Brussels, 30/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament's agriculture committee is calling on the European Commission and member states to use the “enormous” potential of biogas from agricultural waste. To this end, specific legislation and adapted financial incentives will be required. The own initiative report of Csaba Sándor Tabajdi (PES, Hungary) on this theme was adopted on Tuesday 29 January (33 votes for, none against, with 1 abstention) by the agriculture committee. The European Parliament plenary vote will take place during the March session (10-13 March, Strasbourg)).
Although oil and gas prices have shot up and increasing numbers of experts harbour doubts about the benefits of biofuels from cereals and rival fuels from food crops, whose environmental advantages are not obvious to see, biogas could constitute a new source of green energy for the EU, if this still marginal and unprofitable sector is developed. It comes from decomposing agricultural waste (slurry and other animal waste, abattoir slops, plant biomass and other plants not used for food production) and can be used in electricity production, heating and air conditioning systems and a component in vehicle fuel.
EP agriculture committee members are recommending the adoption of a directive on biogas that includes: production objectives and recycling priorities from animal effluence; annual statistical reports on the evolution of this sector in the EU; measures for building and promoting installations; quality standards (or specific directive) on bio-waste.
The Tabajdi report calls on the Commission for a speedy presentation of a strategy to include biogas installations into the Kyoto mechanism by way of green certificates, special bonuses and tax credits for electricity and heating that comes from biogas. Parliamentarians also want Community legislation to promote natural gas network biogas supplies.
The committee considers that green gas production should be able to benefit from the same subsidies as green electricity. It emphasises that no progress can be made in the area of biogas without additional funding (research and development)
Environmental guarantees. According to the report, biogas can help to diversify EU energy production and reduce its dependency on imports. It can also help reduce green house gas emissions (methane, CO2, nitrogen oxide, while facilitating hygienic sludge treatment. However, use of animal manure is not risk-free, due to the methane content, heavy metals particles that can ham human health. MEPs are calling on member states and the European Commission to guarantee the absence of methane leaks and ensure that precautionary measures are taken to prevent any contamination from substances that could present health or environment risks. They are also calling on the Commission to plan, if necessary, the banning of growth activators containing heavy metals and to ensure that the related agro-foods directives (nitrates, purification sludge, water, birds and habitats) and legislation on heavy metals are correctly applied. Finally, members of the agriculture committee are calling on the Commission to present, before 15 December 2008, a comprehensive report on European biogas production and its future prospects.
Biogas production in EU. The European Union currently has almost 4,242 biogas units installed on farms and around 26 centralised biogas plants. Biogas production is most developed in Germany, Belgium, Austria and Denmark. Annual biogas production is still very low. Nonetheless, a Danish study presented to the agricultural committee in October 2007 explained that biogas production potential is 827 petajoules (PJ) in the EU just by using slurry, 14 times greater than current total production of 50 PJ (animal manure, energy crops and organic waste). (L.C)