Project data

Project name:	Next Generation [BIOGAS] - one step ahead
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Project management:
Employee:	Lynn Vincent, Joachim Fischer
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Third-party donors:	Agency for Renewable Resources E.V.

Summary of the project

The first biogas plants (BGA) will come to an end in 2020/21. the 20-year subsidy period of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG). From a technical point of view, there is nothing to prevent the continued operation of many existing systems. The service life of important components clearly exceeds the EEG service life if they are operated correctly. However, the end of the 1st EEG subsidisation period also offers the opportunity, Developing new concepts for BGA and rethinking them. The decisive factor is to Financing requirements of the plants in the long term and to justify this logically on the basis of the effects of bioenergy, insofar as financing is to come from public funds or subsidy sources. Such reasons may lie in the role of these plants for renewable energy production, for system usefulness (e.g. flexible operation), for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction, especially in relation to Germany's climate protection goals, for regional nutrient cycles or in their importance as an important pillar in the agricultural sector. To this end, it should Additional financing instruments over and above the EEG 2017for the compensation of environmental services in the agricultural sector, for example, and new, cause-based cost allocations.

The aim of the project is therefore to Innovative concepts, operational adjustments and diversification strategies for continued operation of existing BGA in Germany and to evaluate them (quantitatively). This takes into account, for example, regional technology variants, substrate alternatives or the fulfilment of quality requirements in terms of efficiency, environmental impact and costs. The aim is to assess the difference for electricity generation from BGA and compare it with the current conditions of the electricity market and the EEG. The applicability and practical feasibility will be discussed with representatives from the biogas sector and relevant stakeholders such as energy supply companies at regional workshops.

With the help of a region-specific approachThe heterogeneous, decentralised structure of the BGA is depicted in this study, in which three regions (Thuringia, Lower Saxony and Baden-Württemberg) in Germany are examined in detail, and the results are illustrated using representative examples of plants, and the transferability to Germany is examined.

To ensure and document continued operation "worthy of preservation" and standardised comparability, and thus as a justification for public support services Quality criteria developed. Building on this Alternative financing instruments and organisational solutions proposed and reviewed.

The results are presented and published in the form of recommendations for action for plant operators and supporting information for the discourse on options for shaping the framework conditions.