IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v206y2020ics0360544220312652.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The importance of governmental incentives for small biomethane plants in South Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Baena-Moreno, Francisco M.
  • Malico, Isabel
  • Rodríguez-Galán, Mónica
  • Serrano, Antonio
  • Fermoso, Fernando G.
  • Navarrete, Benito

Abstract

A novel analysis addresses the economic viability of biomethane production from small biogas plants in South Spain, as a claim to promote the use of green energy and reduce the consumption of natural gas. To this end, the importance of governmental incentives to reach profitability in biomethane plants is illustrated through a case study. To date, no study addressing this problem specifically for South Spain can be found. The study considers the whole process from biogas production to biomethane feeding into the grid, for three different biomethane capacities (50, 100 and 150 m3/h) and includes an exhaustive sensitivity analysis. For the three cases, implementing a biomethane plant is not viable and, therefore, not attractive for investors. Results considering biomethane governmental incentives as feed-in premia show significant improvements on the profitability of the largest plants. For example, supporting 150 m3/h biomethane production capacity plants with a premium price of only 6 €/MWh (6.6 cents/m3) results in 270 k€ NPV. Nevertheless, the smallest biomethane plants are hardly feasible. Concerning governmental support through investment subsidies, 150 m3/h plants are profitable if 10% of the investment is subsidized, whereas the smallest plants do not reach profitability even if 50% of the investment is subsidized.

Suggested Citation

  • Baena-Moreno, Francisco M. & Malico, Isabel & Rodríguez-Galán, Mónica & Serrano, Antonio & Fermoso, Fernando G. & Navarrete, Benito, 2020. "The importance of governmental incentives for small biomethane plants in South Spain," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:206:y:2020:i:c:s0360544220312652
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2020.118158
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544220312652
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2020.118158?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Budzianowski, Wojciech M. & Budzianowska, Dominika A., 2015. "Economic analysis of biomethane and bioelectricity generation from biogas using different support schemes and plant configurations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 658-666.
    2. Silva, Susana & Soares, Isabel & Pinho, Carlos, 2018. "Electricity residential demand elasticities: Urban versus rural areas in Portugal," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 627-632.
    3. Baena-Moreno, Francisco M. & Rodríguez-Galán, Mónica & Vega, Fernando & Reina, T.R. & Vilches, Luis F. & Navarrete, Benito, 2019. "Converting CO2 from biogas and MgCl2 residues into valuable magnesium carbonate: A novel strategy for renewable energy production," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 457-464.
    4. Olson-Hazboun, Shawn K. & Howe, Peter D. & Leiserowitz, Anthony, 2018. "The influence of extractive activities on public support for renewable energy policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 117-126.
    5. Poggi, Francesca & Firmino, Ana & Amado, Miguel, 2018. "Planning renewable energy in rural areas: Impacts on occupation and land use," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 630-640.
    6. Susanne Theuerl & Christiane Herrmann & Monika Heiermann & Philipp Grundmann & Niels Landwehr & Ulrich Kreidenweis & Annette Prochnow, 2019. "The Future Agricultural Biogas Plant in Germany: A Vision," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-32, January.
    7. Mazzucato, Mariana & Semieniuk, Gregor, 2018. "Financing renewable energy: Who is financing what and why it matters," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 8-22.
    8. Ferreira, Miguel & Marques, Isabel Paula & Malico, Isabel, 2012. "Biogas in Portugal: Status and public policies in a European context," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 267-274.
    9. Sgroi, Filippo & Foderà, Mario & Trapani, Anna Maria Di & Tudisca, Salvatore & Testa, Riccardo, 2015. "Economic evaluation of biogas plant size utilizing giant reed," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 403-409.
    10. Hansen, Kenneth & Breyer, Christian & Lund, Henrik, 2019. "Status and perspectives on 100% renewable energy systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 471-480.
    11. Von Wald, Gregory A. & Stanion, Austin J. & Rajagopal, Deepak & Brandt, Adam R., 2019. "Biomethane addition to California transmission pipelines: Regional simulation of the impact of regulations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C), pages 292-301.
    12. Muhumuza, Ronald & Zacharopoulos, Aggelos & Mondol, Jayanta Deb & Smyth, Mervyn & Pugsley, Adrian, 2018. "Energy consumption levels and technical approaches for supporting development of alternative energy technologies for rural sectors of developing countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 90-102.
    13. Ali M. Kutan & Sudharshan Reddy Paramati & Mallesh Ummalla & Abdulrasheed Zakari, 2018. "Financing Renewable Energy Projects in Major Emerging Market Economies: Evidence in the Perspective of Sustainable Economic Development," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(8), pages 1761-1777, June.
    14. Benedek, József & Sebestyén, Tihamér-Tibor & Bartók, Blanka, 2018. "Evaluation of renewable energy sources in peripheral areas and renewable energy-based rural development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 516-535.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Idiano D’Adamo & Claudio Sassanelli, 2022. "Biomethane Community: A Research Agenda towards Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-22, April.
    2. Padi, Richard Kingsley & Douglas, Sean & Murphy, Fionnuala, 2023. "Techno-economic potentials of integrating decentralised biomethane production systems into existing natural gas grids," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    3. Francisco M. Baena-Moreno & Isabel Malico & Isabel Paula Marques, 2021. "Promoting Sustainability: Wastewater Treatment Plants as a Source of Biomethane in Regions Far from a High-Pressure Grid. A Real Portuguese Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-17, August.
    4. D’Adamo, Idiano & Falcone, Pasquale Marcello & Huisingh, Donald & Morone, Piergiuseppe, 2021. "A circular economy model based on biomethane: What are the opportunities for the municipality of Rome and beyond?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 1660-1672.
    5. Baena-Moreno, Francisco M. & Gonzalez-Castaño, Miriam & Arellano-García, Harvey & Reina, T.R., 2021. "Exploring profitability of bioeconomy paths: Dimethyl ether from biogas as case study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fotio, Herve Kaffo & Nchofoung, Tii N. & Asongu, Simplice A., 2022. "Financing renewable energy generation in SSA: Does financial integration matter?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(P2), pages 47-59.
    2. Alberto Benato & Chiara D’Alpaos & Alarico Macor, 2022. "Possible Ways of Extending the Biogas Plants Lifespan after the Feed-In Tariff Expiration," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-23, October.
    3. Lahiani, Amine & Mefteh-Wali, Salma & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2021. "Does financial development influence renewable energy consumption to achieve carbon neutrality in the USA?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    4. Christensen, Morten Herget & Li, Rongling & Pinson, Pierre, 2020. "Demand side management of heat in smart homes: Living-lab experiments," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    5. Muhammad Shahbaz & Mehmet Akif Destek & Michael L. Polemis, 2018. "Do Foreign Capital and Financial Development Affect Clean Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions? Evidence from BRICS and Next-11 Countries," SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, University of Piraeus, vol. 68(4), pages 20-50, October-D.
    6. Doddapaneni, Tharaka Rama Krishna C. & Praveenkumar, Ramasamy & Tolvanen, Henrik & Rintala, Jukka & Konttinen, Jukka, 2018. "Techno-economic evaluation of integrating torrefaction with anaerobic digestion," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 272-284.
    7. Yinuo Wang & Fengxiu Zhou & Huwei Wen, 2023. "Does Environmental Decentralization Promote Renewable Energy Development? A Local Government Competition Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-18, July.
    8. Elie, Luc & Granier, Caroline & Rigot, Sandra, 2021. "The different types of renewable energy finance: A Bibliometric analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    9. Joanna Rakowska & Mariusz Maciejczak & Iwona M. Batyk & Eliza Farelnik, 2022. "Rural–Urban Differences in Solar Renewable Energy Investments Supported by Public Finance in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-19, November.
    10. Li, Xiangrong & Zhu, Shaoying & Yüksel, Serhat & Dinçer, Hasan & Ubay, Gözde Gülseven, 2020. "Kano-based mapping of innovation strategies for renewable energy alternatives using hybrid interval type-2 fuzzy decision-making approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    11. Zheng, Xuejing & Yang, Xueqing & Miao, Hongfei & Liu, Huzhen & Yu, Yanzhe & Wang, Yaran & Zhang, Huan & You, Shijun, 2022. "A factor analysis and self-organizing map based evaluation approach for the renewable energy heating potentials at county level: A case study in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    12. Bogdan Klepacki & Barbara Kusto & Piotr Bórawski & Aneta Bełdycka-Bórawska & Konrad Michalski & Aleksandra Perkowska & Tomasz Rokicki, 2021. "Investments in Renewable Energy Sources in Basic Units of Local Government in Rural Areas," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-17, May.
    13. Mohd Irfan & Muhammad Shahbaz, 2022. "Low-carbon energy strategies and financial development in developing economies: investigating long-run influence of credit and equity market development," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 1-26, April.
    14. Wei Liu & Youfa Sun & Serhat Yüksel & Hasan Dinçer, 2021. "Consensus-based multidimensional due diligence of fintech-enhanced green energy investment projects," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 7(1), pages 1-31, December.
    15. Ionescu, Romeo-Victor & Zlati, Monica Laura & Antohi, Valentin-Marian & Susanu, Irina Olimpia & Cristache, Nicoleta, 2022. "A new approach on renewable energy as a support for regional economic development among the European Union," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    16. Walter, Kara A. & Thacher, Jennifer & Chermak, Janie M., 2023. "Examining willingness to pay for energy futures in a fossil and renewable energy-rich locale," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    17. Mac Clay, Pablo & Börner, Jan & Sellare, Jorge, 2023. "Institutional and macroeconomic stability mediate the effect of auctions on renewable energy capacity," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    18. Luo, Tao & Khoshnevisan, Benyamin & Huang, Ruyi & Chen, Qiu & Mei, Zili & Pan, Junting & Liu, Hongbin, 2020. "Analysis of revolution in decentralized biogas facilities caused by transition in Chinese rural areas," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    19. Aryal, Kishor & Maraseni, Tek & Apan, Armando, 2023. "Examining policy−institution−program (PIP) responses against the drivers of ecosystem dynamics. A chronological review (1960–2020) from Nepal," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    20. Zheng, Li & Abbasi, Kashif Raza & Salem, Sultan & Irfan, Muhammad & Alvarado, Rafael & Lv, Kangjuan, 2022. "How technological innovation and institutional quality affect sectoral energy consumption in Pakistan? Fresh policy insights from novel econometric approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:206:y:2020:i:c:s0360544220312652. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.