Valencia 2008 16 th European Biomass Conference & Exhibition Proceedings THE BIOGAS MARKET IN SOUTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE: PROMOTING BIOGAS BY NON-TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES Dominik Rutz 1 , Rainer Janssen 1 , Christian Epp 1 , Peter Helm 1 , Matjaž Grmek 2 , Gerhard Agrinz 3 , Heinz Prassl 3 , Konstantinos Sioulas 4 , Ilze Dzene 5 , Ivan Ivanov 6 , Denitsa Dimitrova 6 , Krasin Georgiev 6 , Biljana Kulisic 7 , Tobias Finsterwalder 8 , Michael Köttner 9 , Silke Volk 9 , Nikola Vichev Kolev 10 , Svetla Marinova Garvanska 10 , Augustin Ofiteru 11 , Mihai Adamescu 11 , Florian Bodescu 11 , Teodorita Al Seadi 12 1 WIP Renewable Energies Sylvensteinstr. 2, 81369 Munich, Germany Tel. +49 89 720 12739, Fax +49 89 720 12791 E-Mail: dominik.rutz@wip-munich.de Internet: www.wip-munich.de, www.big-east.eu 2 Slovenian Energy Restructuring Agency (Slovenia), 3 Ing. Gerhard Agrinz GmbH (Austria), 4 Centre for Renewable Energy Sources (Greece), 5 Ekodoma (Latvia), 6 Energoproekt jsc (Bulgaria), 7 Hrvoje Pozar Energy Institute (Croatia), 8 Finsterwalder Umwelttechnik GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), 9 German Biogas and Bioenergy Society (Germany), 10 N. Poushkarov Institute (Bulgaria), 11 SC Mangus Sol SRL (Romania), 12 University of Southern Denmark (Denmark) ABSTRACT: Currently, the biogas sector in Western Europe is faced by rapid technical and non-technical developments and innovations, and biogas markets are growing at a considerable pace. In contrast, the biogas market in Southern and Eastern Europe is rather small, although the potential is promising especially if organic wastes are used for anaerobic digestion. In order to support the biogas market in Southern and Eastern Europe the BiG>East project (Contract No. EIE/07/214) is supported by the European Commission under the Intelligent Energy for Europe Programme. The paper gives an overview about the current biogas market and the biogas potential in Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, Romania, Slovenia and Greece. Furthermore, it describes the main barriers of biogas production and proposes different measures to overcome these barriers in the target countries. Finally, the paper discusses the most promising strategies to support the biogas market in Southern and Eastern Europe. Keywords: biogas, anaerobic digestion, barriers to bioenergy, socio-economic aspects 1 INTRODUCTION Europe’s current situation with exploding fossil energy prices and rising dependency on energy imports makes it highly necessary to produce and valorise biogas in terms of heat, electricity and fuel. In 2006, about 5.35 Mtoe of biogas were produced for energy uses in the European Union [1]. Nevertheless, the potential is estimated at much more than 20 Mtoe. Currently, the biogas sector in Western Europe is faced by rapid technical and non-technical developments and innovations, and biogas markets are growing at a considerable pace. In Germany, more than 3 700 biogas plants are installed (2007). The biogas is mainly used in combined heat and power (CHP) installations in Germany, but new applications such as biogas up-grading to vehicle fuel (in Jameln) and for feeding into the grid (e.g. in Pliening, Kerpen and Straelen) have come into operation. Also Austria and Denmark have considerable biogas markets including more than 500 biogas plants [2]. In contrast, the biogas market in Southern and Eastern Europe is rather small, although the potential is promising especially if organic wastes are used for biogas production. According to the recent EU’s Directive 2006/12/EC on waste, Member States shall take appropriate measures to encourage the use of waste as a source of energy [3]. In order to support the biogas market in Southern and Eastern Europe the BiG>East project “Promoting Biogas in Eastern Europe – Mobilization of Decision Makers and Training for Farmers” (Contract No. EIE/07/214) is supported by the European Commission under the Intelligent Energy for Europe Programme.