The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine together with the Bioenergy Association held a meeting on the development of biogas/biomethane production. More than 80 representatives from the agricultural sector discussed prospects of biomethane production in Ukraine, feasibility study, as well as biogas technologies and their features. The agricultural sector is the main supplier of raw materials for biomethane production.
“Biomethane production is a kind of processing in which Ukraine is interested, because it is also a creation of added value. For the development of this direction in the future, and it has already started actively in Europe”, – said Deputy Minister Vitaly Golovnya. As he noted, all those who are now engaged in the production of biomethane have a much higher income per hectare than those who grow and sell grain. This is the easiest and most efficient processing even for average farmers. Another important factor is that biomethane plants, in addition to biomethane, generate a digestate, which can become the main organic fertilizer needed for the revival of Ukrainian soils. The energy sector in Ukraine is developing quite steadily. Head of the Board of the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine Georgy Geletukha stressed that for 13 years the energy sector has grown by 3 times, and bioenergy has already replaced more than 15% of natural gas. He added that the average growth rate is 11% per year. Also, the Chairman of the Board of the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine stressed that the EU has approved plans for the production of biomethane (REPowerEU) and plans to produce 35 billion cubic meters/year by 2030. Ukraine can provide up to 30% of these needs. The main advantages of Ukraine in the biomethane market are the developed systems of gas networks and the availability of gas equipment. Ukraine does not need additional investments, it can offer the cheapest raw material for biomethane production, because it has the largest area with agricultural lands in Europe. Over the next 10 years, biomethane will dominate all renewable gasses. In Europe, as of 2022, 1222 biomethane plants have already been built. The potential of biomethane production in Ukraine is at the level of 10 billion cubic meters per year. Ukraine plans to obtain half of the biomethane from residues of agricultural crops. “Currently, the leaders in the production of biomethane are Vinnitsa, Kiev, Cherkasy region. In these regions, biomethane production can range from 700-850 cubic meters per year,” Giorgi Geletukha summarized.
