Successful biomethane and CNG workshop within the 13th European Week of Regions and Cities
95 participants gathered in Brussels on the 14th October to learn about the benefits of biomethane on a regional-level.
In the occasion of the Committee of the Regions’ Open Days, EBA collaborated with the Innovative Partnership for Sustainable Energy 2020 (IPSE 2020) and BioFuel Region in the organisation of the workshop “Future Sustainable energy supply through innovative partnerships – biomethane and CNG as an example”, with the aim of showcasing successful partnership and experiences from which regional communities can benefit.
President Jan Štambaský moderated the workshop and provided the introduction to the workshop that highlighted biomethane’s potential to create jobs and economic growth, while improving energy security, emission reductions and rural development. The line-up of speakers included Antonio Tricas (DG Move), Lennart Pilskog (NGVA) and representatives from the partnering regions of IPSE 2020: Ian Kilgallon from Gas Networks Ireland, György Vécsi from Miskolc holding PLC (Hungary), Janis Baiks from the City of Valmiera (Latvia), Johan Saarela from Stormossen Oy (Finland) and Anna Säfvestad Albinsson from the BioFuel Region/BioGaC (Sweden).
Mr. Pilskog affirmed during his speech that biomethane is unbeatable in greenhouse gas emissions well-to-wheels and economic accessibility, drastically beating electric mobility whether it is wind-sourced or hydrogen fuel cells. These remarks were followed by the exposition of a number of success stories of use of biomethane in Europe presented by EBA Secretary General Agata Przadka. The great example of the municipalities of Uppsala, Lille, Vienna and Ljubljana served to set the need for a good collection system of organic waste that can bring benefits such as electricity and heat production for own needs and for sale to the grid, clean fuel for city buses and cars, organic fertiliser, improved air quality and decrease of city pollution.
The workshop was concluded with a panel discussion that engaged participants and speakers in fruitful discussions over topics that ranged from the need of European standardisation to the potential of LNG in specific regions, before screening the BiogasDoneRight initiative’s informational video.
