Biogas and biomethane

What is a biogas plant?

• Processing unit where biogas production is performed. This certification scope covers all technology under which the entity may be certified according to biofuel/bioliquid pathway and/or biomass fuel pathway. If the entity produces both for biofuel and biomass fuel purposes, separate mass balance and GHG emission calculation shall be performed.
• Landfill biogas production. Landfill operation is usually integrated with biogas plant, so place of origin certification scope is to be added. Landfill is treated as a place of origin of waste biomass and no waste/residue declaration is required. The same rule applies to biogas produced as a result of sewage treatment plant activity.
• Biogas upgrading unit – biomethane plant. This unit upgrades biogas to biomethane quality, compresses and feeds into natural gas grid. If these two units belong to different owners, and process of trade of biogas is performed, each company is obliged to run his own mass balance and have separate certificate. Yield must be accounted separately from biogas plant and upgrading unit.

Biogas plant may be a final biomass fuel producer or may be a link in biofuel supply chain. Thus, two certification pathways are possible.

Biogas/biomethane can be used for following purposes:

• BioCNG/BioLNG for transport. Biogas/biomethane plant is obliged to calculate GHG saving (according to System KZR INiG/8) before feeding into natural gas grid. A sustainability characteristic is assigned to every batch, and it is transferred in a supply chain till the final entity. In case of bio-LNG producing liquefaction/regasification plant is also covered by certification. Certification scope “Liquefaction plant” covers also regasification activity.
• Power and heat production in CHP unit, power production, heat production. The final biogas/biomethane should be reported as a greenhouse gas intensity along with the heat/power plant efficiency and associated greenhouse gas saving. The efficiency information comes from the final operator in the chain. It is important that the greenhouse gas values are reported on a consistent basis and the units are clearly stated. The final operator determines efficiency (according to KZR INiG/8) and provide to the biogas/biomethane supplier once a year.
• As a feedstock for further processes and other purposes. An example of such application is using biomethane to biomethanol production.

Total emission according to System KZR INiG/8 is calculated instead of GHG saving calculation.

KZR INiG plays an important role in the overall biomethane certification process, namely the certification of the production of biomethane up to and including the point of final consumption. The certification of mass balancing of energy units of gaseous fuels within an interconnected infrastructure or between interconnected infrastructures can only be provided if the voluntary scheme certification is complementary to the system mass balancing carried out with the support of the Union Database. Therefore, sustainability characteristics can only be assigned to consignments of gas that has been registered in the Union Database, once the database is fully operational covering gaseous value chains. The mass balance of the interconnected infrastructure carrying the gas has to be in its entirety covered by the Union Database.

A key requirement for the mass balancing of biomethane across a gas grid is that there is no double counting or double claiming of consignments.

Bearing in mind that biogas/biomethane broking is excluded from certification and natural gas grid is treated as a way of transport, it is mandatory to ensure a consistency between amounts of fed in and taken out, irrespective of entities pointed out on invoices. Gas losses must be included in the scope of the GHG emissions savings calculation A standard industry factor can be applied for this purpose. For more information, please see System KZR INiG/8 point 4.2.4.8. Emissions from transport and distribution, e_td.

The full supply chain to the point of consumption shall be certified, otherwise the certification ends with the moment of injection of biomethane into natural gas grid. Sustainability characteristic can be transmitted from biomethane production plant to the recipient if the recipient is certified to an EC-recognised voluntary scheme the grid level mass balance is managed with the support of the Union Database ‘once up and running for biomethane’

Natural gas grid

Natural gas grid is treated as biogas/biomethane transport and does not go under certification. However, natural gas grid is registered in UDB and perform activity as it is required. Biogas/biomethane supplier must be able to feed biogas/biomethane into the natural gas grid and biogas/biomethane recipient must be able to receive gas. Supervising over quantity of biogas/biomethane feed is necessary. Information about amounts of biogas/biomethane fed in and taken out may come from the natural gas grid operator.