Biogas Action – Implementation of the Regional Strategy and Action Plan for biomethane

In 2011, Southeast Sweden was still a white spot on the map compared with many other regions in Sweden when it comes to the production and consumption of biomethane. In October 2011, the regional network Biogas southeast initiated, as part of the Biomethane Regions project, the work with a common strategy and action plan for biomethane including the whole southeast region together. The strategy was prepared by the members of Biogas Sydost during several task force meetings and financed by the Intelligent Energy program together with our three Country Administrative Boards.

Regional representatives were invited to attend two seminars with workshops to give their opinion about the work. Members of Biogas Sydost also suggested that new targets for biomethane should be set in Kalmar County which also happened. The new targets were sent to all stakeholders and key actors in our region for comments together with the regional strategy and action plan. In total 35 stakeholders sent their comments, a considerable number considering that there are only 25 municipalities and three counties in Southeast Sweden. The comments were taken into consideration and the strategy was revised accordingly. At the beginning of 2014, the strategy was finalized and approved.

Aims and objectives of this Action

The strategy is aimed as a tool to help our three counties to reach their climate targets, become free from fossil fuels and to reach the target of a fossil fuel independent transport sector in 2030 set by the Swedish Government.

Results and contribution from BiogasAction

The implementation already started during the strategy work and some of it even before, but the real breakthrough came during the Biogas Action project with the public procurement of buses that in Sweden is branded under the name of “Doing a Kalmar”. The procurement resulted in a big interest to produce biomethane, especially among farmers.

The next move that gained a lot of attention both in our own region but also on a national level, was the work done to find out if there was a market for liquefied biomethane produced in our region. Today there are 187 GWh/yr biomethane waiting to be produced. But it is still not enough. We have not yet reached the target of 300 GWh/yr in Kalmar county. Both Kalmar and Blekinge Counties wish to have at least one refuelling station in each municipality which is a very challenging target. Today in Blekinge there are refuelling stations in four out of five municipalities and in Kalmar County, there are six (+one that is being built) in altogether 12 municipalities.

What we have failed with so far is to introduce passenger cars on the private market. This is not only a problem in our region but a national problem that applies even to electric vehicles. They only represent a little more than 1 % each of the whole car park in Sweden. Today there are three different initiatives to get more BioGNVs on the market, one of them, a pre-study, is made in Biogas Action.

More: Find out more on BiogasAction here

Contact: fedarene@fedarene.org