be extracted from any crop, which would also help boost farmers’ incomes.

Denmark the model
Biomethane already covers a quarter of Denmark’s gas consumption, up 4% in 2021 compared to 2020. 

Industry estimates eye 2034 as the year biogas production is expected to meet the totality of the Danish demand. However, due to the war in Ukraine, efforts to boost production have moved forward the target to as soon as 2030.

The Danish government is optimistic this target can be reached and has already announced it wants to phase out natural gas entirely by that year.

Furthermore, to make life easy for biomethane producers, Denmark is exempting them from its new carbon tax.

According to Energinet, an independent public enterprise owned by the Danish ministry of climate, energy and utilities, another advantage of biogas is that it is very decentralized, as biomethane can be obtained from many sources.

The EU plans to tenfold its biomethane production by 2030.Meeting EU’s target
Ole Hvelplund, CEO of Nature Energy, explains that building the EU capacity in areas without a biomass industry tradition needs the right policy.

Governments have to identify the spots in which they allow for accelerated project development; these spots should have easy access to the existing gas grid. This will accelerate the 12 months to permit a plant and the 18 months for construction needed.

Biowaste going to biomethane plants should not travel more than 25km, which would significantly cut the carbon footprint and help businesses meet their carbon and food waste targets.

Finally, he argues for establishing a floor price to help draw investment into the sector. 

Italy’s billionaire investment in biomethane
This week the EU Commission approved €4.5 billion (US$4.64 billion) to encourage sustainable biomethane production in Italy.

The funds will support sustainable biomethanes in the country that currently imports a quarter of its gas from Russia (down from 40% last year). 

The scheme, which will run until 2026, will grant US$1.75 billion for the construction of plants and US$2.88 billion in incentives tariffs per MWh produced over the next 15 years.

UK launches consultationBy 2030, Denmark plans to source the totality of its gas from biomethanes.
In a consultation effort that will run until October, the UK government is seeking the opinions of investors, NGOs and academics on how to incentivize the deployment of bioenergy and carbon capture. 

“The UK government is fully behind biomass energy to provide more power in Britain, for Britain. The more clean power we generate within the UK, the less exposed we’ll all be to volatile gas markets that are pushing up bills,” says Kwasi Kwarteng, UK’s business secretary.

Last week, the UK announced that it awarded £32 million (US$39 million) to biomass projects, including a marine seaweed initiative.

“Seaweed stores two to three times more carbon from the atmosphere than woodland, providing potential for it to contribute toward the UK’s net zero targets. However, the current state of the art in seaweed farming limits biomass production because it is expensive, time-consuming, labor-intensive and failure-prone, especially in offshore waters,” admits the UK government.

US food waste energy gains traction
Vanguard Renewables has announced that Chobani, Kikkoman Foods, Schreiber Foods, Hillebrand and Polar Beverages are joining its movement to boost food waste reduction, recycling and its expansion of renewable energy production.

“The Alliance, founded in 2020 by Vanguard Renewables, Unilever, Starbucks, and Dairy Farmers of America aims to avoid or eliminate food waste first and repurpose what can’t be eliminated into renewable energy via farm-based anaerobic digesters,” explains the business.

The anaerobic digester provides farmers a new source of income and a by-product of the operation, a low-carbon fertilizer that host farms can spread in substitution of chemical fertilizers.

By Marc Cervera

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