Renewable gases: the great opportunity for energy self-sufficiency

Jean-Louis Bal, Chairman of the SER, says: “Renewable gases produced in France are a sustainable and rapidly deployable alternative, to reduce our energy dependency. If the State speeds up the processing of the files in its departments’ in-trays, and if it guarantees a stable support mechanism, we’ll see a fast acceleration in the number of new projects. Under such conditions, renewable gases could make up 20% of our gas consumption in 2030.”

Development of the biomethane sector continued in 2021, with more than 150 new methanisation sites being brought online. That development is part of a desire to achieve sustainability via a number of initiatives: labelling, progress contracts, training, dialogue with stakeholders. By the end of last year, installed injection capacity across the 365 methanisation sites was above the target of 6 TWh biomethane injected, set by the PPE for 2023. These great results are encouraging, but must not be allowed to mask the slow-down in new projects since the change in the economic climate that started at the end of 2020. The base target of 14 TWh in 2028 is achievable in 2023, if simple and proactive measures are brought in quickly. 

The commissioning of more mature projects, particularly by cutting down the time needed to obtain administrative authorisations, and taking rising inflation and the costs of raw materials into account, are simple levers to release the potential of renewable gases. To keep the drive going, the introduction of new support mechanisms – without any impact on the State budget – is needed more than ever before. A decree covering biogas production certificates, imposing a requirement on suppliers to incorporate a minimum level of green gas into their portfolios, should be published by the end of March. A mechanism covering calls for tender for plants of more than 25 GWh/year is also needed to strengthen the current trend, while we wait for the full effects of biogas production certificates to be felt.

Measures on the production and use of hydrogen (H2), announced as part of the France Relance and France 2030 recovery plans, support France’s hydrogen development ambitions. While the order relating to H2, published in February 2021, constitutes a significant step forward, the precise mechanisms for the certification and traceability of that renewable energy have yet to be defined to get the drive fully under way. Calls for projects to support renewable and low-carbon H2 production by electrolysis are bound to increase in number throughout France.

Alongside that, the pyro-gasification for injection and the hydrothermal gasification sectors require support mechanisms suited to those particular technologies.