Commission study finds biogas sector needs to boost production
The Eurobserv'ER barometer - part of a European Commission supported project on renewable energies - has found that while the European biogas industry is continuing to grow, production needs to be dramatically increased in order to reach targets set in the Commission's White Paper on 'Energy for the future: renewable sources of energy.' The development of renewable energies from sources such as biogas is a central aim of the European Commission's energy policy as it helps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and increase sustainability. The Commission's White Paper on 'Energy for the future: renewable sources of energy' has set a target for the biogas sector of reaching 1,000 megawatts of installations by 2003 and 15 million toe (tonnes oil equivalent) of biogas production by 2010. The Eurobserv'ER barometer states that while the first threshold has already been passed, an annual growth rate of 30 per cent will be necessary to achieve the second target. Although no precise indicators are available, it is estimated that the current annual growth rate stands at less than ten per cent. Results from the barometer also show that between 1990 and 2000, Europe experienced moderate but constant growth in its biogas plants, which use organic waste to produce methane gas through a decomposition process known as anaerobic digestion. The study has also found, however, that little over half of the biogas produced in the EU is valorised in the form of final energy such as electricity, heat, natural gas or fuel, with the remainder being burnt off in surplus gas burner stacks. It is estimated that today there are nearly 3000 methanisation plants across Europe. The latest Eurobserv'ER barometer results also show that the UK and Germany alone represent nearly 62 per cent of biogas production in the European Union. France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Spain are Europe's next most significant producers of biogas. The Eurobserv'ER barometer project is supported by the European Commission within the Altener programme of the Transport and Energy DG. It regularly publishes indicators on renewable energy sectors (solar, wind, hydraulic, geothermal and biomass) in the European Union and worldwide. Eurobserv'ER is a consortium of four European organisations devoted to the promotion of renewable energies within the European Union - Observ'ER (Observatory of renewable energies, Paris), Eurec Agency (European association of renewable energy research centres, Brussels), Eufores (European forum for renewable energy sources, Brussels) and O.Ö.Energiesparverband, Austria.