• The speakers emphasised that the combined use of biomethane and natural gas will allow the country to decrease its energy dependence and will help it achieve the European Union's environmental targets.
  • GAS NATURAL FENOSA, Hera and Sodena are studying possible uses of biogas from the Góngora landfill (Navarre) and estimate that the biogas generated contains 65 GWh of energy per year, equivalent to the annual consumption of more than 6,000 families or 7,000 gas vehicles.

Today in Pamplona, the General Director of Industry, Energy and Innovation of the Government of Navarre Iñaki Morcillo and the General Director of the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation Martí Solà kicked off the seminar entitled Biogas: Challenges and Opportunities, explaining the mechanisms for obtaining biogas and its potential use in agricultural activities and as fuel for vehicles, as well as the potential to be injected into the general natural gas mains.

During the seminar, which was attended by more than 100 professionals, several experts emphasised that the combined use of biomethane and natural gas would allow the country to decrease its energy dependence and help it achieve the European Union's environmental targets.

Energy Director of Grupo Hera Miquel Torrente presented the Hera Góngora project, the result of an agreement between GAS NATURAL FENOSA, Hera and Sodena which aims to analyse the viability of biogas from the Góngora landfill (Navarre) to be injected into the natural gas mains or used as fuel for vehicles. This landfill generates more than 11 million cubic metres of biogas annually, containing 65 GWh of power, or enough to supply more than 6,000 families or 7,000 gas vehicles each year.

Biogas Project Manager at GAS NATURAL FENOSA Engineering María Piedad Martínez presented the operating principles and the advantages and disadvantages of the different technologies available to produce biomethane from biogas and solid biomass. According to data from the EurObserv´ER barometer, Spain is the seventh largest producer of biogas in Europe with an energy potential of nearly 20,000 GWh each year.

Meanwhile, the Director of the Biomass Department at the National Centre for Renewable Energies (CENER) Javier Gil explained the main motivations behind developing biomethane produced from synthesis gas and analysed production costs and potential product value.

Practical examples of biogas use

The Director of Innovation and Strategic Projects of the Region of Pamplona Alvaro Miranda explained that urban buses and garbage lorries are major consumers of diesel, with a huge impact on carbon footprint and air quality. He explained the advantages of using organic matter from waste, landfill gas and sewage sludge to generate vehicular biogas that can be mixed (or not) with natural gas to power the fleet of buses and garbage lorries in the Pamplona region. The cost of vehicular biogas is 40% less than diesel and it is more environmentally friendly.

The Director General of Technical Systems Management at Enagás Diego Vela explained that there are nearly 13,000 biogas plants in operation in Europe, of which more than 170 produce biomethane-quality gas to be injected in the transport network and natural gas mains. He also presented the Valdemingómez biomethanisation plant (Madrid), considered to a benchmark in Europe because it prevents the emission of 300,000 tonnes of CO2 annually and produces enough biogas to generate electricity for approximately 20,000 homes each year.

Meanwhile, Managing Director of HTN Biogás Adrián González explained that biomethanisation of purines is a very interesting process environmentally-speaking as a way to minimise emissions from intensive livestock farming, and is of great agricultural value because it produces high-quality organic fertilisers to replace inorganic fertilisers.

The Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation

The Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation, founded in 1992, mainly focuses on the promotion of information, training and increased social awareness about improving energy efficiency and technological innovation in the field of energy while respecting and protecting the environment. Through its Gas Museum, it promotes cultural activities to preserve and publicise the industry's historical and cultural heritage. Its international activities take place in Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Morocco, Italy and Moldova.

Pamplona, 17 March 2015

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