10/18/2023
Source: Energy & Management Powernews
A whitepaper from Energy 2 Market calls for more biogas power generation to secure supply during dark periods. A short study of the industry sees high CO2 reductions through biomass.
A National Biomass Strategy (Nabis) is currently being developed by the German government. For this, companies and associations of the industry contribute their expertise. According to a white paper from the "Energy2market GmbH" and the Berlin-based consulting agency DWR, the conversion of biogas to electricity should be re-evaluated in the Nabis. It is the only reliable climate-neutral flexibility option for the electricity system of the future, it says. At the same time, the German Bioenergy Association (BBE) published a short study on the CO2 capture potential of bioenergy plants.
According to the study, the current stock of wood-fired (power) plants, biogas and bioethanol plants is already sufficient to remove 13 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere annually in combination with renewable energy generation. If the exploitable biomass potential were fully utilized, as much as 30 million tons of CO2 per year could be avoided. This would compensate for a large part of Germany's unavoidable residual emissions, the association said.
Energy 2 Market calls the planned development of hydrogen power plants uncertain and expensive. In addition, the supply of climate-neutral hydrogen is not secured, it said. Kurt Kretschmer, head of energy policy at Energy 2 Market, said, "Biogas is an important flexibility anchor of the German electricity system and a central building block for a climate-neutral electricity system by 2035." Biogas production does not lead to conflicts of use with other biomass use paths, he explained. Rather, he said, it was a guarantor of value creation in rural areas.
Bioenergy more reliable than new hydrogen power plants
While actually usable flexibility from heat pumps, electromobility or even hydrogen electrolysis for the power system has so far only existed on paper, sustainable biogas and the associated plant park are already available today on a large scale. This must be recognized in Nabis and power plant strategy, he demanded.
"In the future, biogas can be converted into electricity on the basis of residual materials and with the help of technological innovations as well as a more system-serving mode of operation," said Kretschmer. The general worse position of the energetic utilization in relation to the material utilization advised by the Federal Government must be corrected therefore urgently.
CO2 at biomass plants separate
The possible contribution of the biomass utilization to the climatic protection estimates the BBE with 30 million tons CO2 per year. This would compensate for a large part of Germany's unavoidable residual emissions, the brief study says. BBE Executive Director Gerolf Bücheler explained, "Bioenergy can also still remove CO2 from the atmosphere during energy production." The federal government must absolutely consider these negative emissions in its strategies, he demanded.
Both with existing wood heating (power) plants from 10 MW, biomethane plants and with bioethanol production plants could be caught in the production process the CO2 developing from the biomass. According to Bücheler, some of the green CO2 produced is already being either reused for material applications or captured in the long term. Additional potential for CO2 sequestration also results from carbon sequestration in plant carbon.
"For this potential to be leveraged, it is important that policymakers set targets for greenhouse gas removal from the atmosphere, negative emissions are given a value and necessary permits are issued in an uncomplicated manner," the BBE chief demanded. Issues of CO2 management infrastructure and logistics also need to be addressed, Bücheler said.
The Whitepaper on Biogas Power Generation is available for download on the Energy 2 Market website. The short study on CO2 reduction with biomass can be downloaded from the BBE website.
Author: Susanne Harmsen
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