Georgii Geletukha: One of the options for achieving independence from russian natural gas is Ukrainian biomethane
On February 21, UABIO Head of the Board Georgii Geletukha took part in the International Forum “Agrogreendeal 2022: Eco-Transformation of the Agriculture and Community Responsibility”. He made a presentation and prepared suggestions for a forum resolution.
Importantly, what the expert focused on:
- Biomethane is absolutely ready for injection into the gas network today. No investment is required in the modernization of gas networks (GTS and GDS) and gas equipment (gas burners, engines, turbines,…).
- In the field of biomethane production, Ukraine can really compete with any country: it can offer the cheapest raw materials for biomethane production; has the largest area of agricultural land in Europe, and, accordingly, has one of the world’s best potential of agricultural raw materials for biomethane production. Biomethane plants, in addition to biomethane, generate digestate, which can become the main organic fertilizer needed for the revival of Ukrainian soils.
- Today it is the cheapest of the possible renewable gases. The cost of green hydrogen is about 6-7 $ / kg, and if you translate it into comparable units, it is more expensive than biomethane at a price of $ 700/1000 m3 THREE times. They are equal in price when the cost of green hydrogen will be $ 2 / kg. This, according to forecasts, can be achieved by 2050.
The President of MHP Eco-Energy, Deputy Head of the Board of MHP, Chairman of the Board of the Global 100% RE Ukraine platform, and Member of the Board of the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine Oleksandr Dombrovskyi during his speech spoke about the possibilities of implementing the principles of Green Deal in the agro-industrial complex, namely thanks to what principles, projects and strategies Ukraine can achieve a balance of economy-ecology-energy.
In the current context of geopolitical challenges and the rapid rise in energy prices, environmental issues should not be relegated to the background, especially in the agricultural sector. The global negative impact on the environment in 2021 is shocking. More than 5 million hectares of forests have been lost, about 7 million hectares of land have been eroded, 9 million tons of harmful substances have caused irreparable damage to the environment in the last year alone, and CO2 emissions amounted to 33 billion tons. The balance between Ecology, Economy, and Energy is extremely important in the agricultural sector, as 25% of the Earth’s surface is degraded soil. Every year the world loses 24 billion tons of fertile soil, and Ukraine – 500 million tons. And if this trend continues, by 2050 95% of the Earth’s surface will become marginal, and about 1 billion people risk becoming climate refugees”, – said Alexander Dombrovsky.
UABIO proposals to the resolution
- Ukraine is projected to grow biomethane production rapidly from 2022, in particular for exports to EU countries. Ukraine can potentially produce up to 10 billion m3 of biomethane/year from agricultural waste and residues: manure, poultry litter, cereal straw, corn stalks, sunflower stalks, sugar beet pulp, molasses, corn silage, solid waste, and others. However, despite the adoption of the law on biomethane, the implementation of biomethane projects in Ukraine using GTS and GDN is currently blocked due to the requirement to provide an oxygen level of 0.02% in biomethane, which in practice is impossible.
- Changes in the Technical Regulation on Natural Gas are needed to allow the oxygen content in biomethane at the level of 0.2 – 1%. We believe that this norm should come into force from the moment of publication of the approved Technical Regulation and not later than May 2022.
- The launch of biomethane projects in Ukraine also requires the creation of a biomethane register and the launch of a biomethane origin guarantee system. Relevant regulations are currently being developed and prepared at the governmental level, but the timing of their adoption is unknown.
We thank the organizers for holding the international forum and for the initiative to create such a platform! It will be recalled that the organizers of the event were the Professional Association of Ecologists of Ukraine, the National Center for Sustainable Development together with the All-Ukrainian association of local self-governments association and MHP.
