Like most of the renewable energy sources, which are for the moment more expensive than fossil sources, the short and medium term future of biogas will depend on the political will to encourage its development by means of direct or indirect aid (electricity buy-back at preferential tariffs, grants and fiscal aid for new installations, etc.). With this in mind, the French government adopted a new preferential tariff in July 2006, for the purchase of electricity generated from biogas at a level 50 % higher than the basic rate (7.5 to 14 euro cents /kWh).
However, Europe has fallen behind its forecast established in 1997: only just over half of the 15 Mtoe (million tonnes oil equivalent) of biogas planned for 2010 will be produced by that date.
Moreover, biogas is in competition with waste incineration programmes. A choice will have to be made: which of the two options is the better from an economic point of view? Which has the better energy yield? Which is better in terms of respect for the environment? The reply can be different in different places: the economics of a biogas production plant depend heavily on the availability of large quantities of fermentable waste, close at hand, to reduce transport costs as far as possible. In the very long term, beyond 2050, biogas
will undoubtedly have
its place amongst the energy sources that will allow us to free ourselves from fossil sources that are on the way to being exhausted. |