Sludge Watch ==> Biogas, a natural resource waiting to be tapped

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Europe Information Service
European Report

July 4, 2006

Renewable energy: Biogas, a natural resource waiting to be tapped in the EU

"In this period of exploding oil prices and of constantly rising, ever 
higher natural gas prices, it is no longer possible to produce biogas and 
then just see it simply burned off into the air." With this message, the 
European Renewable Energy Observatory EurObserv'ER explains in its latest 
Biogas Barometer, published in issue 173 ofSystemes Solaires, that more and 
more countries are establishing incentive legislations to valorise biogas 
(in terms of heat, electricity and fuel).

Biogas results from several different types of deposits. It can come from 
natural methanisation of urban waste in rubbish dumps (the biogas produced 
is then collected) or can be produced via a digester (voluntary 
methanisation).

Rubbish dumps are the most exploited deposit at present (3,172.7 kilo tonnes 
oil equivalent - ktoe), ahead of sewage purification plants (932.4 ktoe) and 
other types of deposits (854 ktoe). Primary energy production grew by 15.9% 
between 2004 and 2005 and mainly benefited production of methanisation 
biogas other than that obtained from sewage purification plants (+58%, 
agricultural biogas in particular) and rubbish dump origin biogas (+12.8%).

In 2005, nearly 5 million tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe) were produced in 
this way for energy uses in the different countries of the EU on a deposit 
that is estimated at more than 20 mtoe. The UK and Germany are the biggest 
producer countries, whether measured on the basis of totalprimary energy 
production (1,782,600 toe and 1,594,400 toe, respectively), or per number of 
inhabitants (29.9 toe/1,000 inhabitants and 19.3 toe/1,000 inhabitants, 
respectively). France lies in fifth place, behind Italy and Spain..

AN INDUSTRY FOR THE FUTURE

While methanisation of biosolids depends on the water-treatment industry, 
the household waste methanisation industry is much more recent (dating from 
the beginning of the 1990s). Industrial and commercial supply has become 
very diversified in Europe for this type of methanisation, with each company 
having developed its own methanisation process. The key firms in the 
European biogas sector are Valorga, Linde BRV, Dranco, BTA and Kompogas.

WAY OFF WHITE PAPER TARGETS

There is currently evidence of a real political desire to develop biogas 
production both as a means of getting rid of waste and to encourage energy 
recovery, and this for each type of biogas deposit. For this reason, 
EurObserv'ER is sticking to its forecast of 8.7 million tones of oil 
equivalent for the year 2010. This estimate is based on the assumption that 
the large biogas-producing countries (the United Kingdom and Germany in 
particular) will keep up their current efforts, along with countries with 
strong potential like France, Spain and Italy where very little biogas is 
actually recovered.

The European Commission's Renewable Energy White Paper target of 15 mtoe by 
the end of the decade still seems to be out of reach.