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Sweden Extends Biofuels Tax Exemptions & Ireland Injects Biomethane in the Gas Grid for the First Time!
Here’s an overview of key biogas news.
GOVERNMENT POLICIES & LAW
EU extends Swedish biofuels tax exemptions to 2030
The European Commission has approved Sweden’s extension of tax exemption measures for certain biofuels used for heating or as motor fuel, until 2030. Under two different schemes, Sweden exempts biogas used in heat generation and biogas used in motor fuel from energy and CO2 taxation. The commission’s decision approves prolonging both schemes for 10 years, with two modifications: the tax exemption will only apply to non-food based biogas and it will be extended to include non-food based bio-propane. The move represents a success for Sweden’s bioenergy association Svebio, which last month rejected the government’s proposal to introduce a tax on biofuels.
The EU has opportunity to accelerate shift to cleaner and more resilient energy future
The European Union is strengthening its efforts to make its energy systems cleaner and more resilient, reinforcing its global leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new energy policy review by the International Energy Agency. EU greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 were 23% lower than in 1990, meaning the bloc had already met its target of a 20% decline by 2020, according to the new IEA report. Cleaner electricity was the main driver behind the reduction, with the carbon intensity of European power generation now well below most other parts of the world.
Biomethane injected – for the first time – into the Irish gas grid
Ireland saw the first injection of biomethane into its gas grid. The newly-launched injection point at Cush, County Kildare, will initially supply 36,000MWh of biomethane entering the Irish gas network, enough to reduce Ireland’s carbon dioxide emissions by 7,200 tonnes every year. The natural gas company Naturgy Ireland, which supplies companies including the British beverage alcohol giant Diageo is the first shipper of biomethane in Ireland. Naturgy CEO Liam Faulkner said: “The injection of biomethane into the Irish grid for the first time represents an important step towards decarbonising Ireland’s energy use.
Read more on Energy Live News
CITIES AND MUNICIPALITIES
Norfolk County Council to approve waste-to-energy project to save £2m every year
Norfolk County Council is set to approve a new waste-to-energy project, which could save £2 million every year. The local authority will award waste management company Veolia a six-year contract worth £102 million to treat 108,000 tonnes of waste, a development which is expected to slash 47,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the area. Once approved by the cabinet, the county’s rubbish will be sent to Veolia’s waste-to-energy incinerator at Kemsley in Kent, before a new site is opened in Stewartby in Bedfordshire in late 2021. The new contract aims to achieve significant carbon savings compared to landfill by burning rubbish to generate energy.
Read more on Energy Live News
COMPANIES & ORGANIZATIONS
BP, Enagas to promote projects to reduce emissions
Spanish Enagas and BP Oil España have signed an agreement to promote projects to reduce emissions in Spain, Trend reports citing Enagas. The agreement aims to support the development of projects in three lines of action: the promotion of infrastructure for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) in the field of sustainable transport; the production and encouragement of the consumption of renewable gases, and the promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation projects. Enagás, through its subsidiary Scale Gas, will develop points of sale of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) in the network of bp service stations, thus promoting the use of a low-emission energy source as fuel in the automotive sector.
Gasum opens heavy-duty transport LNG filling station in Lieto
Gasum has strengthened its gas filling station network for heavy-duty transport with the opening of a new LNG and LBG filling station in Lieto. The station has opened in the Avanti business and industrial area on highway 10. It serves long-haul transport and will help logistics companies to reduce their emissions cost-efficiently. Use of low-emission fuels is increasing across the EU as businesses strive to respond to emission reduction targets and consumer wishes. The new gas filling station in Lieto is located at Eteläkaari 1, and, together with the gas filling station in Turku Harbor, strengthens the distribution of LNG and LBG for the needs of long-haul transport.
SGTech Commended for its Game-changing and Sustainable Livestock Waste Management Solution, the Integrated Ecosystem Solution
Based on its recent analysis of the European livestock waste management market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Israel-based Sustainable Green Technologies (SGTech) with the 2019 European Technology Innovation Award for the Integrated Ecosystem Solution (IES). The IES is a biological process combining enhanced biogas production with simultaneous removal of nutrients from livestock manure and slurry. Its patented, chemical-free waste management process enables the generation of biogas with methane content of 65%, which results in 30% higher energy than the one generated using conventional anaerobic digestion solutions.
$21m biogas contract signed in California
Greenlane Renewables, a subsidiary of Greenlane Biogas North America, has signed new supply contracts worth $20.6m for Greenlane’s Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) biogas upgrading system. The first contract, worth $17.1m, is for the supply of biogas upgrading and related equipment for a multi-location dairy farm cluster located in California. Greenlane’s biogas upgrading systems will create clean renewable natural gas for injection into the local gas distribution network owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
HoSt: Biomass CHP plant reduces NOx emissions by 90%
A new biomass-fired combined-heat-and-power (CHP) plant has recently been commissioned in Andijk, the Netherlands for the production of heat and electricity from prunings. Independently conducted emission measurements, certified by a public authority, show that this clean biomass plant emits very little emissions. The plant has successfully completed the first heating season. These measurements also showed that, thanks to the cleaning techniques applied, it is possible to combust biomass with considerably lower NOx emissions (nitrogen oxides) compared to firing fossil natural gas. The NOx emission standard for biomass energy plants is 145 milligrams per normal.
RESEARCHES & STUDIES
Turning manure into money: University of Idaho gets $10 million to research manure, help dairymen
The University of Idaho got a $10-million grant this week to study how to make manure worth more money. “We’re going to be looking at how to develop business opportunities on dairies,” said Mark McGuire, University of Idaho associate dean and director for the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station. The five-year U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant will be used to research new ways to turn manure into valuable types of fertilizer and to study the effectiveness of those fertilizers on crops.