Felipe Requejo, director of biomethane at Spanish gas company Nortegas, told a conference at Madrid’s energy fair Genera that reaching annual production of 40 TWh by the turn of the decade is “totally feasible”. .
This is double the country’s goal of achieving 20TWh of production by 2030.
He said biomethane could play an important role in Spain’s decarbonization, as it can be introduced directly into the existing electricity grid.
But development of new plants is hampered by a “very, very slow” permitting process, he added.
Spain has the potential to produce up to 163 TWh of biomethane per year, but a lack of specific regulations and long permit periods are hampering new projects, according to the country’s lobby group Sedigas.
Third largest producer in the EU?
Antonio Illescas, head of renewable gas at Enagas Renovable, a subsidiary of Spain’s TSO Enagas, said Spain could become the second or third largest biomethane producer in the EU, based on Sedigas’ figures. Stated.
However, the existing target of securing 20 TWh of biomethane in Spain by 2030 is only one-twentieth of the overall target of sourcing 35 bcm, or 380 TWh, from biomethane within the EU, he said. “This is something we need to look at,” he added. ”
The country’s energy and climate plans are “not as ambitious as we would like,” agrees Marta Peiro, Naturgy’s head of biomethane business development.
“Europe demands that we take advantage of this opportunity.” [but] This requires regulatory stability,” she added.
Under the RePowerEU plan, which aims to accelerate Europe’s independence from Russian fossil fuels, the continent has set a target of 35 billion centimeters of biomethane, accounting for 10% of Europe’s gas consumption, by 2030. are doing.