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Joint Open Letter to Energy Ministers on “Save Gas for a Safe Winter”

2022-07-25T12:32:42+00:00

Industry and district heating operators call for prioritisation of efficient heat and power

Brussels, 25 July 2022

The supply of affordable, efficient and secure heat and power is essential for key European industry and citizens. Ahead of the Extraordinary Energy Council on “Save Gas for a Safe Winter” scheduled for 26 July, our organisations call on Member States to prioritise the efficient production of energy through cogeneration. This will not only help reduce overall gas use, but also minimise energy waste and limit disruption to critical industries and energy services.

In the “Save Gas for a Safe Winter” package published on 20 July, the European Commission has outlined urgent and necessary actions to reduce gas demand, along proposals to diversify energy supply and promote fuel switch. To achieve these objectives cost-effectively and reduce the risk for end-use curtailment, Member States must also foster the efficient production of heat and power.

Cogeneration is a recognised energy efficiency principle, already saving more than 33 bcm of primary energy across a range of energy sources, of which at least 15 bcm are directly linked to natural gas savings (equivalent to 10-20% of REPowerEU objective). Moreover, cogeneration is essential for the security of energy supply, accounting for 12% of power generation and covering 16% of heat demand in district heating, key industries, SMEs and homes across the EU.

For these reasons, cogeneration is uniquely placed to save energy, preserve security of supply, safeguard industrial competitiveness and ensure energy system resiliency. Without cogeneration, keeping homes warm and maintaining critical operation of industry next winter will be significantly more energy intensive, more polluting and costlier.

To implement energy efficiency first and secure energy supply for European homes and businesses as part of “Save Gas for a Safe Winter”, Member States must consider the following principles:

Prioritise the operation of high efficiency cogeneration over less efficient gas-based power-only plants and gas boilers, as part of an increasingly diversified fuel mix [1]
Gas-based cogeneration should be among the last curtailed gas assets for both industrial consumers and district heating
Gas saving schemes must recognize cogeneration savings over less efficient gas-based electricity displaced nearby, rather than simply count site-level demand reductions
Non-discriminatory implementation of emergency interventions in both electricity and gas markets to support overall system efficiency, ensuring a level-playing field between gas-based power-only generation and on-site cogeneration.

Our associations, representing major European industries and local energy companies, ask for urgent measures to safeguard the operation of cogeneration installations, as an energy efficiency solution, complementing absolute demand reduction, diversification of energy supply and the switch to cleaner fuels. In these critical circumstances, Europe must learn to do more with less!

[1] High efficiency cogeneration is the simultaneous production of heat and power, saving at least 10% of primary energy compared to the separate production. Cogeneration systems maximise the efficient use of all thermal energy sources, including all gases, biomass, municipal residual waste, geothermal, solar thermal, nuclear and others.

Read the full Joint Letter here .

Sustainable agriculture using heat and power from renewable biogas

2023-12-01T10:00:09+00:00

A farm in the Czech Republic is showing how valuable food crops can be grown using heat and electricity that are generated using biogas which is produced from agricultural waste.

PHOTO: The farm, biogas plant and greenhouse at Suchohrdly, which is 40km south-west of Brno in the Czech Republic (Photo: TEDOM)

The farm at Suchohrdly (approximately 40km south west of Brno) meets its own energy needs by producing biogas from a liquid slurry containing pig manure, combined with waste from a sugar mill and other plants (biomass) grown on the farm. One tonne of this slurry is enough to produce 30 m³ of biogas. The waste (digestate) from the biogas plant can also be used as a natural fertilizer to grow crops, thereby avoiding the need to purchase costly fertilizers from external suppliers.

The biogas produced on the farm is used to fuel an array of 5 Cento CHP units, manufactured by TEDOM, with a combined electrical output of 1.2 MW. In order to ensure continuous operation, there are 2 additional Cento CHP units which are optimised to run on natural gas with a combined electrical output of 600 kW. The heat and electricity from these CHP units is used on the farm, to supply the biogas plant and also a large greenhouse (owned by Bylinky s.r.o.) where fresh herbs are being grown across an area of over 10,000 m².

"Thanks to a well-thought-out approach to electricity and heat supply, the agricultural operation in Suchohrdly has become almost self-sufficient," explains Leoš Vejtasa from TEDOM. "For the past 17 years, we at TEDOM have been following with interest how cogeneration technology contributes to the development of sustainable food production. This approach can be an inspiration for similar facilities in Europe and around the world!"

For more information about this project, see the video on YouTube (in English): TEDOM CHP Units in the Biogas Plant in Suchohrdly. You can also download the case study fact sheet (2 pages) from the TEDOM website.

For more information about TEDOM Cento CHP units - see the TEDOM website.

Published on 1 December 2023

Producing liquid biomethane from agricultural waste

2023-10-25T10:00:09+00:00

The Italian province of Vicenza has become an important centre for liquid biomethane production with two state-of-the-art plants that use electricity and heat provided by cogeneration units supplied by AB Energy (Gruppo AB). The ECOMAX® cogeneration modules can run on biogas, thereby avoiding the need to use fossil fuels or electricity imported from the grid.

PHOTO: The Motta Energia biomethane production facility is approximately 20km north east of Vicenza, which is 70km west of Venezia (Venice) (Photo: Iniziative Biometano)

The two biomethane production plants are both owned and operated by the same company (Iniziative Biometano). They use agricultural waste including bovine/poultry manure and sewage, obtained from 120 farms in the surrounding area, to produce a total of 7,000 tons of liquid biomethane (or Bio-LNG) per year (i.e. around 10 tons per plant per day). This Bio-LNG is used to fuel more than 200 heavy trucks for a total distance of 100,000 kilometers per year.

By applying the 'circular economy' approach in the agricultural context, the project makes it possible to fully utilize all the waste collected from local farms. As well as producing green fuel to power hundreds of heavy trucks (thereby reducing the consumption of fossil fuels in the transport sector), the process also generates excellent fertilizer that can be used on fields to replace chemical fertilizers, and also contributes to the capture and storage of carbon in the soil.

For this project, AB Energy (Gruppo AB) has supplied the technologies to cover the entire transformation chain from biogas into liquid biomethane. Two BIOCH4NGE® membrane purification systems are used to upgrade biogas into biomethane, which is then transformed from gas into liquid by two CH4LNG® liquefactors. Meanwhile, two ECOMAX® cogeneration units, which can be fed with either biogas or natural gas, produce enough heat and electricity to support all the processes whilst ensuring optimal performance in terms of both cost-effectiveness and sustainability.

"Cogeneration fits perfectly into the process, especially because of the thermal power requirements of the anaerobic digestion,” explains Enrico Calzavacca, Chief Technology Innovation Officer of AB Energy. “Moreover, the possibility to run the cogeneration units with biogas reduces the use of fossil fuels, thereby decreasing the carbon intensity of the whole process.”

“Without cogeneration the site would be lacking thermal power for the digestion process, and the energy needs of the plant would have to be covered by electricity bought from the grid. So this project is really an excellent example that shows how effective and efficient cogeneration can be across a wide spectrum of applications."

For more information about this project, see the video on the NetZeroTube website (in Italian with English or German subtitles): The virtuous cycle of Motta Energia and EBS for the production of 7,000 tons of liquefied biomethane per year

For more information about ECOMAX® cogeneration plants - see the Gruppo AB website.

Published on 25 October 2023