A robust regulatory framework, clear roadmaps, and institutional support are needed to enable society to understand the benefits of this technology.
By Cecilia Carballo, Chief Sustainability and Communication Officer at Solarig.
The energy transition in Spain is progressing with determination, but it continues without taking advantage of an essential element for a decarbonised energy mix: biomethane. This gas of organic and renewable origin, similar to fossil-based natural gas as it is easily storable and injectable into the current gas network, has already had more than four decades of development in the EU. In this regard, the 11 plants currently installed in Spain pale in comparison to Germany’s 11,000 biogas and biomethane facilities and France’s more than 700 biomethane plants.
Although Spain is at the bottom in the deployment of this green industry, it has ample capacity to position itself as one of the leading producers in the European Union. This is affirmed by the Spanish Gas Association (Sedigas), which estimates that the country has the capacity to produce 160 TWh per year (that is, we currently have enough raw material to cover around 50% of national natural gas demand with renewable energy).
To take advantage of the opportunity presented to us, Spain needs to deploy a robust roadmap for biomethane that would not only allow us to move towards energy autonomy today, but would also enable us to maintain and improve another strategic sector, such as the primary sector. A key sector to meet the objectives of demographic challenge, job creation, and vital alternatives in many autonomous communities linked to this economic activity.
We are talking about a mature, competitive, and easy-to-implement technology, with tradition and roots in the countries around us. ccording to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), we generate more than 100 million tonnes of waste per year and, with a significant percentage of it, we can feed this new green sector. Thanks to biomethane plants, we are in a position to provide an efficient response, based on the concept of circular economy, to waste management, one of the major environmental problems in our society. At the same time, biomethane will be able to guarantee a local and secure supply of energy in the form of gas, something that gains special relevance in the current context, with the EU drastically reducing its imports from Russia.
One of the keys to unlocking our potential is to be clear about where we are heading. The Ministry for the Ecological Transition launched its Biogas Roadmap in March 2022, just after the invasion began, with objectives that, although well-intentioned, quickly became outdated with the change in the energy paradigm. More recently, in its latest update in September 2024, the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) set the goal of producing 20 TWh of biogas in 2030, of which approximately 12 TWh will correspond to biomethane, according to the Spanish Biogas Association (AEBIG). This would mean that, in the best-case scenario, we will multiply current biomethane production (which in 2024 stood at around 0.315 TWh) by 38, but we will have only taken advantage of 7.5% of the potential Spain holds to generate this renewable gas.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the targets set by the PNIEC are perfectly achievable if there is an effort to organise, promote, and facilitate growth, which is expected to be exponential in the coming years and will likely continue in the decades ahead. In this regard, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has set out which port we want to reach, but updated roadmaps are still lacking to clarify how we are to get there.
To take advantage of the opportunity presented to us, Spain needs to deploy a robust roadmap for biomethane that would not only allow us to move towards energy autonomy today, but would also enable us to maintain and improve another strategic sector, such as the primary sector. A key sector to meet the objectives of demographic challenge, job creation, and vital alternatives in many autonomous communities linked to this economic activity.
We are talking about a mature, competitive, and easy-to-implement technology, with tradition and roots in the countries around us. ccording to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), we generate more than 100 million tonnes of waste per year and, with a significant percentage of it, we can feed this new green sector. Thanks to biomethane plants, we are in a position to provide an efficient response, based on the concept of circular economy, to waste management, one of the major environmental problems in our society. At the same time, biomethane will be able to guarantee a local and secure supply of energy in the form of gas, something that gains special relevance in the current context, with the EU drastically reducing its imports from Russia.
One of the keys to unlocking our potential is to be clear about where we are heading. The Ministry for the Ecological Transition launched its Biogas Roadmap in March 2022, just after the invasion began, with objectives that, although well-intentioned, quickly became outdated with the change in the energy paradigm. More recently, in its latest update in September 2024, the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) set the goal of producing 20 TWh of biogas in 2030, of which approximately 12 TWh will correspond to biomethane, according to the Spanish Biogas Association (AEBIG). This would mean that, in the best-case scenario, we will multiply current biomethane production (which in 2024 stood at around 0.315 TWh) by 38, but we will have only taken advantage of 7.5% of the potential Spain holds to generate this renewable gas.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the targets set by the PNIEC are perfectly achievable if there is an effort to organise, promote, and facilitate growth, which is expected to be exponential in the coming years and will likely continue in the decades ahead. In this regard, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has set out which port we want to reach, but updated roadmaps are still lacking to clarify how we are to get there.
A robust regulatory framework
Harmonisation and alignment between regulatory frameworks are needed. For projects to become a reality in an orderly manner and respond to territorial needs and opportunities, it is essential that the different administrations and public bodies design specific plans for the deployment of this green industry. Only with these guidelines will we be able to have homogeneous criteria, ensure that investment reaches where it is most needed, and streamline administrative procedures. Furthermore, for progress to be supported on solid foundations, it would be necessary to add the importance of guiding aid towards demand, establishing incentives for fossil gas consumption to be replaced by biomethane, and the existence of financing lines for these projects.
Countries like Italy, whose dependence on fossil-based natural gas in the energy mix has made the search for energy alternatives imperative, are a good example that with the determined support of the administration, it is possible for a sector like biomethane to flourish. In 2018, the country had 7 operational plants, and within six years it already has 133; of which 101 were connected in 2024, according to the European Biogas Association (EBA).
In addition to the regulatory framework, it is vital that biomethane plans are developed in harmony with the communities in which they are implemented. The significant presence of facilities in agricultural and livestock areas in Spain offers solutions to an already existing economic activity, as it simplifies waste logistics and contributes to territorial cohesion. In this regard, it is relevant to advance in social licence, collaborate with communities, develop employment plans to settle the local population, and commit to being part of the solution to environmental problems, such as groundwater contamination by nitrates. In this way, working closely with the agricultural and livestock production network already located in these areas, it will be possible to build a necessary framework for action that promotes best practices to ensure the integration of biomethane in the territories.
In short, we need a robust regulatory framework, clear roadmaps, and institutional support that enables society to understand the great benefits of a technology that will undoubtedly play a key role in the coming years. We must take advantage of the great potential Spain has to provide a renewable response to sectors that are difficult to electrify, decarbonise energy-intensive industries or residential consumption; as well as to generate quality employment and offer development alternatives in depopulated areas. I trust that we will do so, but it will be easier to seize an opportunity like the one biomethane offers us if society as a whole shares the same direction.
Other news
Biorig participa en la 103ª edición de la Feria de Maquinaria Agrícola de Valencia de Don Juan (León)
Podcast: Futuro verde – Gases verdes: biometano
Aún estamos a tiempo
Cinco Días: España necesita una mayor ambición en biometano para acelerar la transición energética
El Día de Soria: Biometano, una oportunidad para el crecimiento de una economía más verde y sostenible
El Español: España, ante la oportunidad de replicar el éxito de la energía renovable con los gases verdes
