Biogas producers await laws needed for investment

Austria’s biogas producers say they need legal certainty to invest in upgrades required to feed gas into the national network. ORF reports that the rules are still missing, putting 15 producers in Styria under pressure as the country aims to meet about 10 percent of its gas demand with biogas by 2030.

A transition period ends at the end of this year, and from 2027 biogas producers will be required to feed gas into the network. The change would require significant investment. Without a new law, existing plants could lose the right to produce electricity and heat, the report says.

Hannes Hauptmann, spokesman for biogas plant operators and a producer since 2005, called the deadline critical. His plant in Bad Blumau turns manure and plant residues into biogas, which is used to produce electricity and heat for 1,300 households a year.

The 2021 Renewable Expansion Act sets a target of 6.5 terawatt-hours of biogas, but the legal framework for the required changes has not been established. Hauptmann says the target is insufficient and is calling for three terawatts by 2030, which he says is needed for plants to operate economically.

A study commissioned by the Economy Ministry backs a large-scale expansion, Hauptmann said. It projects 3,200 full-time-equivalent jobs a year and 99 percent domestic value creation.

The new law would need to pass by the final National Council session before Christmas to allow producers to begin investing, the report says.