Finding efficient and sustainable energy sources is one of the keys to the cities of the future. For this reason, renewable gases are an increasingly explored alternative in the search for cleaner energy in line with the needs of today’s society. One of them is biomethane, a gas produced from the treatment of biological waste or wastewater sludge, and which presents one of the greatest opportunities to create energy in a circular way. Not in vain, the European Commission has established a target of 47 TWh/year of biomethane for Spain in 2030, which consolidates its role in the energy sector for the coming decades.
Naturgy has set out to be the leading company in promoting this route in Spain, and to achieve this it is committed to innovating and investing in sources such as biomethane, both in its production and distribution, and hydrogen as an energy vector. Alternatives that contribute to the decarbonization of cities and, at the same time, can mean considerable savings for Spanish homes and companies.
From waste to resource
A clean and carbon-neutral source of energy, biomethane is one of the renewable gases that Naturgy is committed to, incorporating it into its gas distribution network in its plants such as Butarque, in Madrid. Having qualities very similar to those of natural gas, biomethane does not require any type of infrastructure adaptation, such as transportation or distribution, and the common condensing boilers in homes are compatible with its use. For all these reasons, it becomes one of the strongest alternatives for use in the home and workplace.
In addition to these advantages, biomethane is also closely linked to the development of the rural world. Livestock and agricultural waste is one of the main raw materials for its generation, which allows for more efficient management of this waste, while offering a new source of income in the rural world and combating depopulation.
The use of this renewable gas can also lead to great economic development, while also providing considerable savings to families and companies. The production potential of this energy source in Spain is, according to a study by Sedigas, PwC and Biovic, 160 TWh/year, equivalent to 40% of the country’s gas demand. In the same way, its use can save the emission of 8.3 million tons of methane into the atmosphere, which would be released by the decomposition of the waste used to generate it. Furthermore, developing the biomethane potential in Spain could mean savings estimated at around 4,000 million euros per year for consumers, due to the reduction of purchases from third countries.
An energy that also proposes a path of economic development, which is why the recent draft of the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) has doubled the production target of renewable gases to 20 TWh/year in 2030, which demonstrates its important role in the energy transition and job creation.
Biomethane, key to decarbonizing domestic use
Naturgy manages dozens of different biomethane projects throughout the country and has two of the six plants that are currently injecting biomethane into said network. The company seeks to lead the implementation of this energy source to decarbonize consumption without consumers having to undertake costly transformations. For its part, Nedgia, its gas distributor, has a distribution network of more than 57,000 kilometers present in 1,150 municipalities. The company has identified more than 290 projects that could materialize quickly and begin to inject more than 10.7 TWh of this renewable gas into the network.
For its implementation in homes, Naturgy, through Nedgia, has launched a project aimed at new residential developments in which natural gas is replaced by biomethane. This initiative has agreements with the real estate agencies AEDAS Homes, Habitat and Hercesa hi! Real Estate, which will allow biomethane to be brought to the final consumer in more than a thousand homes.
