The Renewable Energy Association (REA) leads a working group focussing on policy targets for biomethane in country models.

This working group’s goals are:

• To produce a Tool Kit that allows each country to estimate the amount of biogas that they can produce in the period to 2030
• The Tool Kit will then allocate the biogas to Combined Heat and Power (CHP) or biomethane
• The Tool Kit will provide the ability to change the split between (CHP) and biomethane to take into account the renewable incentives in place
• Each country will be able to use the tool kit/model to develop a range for biomethane potential by 2020 and 2030 This will be able to feedback into National Renewable Action Plans for each country and any other processes or consultations on a country basis.

The key issues being discussed in this working group are:

• Methodology to derive total biomass resource and then allocate a build-up of biomass to anaerobic digestion for biogas production. Then allocate biogas to Combined Heat and Power (CHP) or biomethane
• Categories of anaerobic digestion feedstock – how many should there be and what are they?
• Uptake of anaerobic digestion over future years (how many plants, size)
• Once model agreed, finding data for each member country to populate the model
• Each country has different incentives for electricity compared to biomethane. Model can allow flexibility to change – e.g. post 2020 it may be that biomethane is favoured due to high penetration of wind generation

Latest results:

• Discussion paper Country models - Biomethane market matrix (May 2013)
• Documentation of 2^nd GreenGasGrids workshop on Development of biomethane in Europe, 5^th March 2013, Paris.
• Discussion paper on sustainability, technical standards, trade and country targets for biomethane
• Documentation of 1^st GreenGasGrids workshop on Biomethane trade, 21^st February 2012, Brussels.