FREISING (dpa-AFX) - The expansion of biogas and biomethane plants in Germany is stagnating despite the energy crisis. The trade association now expects "even a noticeable decline in new plants and newly installed capacity" in the current year. Association president Horst silk complained on Wednesday that "too many legal obstacles and sluggish permission procedures hindered the urgently necessary development". From the announced Germany speed is to be felt here little.

Because more and more old plants are being shut down, the number of biogas plants is expected to increase by only 33 to 9909 this year. The work-relevant output is expected to fall slightly to 3829 megawatts (MW), while the energy generated is expected to rise slightly to 92 terawatt hours. That corresponds arithmetically to about 11 percent of German natural gas consumption, said Managing Director Manuel Maciejczyk in Freising.

The growth potential is actually enormous - doubling biogas production to 140 terawatt hours is possible without having to grow more energy crops, he said. "Liquid manure, biowaste and agricultural byproducts still hold a lot of energy potential," Seide said. This source of electricity and heat is climate-friendly, technically mature and needs to be integrated more strongly into the energy policy debate. "All we need to fully exploit this potential are reliable and long-term framework conditions."

According to the association, the leader in biogas is Bavaria, with 2707 plants and 1458 MW of capacity, followed by Lower Saxony with 1691 plants and 1360 MW of capacity. Bavaria is also ahead in terms of expansion, it adds.

The industry is responsible for around 50,000 jobs and over 13 billion euros in sales in Germany. The companies are global market leaders and export their technology to over 120 countries, but they need a functioning domestic market to do so, said Maciejczyk.

Currently, Germany accounts for just under half of the biogas produced in the EU - but the trend is downward as other countries push ahead with expansion. The EU Commission wants to increase biomethane production tenfold by 2030./rol/DP/tih