Ukraine, Europe Back Biomethane—Shouldn’t We?

BY JOHANNES ESCUDERO

Ukraine expects biomethane to play a key role in reducing its reliance on natural gas imports in coming years, amid a broader wave of support for new renewable gas facilities across Europe. With energy security front of mind amid widespread geopolitical tension, policymakers across the globe would be wise to follow Ukraine’s lead.

Members of Ukrainian parliament recently announced that European Investment Bank funds will support construction of five new biomethane plants in 2023 and the same number in 2024, with new draft laws supporting more biogas capture and biomethane use also under consideration, in a press release issued in March. “Hopefully, this is just the beginning,” said Oleksandr Haydu, chairman of Ukraine’s Committee on Agrarian and Land. “Accordingly, we are ready to support our farmers in these initiatives [and] are working on draft laws.”

Russia’s invasion into Ukraine in February 2022 spurred a tragic conflict that shows no sign of slowing more than one year later, despite more than 22,000 Ukrainian casualties to date, according to the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights. But while Ukraine’s soldiers continue to defend the sovereignty of its borders, its leaders must devise new ways to keep reliable, affordable and low-carbon energy flowing throughout the country. Besides the immense human toll, the war has pressured Ukraine’s energy security, with the country reliant on European gas imports for roughly 16 billion cubic meters of gas in 2020, according to data from Ukraine’s gas transmission pipeline operator.

Biomethane—a renewable natural gas that provides a reliable, low-emissions fuel derived from the captured emissions of biological waste—is one tool at Ukraine’s disposal to help end its reliance on foreign gas, Ukrainian lawmakers said in the March press release. “Since Ukraine has the largest area of agricultural land in Europe, the potential for biomethane production is great,” Ukraine’s Haydu said. “Production of biogas from agricultural products is a step toward energy independence of Ukraine.”

Europe on Board With Biomethane

Ukraine is not the only European stakeholder embracing biomethane—commonly referred to as renewable natural gas (RNG) in North America. This March, the European Union recognized biomethane among the “strategic net-zero technologies” at the core of its Net-Zero Industry Act, an ambitious policy proposal intended to ensure that at least 40% of the EU’s green energy manufacturing is located within the bloc’s borders by 2030. That NZIA package supports the European Union’s REPowerEU’s action plan signed in 2022, which aims for a 12-fold increase in biomethane deployment within the EU by 2030.

Here in the U.S., RNG is sometimes underappreciated as a solution for decarbonizing our society—perhaps because the very word “gas” is a nonstarter for a small but vocal contingent of advocacy groups. But how, then, should we view Ukraine and Brussels’ support for biomethane? Faced with the realities of war, geopolitical uncertainty and the urgency of the world’s climate crisis, leaders across the Atlantic are rightfully leaning on RNG to power their societies and reduce emissions for generations to come.

Still, more work is needed: the International Energy Agency recently estimated that 70 billion euros ($765.4 billion) of new investment is required to meet the EU’s long-term goal for 35 billion cubic meters per year of production by 2030, with new government incentives also needed to further close the cost competitiveness gap between lower-emissions biomethane and fossil gas alternatives.

U.S. and Canadian governments have historically supported RNG through public policies aimed at growing renewable and low-carbon clean fuels, decarbonizing our gas supply, and most recently, in the tax code through the Inflation Reduction Act. With nearly 300 RNG facilities online and 500 more in development stages, North America’s domestic deployment of biomethane is off to a strong start. Still, these numbers are just scratching the surface of the need and opportunity presented by societal waste—an unavoidable and constant burden to which all communities contribute.

RNG will not solve the climate crisis alone, but Europe’s support for its growth underscores that a diverse portfolio of low-carbon solutions will be required to both limit climate warming and protect sovereign, democratic nations—including Ukraine— against energy supply shortfalls.

In the words of Ukraine’s Haydu: Hopefully, this is just the beginning.

Author: Johannes Escudero Executive Director, RNG Coalition rngcoalition.com