6-2025 Newsletter Task 37
Topics:
- Anaergia signs biogas agreement with PepsiCo in Colombia
- What’s in store for organic waste in 2025
- In the USA Biogas project investment increased 40% in 2024
- Ukraine begins the export of biomethane
- Biomethane injection stations to support NaTran in its energy transition
- Biomethane: a giant new plant for Normandy
- Aemetis received US $6 million of cash from IRA
- First biomethane plant for processing landfill gas in Italy goes into operation
- U.S. Waste companies report RNG progress
- BP resets to natural gas
- CycleØ announces it will invest €200 million in biogas plants in Spain
- Aemetis plans $130 Million funding in Stanislaus County, CA
- Biomethane in France: production jumped 20% in Q4 2024
- Waste Management opens four new RNG facilities, eyes 12 More by 2026
- Wärtsilä To Provide 2 Bio-LNG Units for Suomen Lantakaasu Projects
- Romania to get new 57MW biomethane and fertilizer plant
- EnviTec Commissions 100th EnviThan Unit
- First public biomethane injection point to open in Latvia
- RNG Long-Term Offtake Market Begins to Rebound
- Market report: Brazil
Anaergia signs biogas agreement with PepsiCo in Colombia
Anaergia’s Canadian subsidiary, Anaergia DB Inc., has entered into an integrated technology supply contract with PepsiCo Alimentos to provide its high-efficiency digestion technology and integrated biogas conditioning and upgrading technology at PepsiCo’s food production facility in Funza, part of the Metropolitan Area of Bogotá, Colombia. The biogas system supplied by Anaergia will convert approximately 50,000 tons per year of organic residues produced at the facility into renewable natural gas to be used within the facility, offsetting the use of fossil natural gas from the grid and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 3,700 tons per year of CO2.
What’s in store for organic waste in 2025
Last year was another strong one for the developers of anaerobic digesters and renewable natural gas systems in the USA, as they continued to take advantage of state and federal incentives. But the industry will face fresh challenges and opportunities this year, including a renewed debate over the farm bill and other federal incentives in a Republican-led Congress. Meanwhile, investment in organics recycling has declined to $156 M after reaching a peak in 2022 with $951M, according to data from food waste solutions nonprofit ReFed. The nonprofit also tracks investment in a range of food waste solutions, including food rescue and upstream reduction initiatives, and charted a similar decline in overall capital spending over the past three years.
In the USA Biogas project investment increased 40% in 2024
A new report from the American Biogas Council found project growth continued last year, with the agricultural sector now moving faster than landfills in bringing facilities online. The number of new facilities that came online also increased by 17% year over year. There are now nearly 2,500 facilities that capture and use biogas in the United States. The report also reflects how policies that are favorable to renewable natural gas have dominated the industry, as 95% of the 125 projects that came online last year produced RNG.
Ukraine begins the export of biomethane
Energy Customs successfully completed the clearance of the periodic customs declaration for the movement across the customs border of Ukraine of the first batch of biomethane for export to Europe via pipeline transport. It is noted that the export of biomethane opens new prospects for the agro-industrial sector and investors in the bioenergy industry. This gas is produced from organic waste, which promotes the development of agriculture. As reported, by early January, Ukrainian producers had already injected the first million cubic meters of biomethane into underground gas storage facilities.
Biomethane injection stations to support NaTran in its energy transition
French engineering company Clemessy has installed a biomethane feed-in station for gas grid operator NaTran in Fontaine-le-Dun, northern France, to connect TotalEnergies’ new biogas plant to the grid. The plant utilizes agricultural and agro-industrial waste and is expected to produce up to 150 GWh of biomethane per year, which could cover the energy needs of 30,000 inhabitants. The French gas industry plans to increase the production of renewable gases fivefold by 2030 and to switch completely to renewable gases by 2050.
Biomethane: a giant new plant for Normandy
The number of large-scale biomethane production projects continues to multiply in France. A few months ago, Nature Energy, owned by the Shell group, inaugurated the largest installation of its kind in the Côte-d’Or region, while TotalEnergies announced the commissioning of a new site in the Normandy region. Located in Fontaine-le-Dun, this facility will inject 153 GWh per year into the NaTran (formerly GRTgaz) network. This is the largest installation of its kind to date in Normandy, increasing its capacity to over 1 TWh. The development of BioNorrois has involved more than 130 farmers, food manufacturers and local elected representatives. A key player in the project, with a 10% shareholding, the Cristal Union sugar group plays a central role in the supply of raw materials. BioNorrois is the eighth biogas plant operated by TotalEnergies. It brings the Group’s production capacity in France to 800 GWh.
Aemetis received US $6 million of cash from IRA
Aemetis Inc., a renewable natural gas and renewable fuels company, announced the receipt of $6 million of cash, after transaction costs, from the sale of $7.7 million of Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) investment tax credits generated by the construction of dairy biogas digesters. The investment tax credits were sold to a corporate purchaser that had previously agreed to purchase the tax credits as a part of a multi-closing purchase arrangement. The $6 million of net cash is in addition to $11 million of cash proceeds from tax credits sold last month, funding domestic energy production projects and reducing dependence on imported crude oil.
First biomethane plant for processing landfill gas in Italy goes into operation
The German company ETW Energietechnik has built a biomethane plant in southern Italy in collaboration with its Italian partner Ranieri Tonissi from Genoa. The plant in Taranto, Apulia region, has a capacity of 4400 standard cubic meters of landfill gas per hour and consists of the proven Smart Cycle PSA biogas upgrading system and a downstream NRU “Nitrogen Reduction Unit”.
The scope of delivery also includes raw gas conditioning, lean gas aftertreatment with regenerative thermal oxidation (RTO), the gas flare and the biomethane feed-in with post-compression to 25 bar. With the specially developed NRU treatment process, landfill gas with nitrogen contents of over 20 percent can be processed into biomethane suitable for feed-in. Landfill gas is a special gas for processing. On the one hand, there is a very high concentration of harmful trace substances (volatile organic compounds) and siloxanes. On the other hand, the gas quality is not constant and there are fluctuations in the gas composition and gas quantity. The longer a landfill is in operation, the more methane is replaced by oxygen and nitrogen. In addition, the quantity of gas decreases. The methane concentration varies between 40 and 60 percent, the nitrogen and oxygen concentration between 2 and 25 percent.
U.S. Waste companies report RNG progress
Despite a shifting landscape for renewables, major waste companies continue to advance renewable natural gas projects at their landfills. With earnings’ season nearing its end, major waste companies are reporting continued progress on their RNG projects. And while energy companies like BP have announced they are pulling back on renewable investment, that has so far not led to a significant change in commitments for developers of landfill-gas-to-RNG facilities. Republic Services reported having a pipeline of 45 landfill-gas-to-RNG projects. Interestingly enough, most of which are developed through its joint venture with Archaea Energy, a BP subsidiary.
BP resets to natural gas
BP CEO Murray Auchincloss announced at the end of February that the British oil company will reduce its spending on renewable energies and is once again at the end of February focusing more on the production of fossil fuels. Investments in the oil and gas industry are to be increased by 20 percent to 7.9 billion pounds per year, as the company announced. Expenditure on renewable energies is to fall by more than 3.9 billion pounds to around 1.6 billion pounds per year. This reminds the last oil crisis, when BP placed PV plants on the roof of all gas filling stations however, only as long as the crisis lasted…
CycleØ announces it will invest €200 million in biogas plants in Spain
CycleØ, a European developer, owner, and operator of biogas plants, has announced a €200 million investment to boost biogas production in Spain. The company plans to build, own, and operate up to 30 new biogas plants in the country, with a combined production of 800 GWh per year, enough to meet the gas needs of around 123.000 households. This investment will help reduce the 75% gap between current production and renewable gas generation targets in Spain.
The Biogas Roadmap, published in 2022, sets a target of achieving 10,4 TWh of renewable gas production by 2030. Currently, Spain has nine biomethane plants producing 2.7 TWh.
Aemetis plans $130 Million funding in Stanislaus County, CA
The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an extension of the County’s Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program at its March, 2025 meeting. Established by the approval of local governments, C-PACE programs can be used by private industry to finance energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy facilities. Aemetis Inc., a renewable natural gas and renewable fuels company will apply for new projects on energy efficiency and renewable energy and refinance recently completed projects worth $ 130M. The C-PACE program provides longer 30 year terms and repayment through property tax bills so provides a new source of capital for growing our business.
Biomethane in France: production jumped 20% in Q4 2024
With 3.1 TWh of capacity, biomethane production injected into French grids rose by 20% in Q4 2024 compared with the same period in 2023. Over the full year, capacity reached 13.9 TWh, up 15% on 2023. This growth is underpinned by an ever-expanding installed base. At the end of 2024, France counted 731 producing RNG.
Waste Management opens four new RNG facilities, eyes 12 More by 2026
The Houston-based waste and recycling company has opened four new landfill renewable natural gas projects in the USA and anticipates completing 12 more by 2026, according to a press release. The Houston-based company’s new facilities are located in the Chicago and Philadelphia areas, totaling more than $322 million in investments, which include new recycling plants. The Philadelphia facility is set to become WM’s largest of its kind.
Wärtsilä To Provide 2 Bio-LNG Units for Suomen Lantakaasu Projects
Wärtsilä Gas Solutions has been selected by Suomen Lantakaasu Oy to supply and install bio-LNG units at two large-scale biogas projects at Nurmo and Kiuruvesi in Finland. The units will each have capacity to produce 25 mt of bio-LNG per day from biogas produced using manure and food waste. In addition to the biogas upgrading and liquefaction plants, Wärtsilä will also supply 300m3 capacity storage tanks, as well as an export station. When operationalby 2026, the plants will enable more widespread use of a biogas-powered transport fleet.
Romania to get new 57MW biomethane and fertilizer plant
In Romania, BSOG Energy, an energy company focused on developing biomethane production plants across Romania owned by Black Sea Oil & Gas, and Unigrains Trading, announce the signing of a cooperation agreement for a combined biomethane and biofertilizer production facility. The facility aims to produce 57 MW of biomethane and over 250,000 tons of organic fertilizers per annum. The overall investment in the facility is estimated to exceed EUR 65 million, while project execution is expected to complete in approximately 2 years.
EnviTec Commissions 100th EnviThan Unit
After successful cold commissioning and subsequent shipment to Denmark by sea, the 100th EnviThan biogas upgrading plant built by Germany-headed biogas technology all-rounder EnviTec Biogas AG is now ready for commercial operation. The anniversary EnviThan biogas upgrading plant can now achieve an impressive total capacity of 1,510 Nm3 of biomethane aka renewable natural gas (RNG) per hour. An innovation of the plant is that it integrates the entire 1,000 Nm³/h EnviThan technology into just one 45’ container, with only the gas compressor located in a high-quality soundproof cabin.
First public biomethane injection point to open in Latvia
This summer, the first public biomethane injection point in Latvia, connected to the gas transmission network, will be opened in Dzukste. This will allow biomethane producers to deliver the gas they produce by truck and inject it into the common system even if there is no direct connection to the distribution or transmission network, according to the single gas transmission and storage system operator Conexus Baltic Grid (Conexus). The project is now actively underway with a view to commissioning the facility this summer.
RNG Long-Term Offtake Market Begins to Rebound
The RNG market in the USA faced challenges in late 2024 as a new administration prepared to take office. Adding to the volatility, the EPA reduced 2024 compliance commitments for obligated parties under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Despite these headwinds, several positive developments signaled long-term growth for RNG. Notably, the U.S. Treasury Department released long-awaited guidance on the 45Z tax credit for clean transportation fuel producers. This incentive is expected to provide an economic boost to project developers and encourage new investments in the sector. Meanwhile, utilities in several states continue to purchase substantial volumes of RNG on the voluntary market, further reinforcing demand. Meanwhile, the RNG industry continues to grow rapidly again thanks to the growing demand from voluntary buyers, transportation fuel markets, and the establishment of state specific RNG procurement programs.
Market report: Brazil
Brazil is rapidly positioning itself as a global biogas leader, building on its strong bioenergy legacy. This report explores how biogas and biomethane are becoming central to Brazil’s low-carbon transition – driven by policy momentum, infrastructure readiness, and the urgent need to decarbonize key sectors. The report, compiled by WBA jointly with ABiogas and CIBiogas provides a comprehensive overview of the current state, growth trends, and future opportunities for biogas and biomethane in Brazil, positioning the country as one of the world’s largest emerging markets in renewable energy from organic waste.