Abstract
The circular economy is calling for the rapid use of already-developed renewable energies. However, the successful implementation of those new fuels is limited by economic and political issues. For instance, in the Brandenburg region, Germany, biogas production from anaerobic digestion of biomass and wastes is a current alternative. However, the upgrading biogas to biomethane is still challenging and the economic viability is unknown. Therefore, we performed an economic analysis for biogas upgrading to biomethane in the Brandenburg region. Five biogas plant sizes were analyzed by the method of discounted cash flow. This method yields the net present value of the projects, thus revealing the profitability or non-profitability of the plants. Results indicate profitable outputs for medium and large plants, with net present values between 415 and 7009 k€. However, the smallest plants have net present values from -4250 to -3389 k€, thus needing further economic efforts or subsidies to reach profitability. Indeed, biomethane prices should range between 52.1 and 95.6 €/MWh to make these projects profitable. Combinations of 50% of investment subsidized and 11.5 €/MWh feed-in tariffs subsidies could make the projects reach profitability. These findings reveal that political actions such as green policies and subsidies are needed to implement green energy. This case study should serve as a potential tool for policy-makers toward a sustainable bioeconomy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anagnostaki A (2018) Biogas plant installation in the region of Brandenburg, Germany: environmental impacts-safety aspects and risk application. Expert Opin Environ Biol 2:1–15. https://doi.org/10.4172/2325-9655-c7-038
Baena-Moreno FM, Rodríguez-Galán M, Vega F et al (2019) Biogas upgrading by cryogenic techniques. Environ Chem Lett 17:1251–1261. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-019-00872-2
Baena-Moreno FM, Malico I, Rodríguez-Galán M et al (2020a) The importance of governmental incentives for small biomethane plants in South Spain. Energy 206:118158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2020.118158
Baena-Moreno FM, le Saché E, Pastor-Pérez L, Reina TR (2020b) Membrane-based technologies for biogas upgrading: a review. Environ Chem Lett 18:1649–1658. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-020-01036-3
Baena-Moreno FM, Pastor-Pérez L, Zhang Z, Reina TR (2020c) Stepping towards a low-carbon economy. Formic acid from biogas as case of study. Appl Energy 268:115033. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115033
Cucchiella F, D’Adamo I (2016) Technical and economic analysis of biomethane: A focus on the role of subsidies. Energy Convers Manag 119:338–351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2016.04.058
D’Adamo I, Falcone PM, Ferella F (2019) A socio-economic analysis of biomethane in the transport sector: The case of Italy. Waste Manag 95:102–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2019.06.005
del Pablo-Romero MP, Sánchez-BrazaSalvador-PonceSánchez-Labrador AJN (2017) An overview of feed-in tariffs, premiums and tenders to promote electricity from biogas in the EU-28. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 73:1366–1379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.01.132
Dinesh A, Olivera S, Venkatesh K et al (2018) Iron-based flow batteries to store renewable energies. Environ Chem Lett 16:683–694. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-018-0709-8
DW (2019) Germany’s labor costs. https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-labor-costs-above-eu-average/a-48526071. Accessed 05 Nov 2020
Fawzy S, Osman AI, Doran J, Rooney DW (2020) Strategies for mitigation ofclimate change: a review. Environ Chem Lett 18:2069–2094. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-020-01059-w
Ferella F, Cucchiella F, D’Adamo I, Gallucci K (2019) A techno-economic assessment of biogas upgrading in a developed market. J Clean Prod 210:945–957. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.11.073
González R, González J, Rosas JG et al (2020) Biochar and energy production: Valorizing swine manure through coupling co-digestion and pyrolysis. C—J Carbon Res 6:43. https://doi.org/10.3390/c6020043
González-Arias J, Fernández C, Rosas JG et al (2020) Integrating anaerobic digestion of pig slurry and thermal valorisation of biomass. Waste Biomass Valorizat 11:6125–6137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-019-00873-w
Hosseini SE, Wahid MA (2014) Development of biogas combustion in combined heat and power generation. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 40:868–875. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.07.204
Liu D, Li B, Wu J, Liu Y (2020) Sorbents for hydrogen sulfide capture from biogas at low temperature: a review. Environ Chem Lett 18(1):113–128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-019-00925-6
Marc A, Carole M (2019) Biogas and biomethane in Europe: Lessons from Denmark. Germany and Italy, Paris
Nakasaki K, Nguyen KK, Ballesteros FC et al (2020) Characterizing the microbial community involved in anaerobic digestion of lipid-rich wastewater to produce methane gas. Anaerobe 61:102082. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anaerobe.2019.102082
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (2019) Annual Report of the Federal Government on the Status of German Unity
PORDATA (2019) Electricity prices for households and industrial users (Euro/ECU). In: Fund. Fr. Man. dos Santos. https://www.pordata.pt/en/Europe/Electricity+prices+for+households+and+industrial+users+(Euro+ECU)-1477. Accessed 05 Nov 2020
Seider, Seader, Lewin, Widagdo (2009) Product and process Design Principles
Sharma H, Dhir A (2020) Capture of carbon dioxide using solidcarbonaceous and non-carbonaceous adsorbents: a review. Environ Chem Lett. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-020-01118-2
Statista (2020) Natural gas price Germany. https://www.statista.com/statistics/595604/natural-gas-price-germany/. Accessed 05 Nov 2020
Tjaden B, Gandiglio M, Lanzini A et al (2014) Small-scale biogas-SOFC plant: Technical analysis and assessment of different fuel reforming options. Energy Fuels 28(6):4216–4232. https://doi.org/10.1021/ef500212j
Europe Union (2019) Orientations towards the first Strategic Plan for Horizon Europe
Zhang N, Pan Z, Zhang Z et al (2020) CO2 capture from coalbed methane using membranes: a review. Environ Chem Lett 18:79–96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-019-00919-4
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Junta de Castilla y León (Consejería de Educación) Fellowship, Orden EDU/1100/2017, cofinanced by the European Social Fund. This work was also supported by University of Seville through V PPIT-US.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
González-Arias, J., Baena-Moreno, F.M., Gonzalez-Castaño, M. et al. Unprofitability of small biogas plants without subsidies in the Brandenburg region. Environ Chem Lett 19, 1823–1829 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-020-01175-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-020-01175-7