A number of environment and gas industry associations have launched a platform to promote the development of biogas in Italy, with production potentially rising to 8.5 billion cubic meters by 2030.
Associations Anigas, Assogasmetano, Confagricoltura, Fise-Assoambiente, Legambiente, NGV Italy and Utilitalia have launched a “National biogas technology platform” aimed at consolidating the development of biogas in the country, which is targeting to reach “at least 10% of total methane” intake in the national gas grid on an annual basis by 2030.
Biogas is obtained from renewable sources but has similar properties to natural gas, and therefore suitable for input into national gas grids, they said.
“Biogas can contribute to the path of decarbonisation of the energy sector in the country” the associations stressed, adding that this source could potentially be “competitive against (other) electricity renewable sources, which are mostly intermittent, such as wind and solar photovoltaic.”
Italy is currently the second biggest producer of biogas at EU level after Germany, with some 1,555 biogas plants operational in 2015, 77% of which linked to the agriculture sector.
At the end of 2014, some 17,240 biogas plants were in operation at EU level, accounting for 8.339 MW of installed capacity, the associations said.