http://www.engerati.com/article/gas-energy-renaissance-europe-shouldn%E2%80%99t-ignore
[Reminds of 'city gas' from the 1800s. While Europe may be embracing
'green gas', in U.S. and Canada, we are not even looking at putting
renewably-sourced methane into the distribution system. Bio-methane
remains islanded and the main distribution network is all fossil.
Capturing natural gas which is now vented from fossil fuel production,
or from permafrost melt would also be beneficially captured and added to
the distribution system - displacing other extreme gas production, e.g.,
via fracking.
This energy is dispatchable for electricity generation purposes, heating
buildings, and can be used in heat engines for transportation use.]
Gas - An energy renaissance that Europe shouldn’t ignore
Green Gas has a key role to play in Europe’s decarbonisation and future
energy mix.
Gas hasn’t always been as widely available as electricity as an energy
source, but the potential of power to gas from renewables, the growing
use of biogas and the availability of natural gas are fast changing
this. Gas is predicted to play an increasingly important role in our
energy system of the future. [Gas Entering A Golden Age.
(http://www.engerati.com/article/gas-entering-golden-age)]
This is especially true for green gas.
A new report, “A sustainable Europe: Green Gas, Green Grids, Green
Future” [April 2016], launched on behalf of the European Networks
Association (ENA) and GEODE, an association made up of European
independent distribution companies of gas and electricity, highlights
the mammoth potential for “green gas” generated from renewable sources.
It highlights the fact that green gas should be considered as a ‘key
ingredient’ when looking for solutions to the challenges that
policymakers face including security of supply, sustainability and
consumer needs.
Green gas –powering a cleaner future
Gas is redefining itself as a renewable energy source-it is no longer
considered a predominantly fossil fuel based energy source.
Green gas, produced by sewage, manure, food waste, and fuel crops, as
well as by-products from chemical processes, is found to be cleaner than
fossil fuels. The carbon dioxide generated by burning green gas does not
elevate carbon emissions levels because, unlike fossil fuel energy, the
carbon source of green gas was previously in circulation above ground,
and is therefore already a part of the natural carbon cycle.
Green gas even has a number of advantages over other clean energy
sources such as solar and wind. For instance, green gas does not have an
intermittent nature unlike solar and wind-it can be produced without
interruption. It can also be easily stored. These benefits alone make it
a good choice for a strong renewable energy mix.
Interest in biomethane grows
The most promising type of green gas is biomethane—specifically the
methane produced from the anaerobic digestion of organic matter (animal
excrement). This can be used as vehicle fuel or injected into the gas
grid. In fact, 10 European countries are already using biomethane for
their energy needs. The good news about the production of biomethane is
that it is virtually free of harmful emissions and it has the potential
to generate a lot of electricity. For instance, excrement from five cows
or 30 pigs can heat an average home in Denmark for one year.
Biogas can also be produced from waste organic materials, including
biomass from, for instance, forestry waste. The report emphasises that
it is not advocating that land be set aside to grow crops for biofuels,
but that the focus should be on re-mobilising agricultural waste like
straw or husks.
The report notes, for instance, that one lorry full of
household-produced organic waste is enough to heat about 30 typical
homes in Denmark for a month.
A 2015 report by the International Gas Union concluded that 1TWh of
biogas can be produced for every million people. With 500 million people
in the EU, that gives a potential of 500TWh.
That means that biogas could theoretically account for over 10% of
non-fossil fuelled transport in Europe, according to IGU which concludes
that this could be achieved by 2020 with the right policies.
This has major implications for the rapidly expanding electric vehicle
market, where biomethane could eventually replace traditional petrol to
create zero-emission driving.
Sweden is already leading the way in the technology. The proportion of
biomethane in natural gas fuel sales for gas-run vehicles in the country
is now 73%.
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