More Biomethane into the Grid: Bavaria Launches Injection Initiative

Under the motto “Green Gases into the Grid,” the “Biogas Injection Initiative Bavaria” has been formed under the leadership of the Bavarian State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy. The aim of the participating partners is to promote a sustainable, future-oriented energy supply by making meaningful use of all available technologies.

The paper “Biogas Injection Initiative Bavaria” was signed at the end of June at the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs. The four signatories – the German Biogas Association (Fachverband Biogas e.V.), Schwaben Netz GmbH, Energienetze Bayern, and the Bavarian Association for Energy and Water Management (VBEW) – affirm their commitment to the energy transition and to promoting a sustainable and future-oriented energy system. Through more than eight specific measures, the use of biomethane in Bavaria is to be incentivized. The partners see significant potential in clustering neighboring biogas plants to lower individual costs, increase the injected volumes, and accelerate grid connection.

They also stress the urgent need for a successor regulation to the current Gas Network Access Ordinance. A grid connection should be implemented within 18 months – which requires the reduction of bureaucratic hurdles and improved collaboration with state and federal authorities. Another key lever identified by the signatories is more transparent communication among all stakeholders. In addition, research and development should be promoted, and new innovative solutions should be adopted.

New partnerships and networks are also to be established with relevant players from the energy sector, agriculture, municipalities, and research institutions. The focus, however, must remain on economically and ecologically sound biogas production. Last but not least, a reliable economic and regulatory framework is needed to provide stakeholders with planning certainty.

“The lack of a follow-up regulation for gas grid access deprives the market of any investment certainty,” says Dr. Stefan Rauh, Managing Director of the German Biogas Association. He calls for swift federal action and the continuation of existing regulations until new ones are adopted. “Only then can potential injectors proceed with confidence. Today’s initiative sends a strong signal to Berlin.”

“Bavaria has always supported the development of sustainable biogas and biomethane production – most recently with the position paper ‘Securing Biogas Production in Bavaria’, which we signed together with the Ministry in August last year,” Rauh emphasizes. It is now essential to offer existing plants a clear perspective – a key pillar of this is the injection of biomethane into the gas grid. Bavaria currently consumes around 80 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity annually, 70 TWh of which are produced within the state. More than half of this comes from renewable sources, 13% from biomass plants. Bavaria is home to a total of 2,800 biogas plants with an installed capacity of 1.5 gigawatts (GW), including 27 biomethane injection plants.