Biogas policies and production development in Europe: a comparative analysis of eight countries

Figures & data

Figure 1. Description of methods and outputs of the study.

Table 1. List of studied countries and motivation for selection.

Country	Motivation
Czech Republic	One of the top biogas producing countries in Europe; large share of production from agricultural substrates
Denmark	Recent fast growth of biogas production; large share of production from agricultural substrates
Finland	Low but growing production; focus on use in transports
France	One of the top biogas producing countries in Europe; focus on the agricultural sector
Germany	Highest biogas production in Europe; recent policy shifts
Italy	One of the top biogas producing countries in Europe; large market for natural gas in transports
Norway	Low but growing production; highest production of liquefied biomethane in Europe
Sweden	Leading on use in transports; policy framework is going through a transition

Figure 2. Comprehensive illustration of the dimensions in the implemented policy model. Based on the work of Gustafsson and Anderberg [39].

Figure 3. Annual biogas production per capita in the studied countries. Calculated from [20] and [47].

Table 2. Comparison of biogas production and some fundamental conditions for biogas solutions in the studied countries.

	Czech Republic	Denmark	Finland	France	Germany	Italy	Norway	Sweden
Number of biogas plants	574^a	141^a	96^a	837^a	11,084^a	1,655^a	138^a	280^b
Biogas prod., TWh/y	7,0^c	4,5^c	2,3^c	11,4^c	90,1^c	21,3^c	1,0^c	2,1^b,c
Biogas prod., MWh/capita	0,66^c/d	0,78^c/d	0,41^c/d	0,17^c/d	1,09^c/d	0,35^c/d	0,19^c/d	0,20^b,c/d
Biogas prod., GWh per biogas plant	12.2^c/a	32.1^c/a	23.7^c/a	13.6^c/a	8.1^c/a	12.8^c/a	7.3^c/a	7.3^b
Biogas prod. development, 5 y / 10 y	±0%/+360%^a	+190%/+290%^a	+100%/+370%^a	+50 %/+150%^a	+10%/+110%^a	−7%/+330%^a	+500%/+250%^a	+15%/+60%^b
Main substrates	Energy crops	Manure, straw, agricultural dry waste	Food waste, sewage sludge	Agricultural dry waste, manure	Energy crops, manure	Energy crops, manure	Sewage sludge, food waste, industrial waste	Sewage sludge, manure, food waste
% substrates from agriculture	Unknown	55%^a	5%^a	80%^a	90%^a	80%^a	Unknown	11%^b
Gas grid	Nationwide	Nationwide	Limited	Nationwide	Nationwide	Nationwide	Limited	Limited
Role of biogas	Energy production	Waste and wastewater treatment, energy	Waste and wastewater treatment, energy	Valorization of agricultural waste	Energy production	Vehicle fuel (previously: electricity)	Waste and wastewater treatment, vehicle fuel	Waste and wastewater treatment, vehicle fuel
Main use of biogas	Electricity, heat	Industry, heat, electricity	Heat, electricity, road transport	Electricity, heat	Electricity, heat, road transport	Electricity, heat, road transport	Road transport, heat	Road transport, industry

Data from: ^a[52]; ^b[25]; ^c[20]; ^d[47].

Figure 4. Development of domestic biogas production in the studied countries. The production level for each year is plotted relative to the 2019 level in the respective country.

Table 3. Comparison of biogas policies in the studied countries, based on the model by Gustafsson and Anderberg [39].

	Czech Rep.	Denmark	Finland	France	Germany	Italy	Norway	Sweden
Economic policies and policy instruments	Currently none (FiT/FiP up to 55 €/MWh for electricity until 2014, contracts still valid)	FiP 35-55 €/MWh depending on use; Green certificates; vehicle and fuel taxes (higher than for fossil fuels)	Tax exemption 60 €/MWh for use in transport; FiT 30 €/MWh for electricity production; investment support up to 40% of costs	FiT 50-80 €/MWh for heat/electricity; FiP 50-140 €/MWh for biomethane; higher rates for manure digestion	Tender system with 40-80 €/MWh for electricity production; (FiT up to 80-100 €/MWh for electricity until 2017 - contracts still valid); higher rates for manure digestion; low interest investment loans for biogas	FiP/certificates 65 €/MWh for biomethane for transport; (FiP 80-100 €/MWh for electricity until 2018 - contracts still valid)	Tax exemption 20 €/MWh for use in transport; manure digestion premium up to 70 €/MWh; investment support up to 40% of costs	Tax exemption 3-30 €/MWh depending on use; manure digestion premium up to 40 €/MWh; investment support up to 50% of costs
Regulatory policies and policy instruments	No specific regulatory instruments for biogas	Biomethane register; Resource strategy; Goal on 100 % renewable gas grid by 2050	Fuel CO2 reduction quota; Goal on 50,000 gas vehicles by 2030; Goal on fossil-free transport sector by 2045	Guarantees of origin for biomethane; Goal to produce 70 TWh biogas by 2035	Fuel CO2 reduction quota; Biomethane register; Goal on 80 % renewable energy by 2050	Fuel CO2 reduction quota; Biomethane register; Goal on 10 % biofuels in the transport sector	Goal on 30 % of manure to AD; Goal for all new city buses to be either biogas or ZEV by 2025	Eco-vehicle standard; Green zones in cities; Goal to produce 10 TWh by 2030 (proposal)
Most relevant administrative areas*	Energy, Agriculture, Economy and Finance, Environment	Energy, Environment and Climate, Agriculture, Economy and Finance	Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, Economy and Finance, Transport	Environment, Agriculture and Regional development, Economy and Finance, Energy	Agriculture, Economy and Finance, Environment	Agriculture, Economy and Finance, Environment	Environment, Agriculture, Economy and Finance, Transport	Environment, Infrastructure, Agriculture and Regional development, Economy and Finance, Energy
Main value chain focus	Production	Production	Use	Production	Production	Production	Use	Use
Time horizon for economic support	20 years	20 years	Up to 12 years	15-20 years	10-20 years	15-20 years	1 or a few years	1 or a few years
References	[46,49]	[46,75,76]	[46,72,77]	[46,50,78]	[46,54,68,79]	[46,63,69]	[46,51,80]	[46,61,70,81]

For economic support for heat or electricity production from biogas, an efficiency of 35% has been assumed to make them comparable to other types of economic support for biogas.

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