Engie to Invest in Biogas
French utility Engie's CEO Isabelle Kocher said November 9 that the company will "mobilise" €800mn ($913mn) over the next five years to develop green gases. She did not detail how much Engie itself would invest. Biogas and other such 'green gases' receive generous state and EU funding which is expected to be increased.
The plan will support the objective of at least 10% green gas injected into the networks by 2030, as enshrined in France's Energy Transition Law for Green Growth, she added. Engie is looking to develop along the entire value chain of the biomethane industry from farmers to sales to end-users. The company and its partners aim to mobilise a total of €2bn to produce 5 TWh/yr (0.47bn m3/yr) biomethane by 2030.
Her announcement was made at during the inauguration of the Beauce Gatinais Biogas (BGB) biogas facility in central France (Centre-Val de Loire region) which will produce 23 GWh/yr (2.1mn m3/yr) of biomethane, the equivalent of the hot water and heating consumption of 1,750 households, processed from animal and farm waste locally; it will also produce 20,000 tons/yr of organic fertiliser. Construction began in May 2017 and it cost €10mn. (Kocher is shown right on the banner photo above at the Nov.9 inauguration, courtesy of Engie)
NGW reported earlier that a small French firm, Francaise de l'Energie, is expanding its offer of 'green electricity' - generated with subsidy from coalmine methane that might otherwise seep into the atmosphere.
But there have been setbacks too in France's moves towards green gas development. France's main gas network GRTgaz had earlier pledged to open a pilot 1-MW power-to-gas plant (a unit that makes hydrogen by using electrolysis - preferably with renewable power - to split water molecules) called 'Jupiter 1000' near Marseilles this year. Its opening though has yet to been confirmed, although GRTgaz said in August that French manufacturers McPhy, Lafont and Joubeaux had delivered electrolysers to the site and that testing would last several months. Norwegian electrolyser-maker Nel meanwhile said it discontinued its support for a rollout of small PTG plants in France agreed in June 2017 with local firm H2V Product (for more on hydrogen/PTG elsewhere in Europe and North America, see p19-23 of issue 20 of NGW Magazine published two weeks ago).
The Beauce Gatinais Biogas (BGB) biogas facility in central France inaugurated Nov.9 (Photo credit: Engie)