On September 27, 2023, the USAID Energy Security Project (USAID ESP) Gas Sector Lead Justin Goonesinghe and Gas Sector Lawyer Dmytro Pryschepa took part in Energy Community Business Forum on Renewable Gases, sharing their key takeaways from the ESP project to developing the related legislative framework for biomethane. USAID’s Energy Security Project aims to create a favorable environment for the development of the biomethane market in Ukraine, to export Ukrainian biomethane to the European Union. The USAID ESP gas team helps to develop biomethane legislation through:
- Benchmarking with biomethane incentives and legislation in 5 jurisdictions: France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, and the United Kingdom.
- Developing scenarios for Ukrainian biomethane market based on outcomes of benchmarking and depending on the availability of funding in Ukraine.
- Drafting legislation following consultations with the key stakeholders on possible scenarios for development of biomethane market.
The USAID ESP gas team identified the most common incentives used for the development of biomethane in benchmarked jurisdictions and the ways they are addressed in Ukraine. ESP also interviewed European traders about their requirements for trading Ukrainian biomethane. The findings show that Ukraine must make its biomethane fully compatible as a commodity with biomethane traded in the EU. To do so, the country must provide proof of sustainability and guarantees of origin, and participate in European voluntary schemes and bilateral agreements to make biomethane export possible
Biomethane is the cheapest among renewable gases and is ready for injection into the gas network without additional investment in the modernization of gas networks or the gas equipment. As a country with the largest area of agricultural land in Europe, Ukraine gas good potential to compete with other countries in the production of biomethane. In addition, there is synergy with the agricultural sector: in addition to biomethane, biomethane plants generate an organic fertilizer digestate, used for agricultural production. Moreover, REPowerEU set ambitious plans to produce 35 bcm/year of biomethane by 2030. Ukraine’s share can potentially be up to 20%.
USAID ESP experts underlined their aim to closely cooperate with key policymakers and agricultural and gas market players to ensure a common understanding of the biomethane value chain. Agricultural Ukraine, with its well-developed gas pipeline system, has good potential to develop the biomethane market and contribute to the decarbonization of the gas system and integration with the European Union’s pathway to gas sector decarbonization.