The plan marks a decisive step towards the rapid development of Europe’s biomethane industry and is welcomed by the European Biogas Association (EBA). Last December EBA published the Biomethane Declaration, calling for a scale-up of biomethane to 350 TWh by 2030, which roughly equals 35 billion cubic metres, doubling the current EU ambition, using sustainable biomass sources such as agricultural wastes and residues.
“This requires urgent and immediate action”, the EBA states. “The biomethane target should be integrated in the EU Renewable Energy Directive and other legislation. We are keen to continue to cooperate with the European Commission and Member States to fulfill the new target.”
Acceleration
Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen emphasised that Europe must become independent from Russian oil, coal and gas. “We simply cannot rely on a supplier who explicitly threatens us.” Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans: “Putin’s war in Ukraine demonstrates the urgency of accelerating our clean energy transition. It is time we tackle our vulnerabilities and rapidly become more independent in our energy choices. Let’s dash into renewable energy at lightning speed. Renewables are a cheap, clean, and potentially endless source of energy and instead of funding the fossil fuel industry elsewhere, they create jobs here.”
Harmen Dekker, CEO of EBA, said that the biomethane target can even triple by 2050, growing well over 100 billion cubic metres and covering 30 to 50% of the future EU gas demand. “Concerted actions across member states will be critical to increase energy security with a scalable green gas in the coming months and years.”
Image: Terelyuk/Shutterstock
