The biomethane prospect for Ukraine’s energy independence

In April, for the first time in Ukraine, a biomethane production plant was connected to the regional network🔋

Back in July last year, the Government approved a draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On the Procedure for the Operation of the Biomethane Register”. Thanks to this decision, producers can obtain guarantees of origin for biomethane fed into the gas transmission system. Now these plans have finally started to be put into practice!

Biomethane is purified biogas obtained from the fermentation of agricultural production waste. To achieve an optimal result, producers combine raw materials of various origins: sugar beet pulp, poultry manure, silage, corn processing waste and other components. This is because different raw materials have different energy content.

In terms of its characteristics, biomethane is equivalent to fossil methane and can be consumed immediately by households and industry. In addition, biomethane production has great export potential and prospects for multiple growth.

According to LLC “Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine”, Ukraine can produce 8 billion cubic metres of biomethane per year. For comparison: Europe produces 3.5 billion cubic metres of biomethane over the same period.

Overall, bioenergy has many advantages for farmers:

🔻the opportunity for additional income from selling electricity or biomethane;

🔻savings on mineral fertilisers;

🔻disposal of waste from livestock farming, poultry farming and other agricultural sectors.

Kyiv Oblast also has raw material and resource potential for biomethane production. Biogas plants have already been launched in the region, which currently convert the gas produced into electricity and heat. This energy is either used for the plants’ own production needs or sold at the “green tariff”. However, subject to additional investment and economic feasibility, at the owners’ discretion, such plants could be re-equipped to produce biomethane. What is holding this back? Unresolved connection issues, customs discrepancies, and simply limited investment during martial law.

As we can see, the development of biomethane plants is a very promising direction for attracting investment and development! And most importantly, it is necessary for building a distributed energy generation network and ensuring Ukraine’s energy independence. What obstacles stand in the way of mass construction? Low awareness among all stakeholders in the oblast about the potential and opportunities, a small number of developed projects, and, for now, the unavailability of specialised investment in the sector. But everything is changing rapidly!

The Kyiv Regional Development Agency provides the necessary consultations and helps with the development of project documentation for building production facilities, so you just need to contact us using the details below:

📩Email [email protected]

📞Phone +38 (050) 925-47-49

📲Applications can also be submitted on our website https://arrko.com.ua and via the “Agency Opportunities Window” at the Dokument-servis Hotovo and administrative service centres (CNAP) of Kyiv Oblast.

We work together for the development of Ukraine’s energy system!