Biogas plant owners can now get a higher price for biogas or biomethane made from waste organics (biowaste) than for biogas or biomethane which uses food crops in their feedstock.
Argus, one of the world's top energy and commodity intelligence companies, has just released prices for biomethane guarantees of origin.
Biomethane can be used as a replacement for natural gas in industry, transportation, and heating. It can also be used as a supplement to natural gas when injected into the natural gas grid.
A Higher Price for Biogas from Waste is Justified
This will aid the development of waste organic material fed anaerobic digestion plants due to the higher cost of processing waste materials which often need:
- pasteurization before the digestate output can be used as a fertilizer,
- or else they may face paying for disposal of their digestate which becomes a financial liability rather than an income source.
Waste fed biogas plants in the UK also normally require an Environment Agency permit to operate, whereas purely agricultural anaerobic digestion facilities which tend to also use food crops do not. Operating a permitted site incurs additional licensing and inspection costs not borne by agricultural AD plant operations.
Read on for the Press Release below which explains more about how to get a higher price for biogas from waste:
Argus launches biomethane guarantee of origin price assessments
NEWS PROVIDED BY Argus Media Jan 14, 2022:
LONDON, Jan. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels are at the heart of many new products launched by leading global energy and commodity intelligence company Argus, the latest being prices for biomethane guarantees of origin. Biomethane can be used as an alternative or as a supplement to natural gas in industry, transport and heating.
The new Argus Renewable Gas Guarantee of Origin (RGGO) pricing applies to biomethane produced from two types of feedstock:
- energy crops like maize, wheat, or sugar beet, and
- waste like manure, slurry, and straw, as well as municipal or solid waste.
The figures are for biomethane produced in the United Kingdom and Denmark, two of the world's most developed markets.
Biomethane created from waste is often more expensive than biomethane produced from energy crops, which is considered to be less environmentally benign because it requires land use, which excludes other uses like reforestation.
Making biomethane from agricultural, municipal, or food waste, on the other hand, utilises materials that would otherwise be thrown into landfills or incinerated, resulting in larger greenhouse gas savings over time.
RGGOs are purchased and sold as a proxy for biomethane production and consumption.
The new Argus pricing will aid in the growth of biomethane as part of the energy transition by assisting market participants in better planning and resource allocation.
Adrian Binks, chairman and CEO of Argus Media, said: “The ability to realise the potential of emerging greener fuels like biomethane requires price clarity. Despite the fact that this sector is still in its infancy, biomethane has the potential to make a significant contribution to efforts to reduce emissions.”
The Argus RGGO prices will be published weekly in the Argus European Natural Gas, Argus Biofuels and Argus Net Zero Europe reports.
Argus already publishes a wide range of assessments for electricity guarantees of origin and for alternative fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), biodiesel and ethanol, many of which are used in physical and derivative contracts globally. Argus also publishes prices, news and analysis for the parallel European natural gas market.
About Argus Media
Argus is an independent media organisation with over 1,100 staff. It is headquartered in London and has 26 offices in the world's principal commodity trading and production centres. Argus produces price assessments and analysis of international energy and other commodity markets and offers bespoke consulting services and industry-leading conferences.
Companies in 140 countries around the world use Argus data to index physical trade and as benchmarks in financial derivative markets as well as for analysis and planning purposes.
Argus was founded in 1970 and is a privately held UK-registered company. It is owned by employee shareholders, global growth equity firm General Atlantic and Hg, the specialist software and technology services investor.
Higher Price for Biogas: SOURCE Argus Media
