On 21 February, the Renewable Gas Act (EGG) was passed by the Council of Ministers and is intended to take a pioneering step in Austria's efforts to achieve a more sustainable and independent energy supply. With the aim of producing at least 7.5 terawatt hours of domestic renewable gas per year by 2030, the law sets clear targets for a green future.
It requires gas suppliers to ensure that at least 9.75% of the gas supplied to customers comes from renewable sources from 2030, with a gradual increase in quotas from 2024. There is a particular focus on promoting domestic production, as imported gas may not be used to meet the quotas.
The law also includes penalties for those suppliers who do not meet the set quotas and at the same time implements support measures for the first plants to ensure a stable and fair transition. Suppliers that do not meet their green gas quota will have to pay a compensation amount of 15 cents per kWh from 2025. This amount can be increased to take account of market developments for renewable gases.
In the interest of legal certainty for the market ramp-up of biomethane in a process that has now been going on for a long time, we hope for a swift decision by the National Council. Austria needs the legal requirements for renewable gases quickly if we want to diversify the sources of supply for gas and achieve climate neutrality by 2040. The EGG is the first step in this direction. We hope to have the legal and regulatory requirements for the distribution of hydrogen in place before the end of this legislative period. The Hydrogen Promotion Act (WaFöG) is also the first step here. More on this in the next article.
Potential producers of renewable gases can already use
inGRID to determine the optimal location for feeding into the gas grid. inGRID is constantly receiving additional data in order to provide more and more precise information to interested parties. For example, the individual fractions for production. (Fertilizer, waste, etc.) Because:
"Biomethane belongs in the grid!"
In order to give the energy transition in the pipeline an additional boost, we joined forces with grid operators to put the systems for
calorific value reconstruction in grid levels 2 and 3 into operation on 1 January 2024 and were thus able to successfully supply data for "clearing" for the first time.
With the integration of renewable gases, the decentralized feed-in of biomethane and hydrogen and thus different gas qualities into the gas grid will increase. The calorific values of natural gas and biomethane can differ significantly depending on their origin and production. Hydrogen also has a considerably lower calorific value per m³ - around a third of methane. The different feed-in locations therefore result in different individual calorific values in the respective parts of the gas network. The implementation of
calorific value reconstruction systems shows once again that the gas network is ready for
the energy transition in the pipeline!
