Country Report Summary 2014

IEA Bioenergy Task 37 – Country Reports Summary 2014

Spring 2015

Summary

The annual biogas production is around 80 TWh in Germany, 20 TWh in UK, 4 TWh in both the Netherlands and France and between 0.5-2 TWh in remaining countries (see Figure 18). The actual biogas production is not reported in all countries. In those countries where actual biogas production is not reported, in this report it has been calculated from the generated electricity by assuming a conversion efficiency of 35% and no additional losses. In countries like UK, Brazil and South Korea, the biogas produced in landfills is the largest source, while the landfill gas is only a minor contributor in countries like Germany, Switzerland and Denmark.

The biogas produced is mainly used for generation of heat and electricity in most countries with the exception of Sweden where approximately half of the produced biogas is used as vehicle fuel. Many countries, such as Denmark, Germany and South Korea, among others, show initiatives and interest in increasing the share of the biogas to be used as a vehicle fuel in the near future.

The amount of biomethane produced and the number of biogas upgrading plants is increasing. In Figure 19 below the distribution of around 330 biogas upgrading plants in the IEA Bioenergy Task 37 member countries and the technologies in use are shown.

Financial support systems are very different from country to country. Various systems with feed-in tariffs, investment grants and tax exemptions exist. A clear correlation between the financial support system and the way biogas is utilised is evident in the Task 37 member countries. In UK and Germany with feed-in tariffs for electricity, this has led to most of the biogas being used to produce electricity, while the system with tax exemption in Sweden favours utilisation of the biogas as a vehicle fuel.