Beneficial climate impacts of biogas advance the green transition – investment subsidies are crucial

The environmental impacts of biogas are unquestionably positive. Circular, nearly zero-emission energy is at the core of the green transition and carbon neutrality goals.  Domestic biogas production also strengthens Finland’s energy independence and reduces the need for fossil fuels.

Biogas sounds almost too good to be true, so it is natural to ask: why has it not been adopted more widely? Biogas remains an underutilised solution. For a long time, biogas production has remained at one terawatt in Finland with estimates suggesting that only one per cent of the domestic production potential is exploited.

The good news is that we are building a stronger biogas market one plant at a time, thanks to investment subsidies and incentives.  Next, we will review how the environmental impacts of biogas advance carbon neutrality goals and what the future of its market looks like.

As an energy source, biogas is among the most environmentally friendly, and its production process is in line with the circular economy. Biogas can be harvested from practically every type of organic waste, including biowaste, industrial side streams, sludge, agricultural manure, and biomass.

Because the raw material for biogas is locally available at a factory or farm, it is a prime example of domestically produced local energy. Local energy reduces dependence on energy imports, natural gas pipelines and fossil energy sources.

Once upgraded, biogas mostly contains methane, making it a suitable replacement for natural gas and other fossil fuels in all applications. For example, there are diverse applications for biogas in industrial processes, farms, gas-powered vehicles, and electricity and heat production.

Furthermore, using the methane in biogas is highly important for the environment because methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. We can avoid unnecessary emissions in the circular economy by minimising the dumping of biowaste in landfills, which serves as a source of wild biomethane, instead recycling the waste to make biogas for energy production.

The life cycle impacts of biogas are the smallest of all common energy sources – even including the collection and processing of the raw material, production, refining, distribution, and in-service emissions.

In the best case, biogas has carbon-negative emissions, if the production process is designed to avoid greenhouse gas emissions.

Environmental impacts of biogas:

• Biogas is completely renewable and nearly zero-emission energy that can be produced locally in Finland.
• Biogas can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90 per cent during its life cycle compared to fossil fuels.
• Biogas releases carbon dioxide (CO2) during use, but the amount released was already absorbed by the raw material, which means there are no extra emissions.
• Leftovers from biogas production, the digestate, can be recycled as fertiliser for fields, for example. (Source: Gasum 1, 2)

Although biogas technology is decades old, exceptional investments and the creation of a new market are required to increase its use.  Adjusting fuel flows, changing operating methods, modifying technology, and biogas upgrading all call for secure continuity and capital.

A whole new scale of supply is expected from the biogas market in the future, which is only possible with political support and flexible funding. Accordingly, investment subsidies for biogas have been reformed in Finland and in the EU. 

Extensive investment subsidies are necessary to multiply the current production volumes. The Finnish government has set a goal to increase biogas production to four terawatt hours by 2030, which means quadrupling the current production rate.

This is the most ambitious increase in our time, which is reflected in the amounts invested. The proposed investments total 800 million euros by 2030 and 1.9 billion euros by 2050.

In order to reach the 2030 biogas target, we need:

• Some 100 to 200 new biogas plants in total.
• An increase of 238 per cent from the current level of biogas production (from 878 GWh/a to an estimated 2,975 GWh/a by 2030).
• Emission reductions in all sectors using biogas to the tune of 1,131 Mt CO2/a. 

One factor in the future of biogas is the enormous potential waiting in agriculture. Farms have side streams from manure to sludge and biomasses like grass and other organic matter that are natural sources of biogas – capacity for their use should be built in the coming years.

Currently, only one per cent of farm manure is used for biogas production. Increasing the recycling of manure for biogas production would reduce local run-off into waterways as well as nuisance odours.

Cutting the emissions of agriculture is central to Finland’s carbon-neutral future in which renewable energy and the circular economy play a major role. The road map of the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK) names increasing the use of biogas as one measure for farms to achieve climate-neutral operations by 2035.

It should also be noted that the biogas production of farms would benefit the renewable energy production of society as a whole. With sufficient production levels, farms could sell biogas for use in gas-powered vehicles, for example.

Agricultural subsidies and incentives are decisive in turning biogas into a competitive solution. New forms of cooperation between different operators in biogas production, processing and logistics are also essential for increasing the utilisation rate of biogas.

Agricultural biogas production can replace fossil fuels, increase renewable energy production and reduce harmful run-off into waterways.

We at Sarlin have been active players in the creation of the new biogas market as its sustainable pioneers. We were the first in Finland to provide turnkey biogas filtration and upgrading solutions as well as life cycle services.

Today, equipment delivered by Sarlin is used to produce more than 80 per cent of the electricity produced with biogas in Finland.

We are a partner to all industrial users of biogas: energy companies, farms, water treatment plants and more. Our part comes in when biogas exits the digestion process and has to be purified and converted into a form suitable for transport and use.

Read our customer story: Biogas from the waste water of a million people 

Purification

In order for biogas to serve as fuel (in the natural gas network, for example), its methane content must be increased. The biogas purification process removes impurities and carbon dioxide, increasing the methane content.

Upgrading

We provide biogas upgrading plants based on membrane technology, designed by us for the needs of Finnish biogas producers. You can purchase our plants on lease or as a fully outsourced service.

Liquefaction

Our liquefaction plants can reduce the volume of biogas by 600 times, allowing effective logistics and network supply.

Maintenance services

We also provide maintenance and operating services for plants on contract, including preventive maintenance.