Worldwide raw biogas production expected to expand in 10 years

A recent report from Navigant Research examines the global biogas market, including policy issues and

market drivers, with forecasts for capacity and revenue, segmented by feedstock source, end use,

region, and selected country, through 2024. Widely utilized for onsite generation by industrial facilities

and distributed customers, biogas offers reliable baseload power to the grid and benefits from favorable

regulatory support in many national markets.

Considered the cleanest renewable vehicle fuel in both the United States and the European Union, long-

term growth of the biogas market will be dependent on a combination of technical improvements and

an ability to develop untapped market opportunities. According to Navigant’s report, annual raw biogas

production capacity is expected to reach 2,141 billion cubic feet per year by 2024.

“Biogas feedstocks are available worldwide, but logistical challenges in collecting, transporting, and

handling these feedstocks makes them viable in only a narrow set of circumstances,” says Roberto

Rodriguez Labastida, senior research analyst with Navigant Research. “While projects using gas

recovered from landfills are the cheapest source of renewable energy currently available, small-scale

projects in more rural locations will need aggressive incentives to be competitive with other sources of

energy.”

According to the report, biogas remains a subsidy-dependent enterprise, and high growth in the short

term will be limited to regions where policy support is already in place. Breakthroughs in feedstock

conversion rates and innovations in control systems will be necessary in improving the competitiveness

of biogas and unlocking the potential of higher-cost resources.

NGS INDIA