WBA has introduced a new service, presenting a global round-up of important developments in the biogas industry. Edited by Andy Crofts (andrew.crofts@worldbiogasassociation.org) it delivers a snapshot of industry growth with links to more detail attached.
November 2022
Benin
Rebin reports on biogas operations in Toffo, Benin.
Rwanda
At COP27, the UN announced it has signed a contract with the Israeli firm, HomeBiogas, to supply biogas systems to farmers in eastern Rwanda.
Brazil
Orizon’s Engineering Director, Jorge Elias, provides an update on the company’s biogas operations in Brazil.
https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2394917-qa-biogas-to-be-priced-with-a-prize-says-orizon
Geo Biogas has announced a programme to create sustainable aviation fuel using biomethane, after concluding feasibility studies earlier this year.
https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2394186-brazils-geo-biogas-to-transform-biomethane-into-saf
Canada
Stanton Farm in Ilderton, Ontario, has become the first agricultural AD site in the state to supply gas to the local grid. The facility will provide more than three million cubic metres of gas to the grid, run by Enbridge. This is enough to heat more than 1,300 homes.
Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, has announced up to C$800 Million in Project Funding to Advance Canada’s Clean Fuels Sector.
Edmonton’s Clover Bar landfill is to upgrade its landfill gas collection facility to enable it to produce biomethane. The project will cost an estimated C$16.7 million and is expected to become operational in 2024.
USA
The New Jersey Senate Environment and Energy Committee has advanced legislation sponsored by Senator Richard Codey that would provide corporation business tax credits for the development and construction of anaerobic digestion facilities that process food waste.
January 2023 will see a new law come into force in Maryland, that will require entities producing two tons of food waste per year to send it to an AD, composting or livestock feeding centre, instead of to landfill or incineration.
https://wasteadvantagemag.com/maryland-to-mandate-food-waste-recycling-for-big-firms/
Washington State University has announced a new treatment method to improve conversion of sewage sludge into biogas. The research team tested a pretreatment technology, adding an extra step to typical treatments and using oxygen-containing high pressure steam to break down sewage sludge. They found that they were able to convert more than 85% of the organic material to biogas.
Chesapeake Utilities Corporation has announced its acquisition of Planet Found. This is a Maryland-based entity formed by scientists, farmers and business people dedicated to developing poultry litter management technologies. Chesapeake will use this to develop its biogas activities.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chesapeake-utilities-corporation-announces-acquisition-192900905.html
Nature Energy has withdrawn its application for a manure-fed AD facility in Roberts, St.Croix County, Wisconsin.
The city of Brentwood in California is conducting a study into the feasibility of a new $40 Million High Diversion Organics Operating Facility. Conducted in partnership with Anaergia, the study is due to report in 2023, with construction due to commence at the end of 2024 if the plan is approved.
BC Organics, a new anaerobic digester in Brown County, Wisconsin, was officially opened by Dynamic Renewables in November. The facility comprises 16 digesters, serving 11 local dairy farms.
UGI Corp.and a joint venture partner, Cayuga RNG, have announced a new agreement to build their fifth facility to produce biogas. This will be located at New Hope Farm in upstate New York.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/11/15/ugi-rng-dairy-natgas-newyork/9901668530600/
Vanguard Renewables was awarded the 2022 Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) Environmental Sustainability Leadership Award at NERC’s Fall Conference recently held in Connecticut. The company’s Farm Powered solution captures greenhouse gas emissions from dairy manure and food and beverage waste to create renewable energy via anaerobic digestion.
The landfill in Linn County, Iowa, could reportedly close earlier than its planned end date of 2044, according to its operator, the Linn County Solid Waste Agency. Anaerobic digestion is one of a range of options reportedly being explored as a replacement.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has announced the selection of 16 teams from to participate in two upcoming NextCycle Michigan Innovation Challenge program tracks. Two AD sites have been selected under the FLOWS (Foods, Liquids, and Organic Waste Systems) program: Partridge Creek Farm, Ischpeming, and ZE Place, Hancock.
Synthica Energy has announced a new biogas facility to be built in Shannon, Floyd County, Georgia. The site will supply gas to the local grid. The facility will use food-derived waste as a feedstock. Commercial operation is targeted for late 2025.
https://synthica.com/projects/
Chevron has announced an agreement to acquire full ownership of Beyond6 from Mercuria Energy Trading. Chevron is currently a part-owner. Beyond6 operates a network of 55 compressed natural gas stations across the US.
Piedmont Natural Gas is seeking approval for an interconnector agreement to supply biomethane to Cardinal Bio Energy, based in St. Louis. Gas would be supplied by truck from around 15 farms in Robeson County, North Carolina.
The Japanese Itochu Corporation has announced it is to invest in Impact Bioenergy, a startup based in Washington State that manufactures and sells equipment to produce biogas from food waste through anaerobic digestion.
A new $35 million digester built by Energy Systems Group for Altoona Water Authority in Pennsylvania has begun operations. The plant will be fed with a mixture of sewage sludge and food waste.
https://www.altoonamirror.com/news/local-news/2022/11/awa-to-start-feeding-digester-food/
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Waste Management Inc, and utility National Grid are partnering to generate biomethane from food waste and sludge at New York’s Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Brooklyn. The $47.8 million facility is due to begin operations in January 2023.
Greenlane Biogas North America Ltd., has been awarded a $3.5 million contract for a dairy RNG project in the Western United States for the supply of a biogas upgrading system. Greenlane will supply its pressure swing adsorption system for upgrading biogas generated from anaerobic digestion of dairy cow manure into biomethane suitable for injection into the local pipeline network.
Australia
LGI Ltd has nearly completed a project to supply biogas from the Toowoomba landfill in Queensland. The gas will be used to provide power to the Wetalla Water Reclamation Facility.
https://lgi.com.au/lgi-renewable-power-project-goes-behind-the-meter/
India
The Indian government has announced it is to extend its National Bioenergy Programme to 2025/26. Phase I of the programme is worth Rs.85.8 million. It has three sub-schemes. The Waste to Energy Programme aims to provide support to large biogas plants, while the Biogas Programme does the same for smaller facilities in rural areas. The third Programme, Biomass, is for supporting manufacture of briquettes and pellets for use in power generation.
Suzuki Motor and the Indian government’s National Dairy Development Board sign MoU to study commercialisation of biogas. This will study the business model for the commercialisation of biogas and its potential for widespread use in view of establishing a joint venture.
The Hindustan Times has reported that the 2022 Bioenergy Policy of the Uttar Pradesh government has attracted 38 investment proposals so far. Of these, 34 are for biogas facilities. The policy has a production target of 1,000 tonnes of compressed biogas per day.
A new biogas plant at the Gudimalkapur market in Hyderabad is ready to begin operations, according to local reports. The facility will handle up to five tonnes of vegetable waste per day, with the biogas used to generate electricity for use in the market. The project is a joint venture between the Department of Agricultural Marketing and the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT).
https://telanganatoday.com/hyderabad-biogas-plant-at-gudimalkapur-market-ready-to-launch
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has announced it is to set up a new biogas plant at the Khaitlapur Transfer Station in Kukatpally. The 20-tonne per day project is being funded by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)- Balanagar.
https://telanganatoday.com/ghmc-to-set-up-biogas-plant-at-khaitlapur
The Adani Group is to set up a compressed biogas facility at Shrimata Ji Gaushala in Barsana, Mathura. Once operational, the facility will produce around 23 metric tonnes of gas per day.
Korea
Babcock & Wilcox has signed an agreement with NRG Korea to study the applicability of B&W’s BrightLoop technology for a hydrogen generation facility using biomass fuel in South Korea. The BrightLoop process uses a proprietary, regenerable particle and has been demonstrated to effectively separate CO2 while producing hydrogen, steam and/or syngas.
Malaysia
Kejuruteraan Asastera Bhd (KAB) is to acquire a 100% stake in a 2.4MW biogas power plant in Kedah. This will supply energy to the national grid until 2034. KAB is buying the plant from Future Biomass Gasification Sdn Bhd (FBG) for RM15 million.
https://themalaysianreserve.com/2022/11/09/kab-plans-1st-biogas-power-plant-with-rm15m-acquisition/
Nepal
The Nepalese press has reported on the prospects for growth of the biogas sector, following the 26th AGM of the Nepal Biogas Promotion Association (NBPA).
Austria
BIOGEST receives €20m investment from Eiffel Investment Group to accelerate its global growth strategy. In total, this partnership is aimed at enabling BIOGEST to commission more than a hundred biogas and biomethane units.
Denmark
Shell is to acquire the Danish renewable natural gas producer, Nature Energy, in a deal worth an estimated € 1.9 billion. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.
Nature Energy has reported that its facility at Kværs has begun to deliver biomethane to the Danish gas grid. The facility can produce over 20 million cubic metres biogas annually and is the company’s 13th AD plant in Denmark.
https://nature-energy.com/first-biogas-from-kvaers
France
The municipality of Amiens in France has begun to utilise fallen leaves for biogas production.
TotalEnergies and Air Liquide are collaborating to produce renewable, low carbon hydrogen at the Grandpuits zero crude platform. Air Liquide will invest over €130 million in a new unit producing hydrogen. This will partly use biogas from a facility built by TotalEnergies.
Germany
BayWa r.e. is to sell its biogas business to Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG). The business has five plants in Germany which produce around 140 GWh of biomethane per year.
https://energydigital.com/sustainability/green-investment-group-buys-baywa-r-e-bioenergy-platform
EnviTec Biogas reports on progress to the upgrading of its Güstrow facility. This was claimed to be Germany’s largest biogas plant when constructed in 2009, and has been fully owned by EnviTec since 2021. The €40-50 million upgrade involves a new CO2 liquefaction plant and an LNG system for biomethane liquefaction.
Lithuania
In 2023, Ignitis is planning to import biomethane into Lithuania from the Netherlands, claiming to be the first company to do so.
https://ignitisgrupe.lt/en/news/ignitis-first-import-biomethane-lithuania
Spain
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has identified sites for two large industrial scale biogas plants located in Catalonia, Spain, at La Sentiu and Linyola. CIP will develop the plans with Spanish developer, Connect Bioenergy, towards an expected Final Investment Decision in 2024.
Bright Renewables has been contracted for a new biogas upgrading project with membrane technology in Barcelona, Spain. The facility has two waste streams producing 500 Nm3 biogas per hour: This will be purified to 270 Nm3 of biomethane per hour and fed into the gas grid.
Slovakia
The Slovakian parliament has approved an excess profit levy, to run from December 2022 to December 2024. However, small energy producers up to 0.9 MW and energy produced by pumped water power plants or from biomethane will be exempt.
https://www.tasr.sk/tasr-clanok/TASR:2022112800000367
Sweden
Scandinavian Biogas has signed a multi-year agreement worth approximately SEK 300 million for the supply of liquid biogas to the transport sector in the Nordic region.
https://scandinavianbiogas.com/en/news/?cisionid=4393264#press-releases
UK
Acorn Bioenergy has announced plans for a £25 million biogas plant at Fearn Airfield in Easter Ross, in the Scottish Highlands. Biomethane produced by the plant will be offered to local distilleries. Acorn hopes it will be operational by 2024.
https://www.bioenergy-news.com/news/acorn-bioenergy-plans-e63-1m-biogas-plant-in-scottish-highlands/
STL Energy, in partnership with Avara Foods, has proposed a new AD plant at Whitwick Manor Farm in Herefordshire. If approved, it would use poultry manure as a feedstock.
https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/21861757.herefordshire-ad-plant-would-turn-chicken-manure-gas/
Orège sells three solutions to Severn Trent Water to improve the performance of anaerobic digestion and biogas production.
Costain is working with Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, Wales and West Utilities and food and drink manufacturer Princes Group on a feasibility study to produce hydrogen from biogas from the Cardiff East Waste Water Treatment Works. This will be used to provide heat for fruit juice pasteurisation. The programme is funded through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS)£1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio.
https://www.costain.com/news/news-releases/costain-awarded-funding-for-innovative-hydrogen-project/
Grissan Carrick has been granted permission to install new equipment at its AD facility in Girvan, Ayrshire. The site processes waste from next-door William Grant & Sons distillery.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/ayrshire/green-energy-supplier-given-go-28504531
Portsmouth in Hampshire has expanded its food waste collection service. As of November 21st, 67,000 households will have food waste collected weekly. This is part of a phased roll out of food waste collection services, the final part of which is planned in early 2023. Food waste from Portsmouth is sent to an AD plant, according to the City Council.
Coleg Cambria in Llysfasi, Wales, has unveiled a new anaerobic digester s par of its carbon neutral farm project. The facility was built by Biofactory Energy and part funded by the Welsh government through its Whole System Business Research Innovation for Decarbonisation Challenge (WBRID).
https://newsfromwales.co.uk/land-based-college-powers-ahead-with-multi-million-pound-green-vision/
Egypt
The Egyptian Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA) has announced a plan to allocate EGP 1.2bn to convert 150,000 cars to operate on natural gas.
