Georgii Geletukha: In the near future, Ukraine will not only produce and use biomethane but also export it
New interview of the Head of the Board of the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine Georgii Geletukha for the online journal “Energobusiness”! In the context of the approved amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Alternative Fuels” №5464 on the development of biomethane production” we recommend reading the full publication on the website (on Russian).
Interesting thoughts from Georgii Geletukha
Any energy product and everything related to it (extraction, production, processing, transportation, delivery, sale) is a business.
Achieving the declared carbon neutrality by 2050, thanks only to alternative energy sources and “green” hydrogen in Europe and without the application of “coercion” to non-EU countries, is unlikely.
Biomethane production is in line with the idea of a circular economy. It converts the flows of agricultural by-products or household waste into energy while ensuring the circulation of nutrients for agricultural land.
In the near future, Ukraine will not only produce and use biomethane, but also export it. And it is possible that even before we start using this energy product.
Renewable gases include combustible gases derived from renewable energy sources. Three of them are basic:
- “green” hydrogen obtained from renewable energy through electrolysis of water;
- biomethane obtained from biomass by anaerobic fermentation;
- synthesis gas obtained from biomass by thermochemical gasification.
Until the adoption of law №5464 as a whole and the creation of an appropriate legal framework on an industrial scale, no one will produce biomethane. Because without the appropriate certification of biomethane and the creation of the Register of Biomethane, neither the GTS Operator nor the GDS operators will provide its transportation to consumers.
The draft law №5464 does not provide any preferences for biomethane. The development of biomethane production will be facilitated by high natural gas prices (which we already see today) and a gradual increase in the CO2 tax (with the exemption of biomethane from this tax).
Without a guarantee (certificate) of origin, biomethane supplied to the gas transmission system will be almost impossible to distinguish from natural gas — the same methane, only of biological origin.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the world’s biomethane production potential is 730 billion m3 (about 20% of current total natural gas consumption).
According to our association, the potential for biomethane production in Ukraine is currently estimated at 7.8 billion m3 per year (25% of actual natural gas consumption in the country).
By 2050, the total biomethane production potential could increase to 17 billion m3 per year.
The typical cost of biogas projects is about 2.5-3 thousand euros per 1 kW of electric power. Similar investments are needed in the biomethane plant.
Currently, the cost of biomethane is the lowest of all possible renewable gases.
Thank you for a meaningful and rich dialogue to the journalist of the media Alla Eremenko.
