📋 Tender Overview
The next few years will be fateful years for the operators of biogas plants. We, the Bavarian state government, have therefore long been calling on the federal government to finally change the framework conditions so that farmers can continue to operate profitably, emphasized the Bavarian Minister of Agriculture Michaela Kaniber at the end of the Bavaria-wide information campaign Biogas is more! From agriculture for Bavaria. Kaniber appealed again to Berlin on the occasion of the expert discussion Biogas is flowering area! - Wild plants as a substrate and the visit to a biogas plant: The constant ideologically driven discrimination of biomass from agriculture and forestry by the federal government is a serious threat to the energy transition! We finally need relief from Berlin for the operators of our plants, otherwise we will lose one of the most important sources of added value for rural areas in the near future. The current framework conditions for Bavarian plants have deteriorated dramatically: many plants will lose remuneration under the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) in the next few years. They will then face closure due to a lack of profitability.
Fully efficient plants are in danger of only existing as investment and construction ruins. Specifically, according to Kaniber, the Federal Network Agencys tender volume for biomass plants must be increased to at least 1,200 megawatts annually, because the last tenders were three times oversubscribed. This means that two thirds of the biogas providers were rejected even though they offered below the set maximum, said the minister. Bavaria is also pushing for a significant increase in the flexibility surcharge from 65 euros to 120 euros if the plant supplies energy flexibly, especially when demand in the grid is higher. The Free State is also demanding a climate surcharge for particularly climate-friendly substrates, as these are associated with higher costs for the plant operator.
In this context, the Minister of Agriculture once again highlighted the advantages of biogas: Biogas is a multi-talent and elementary building block of the energy transition in Bavaria and can sustainably supply electricity, heat or fuel from renewable raw materials. And this even when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing. For Bavaria, biogas production is an important and base-load building block of the energy transition and ensures added value in rural areas. One in four German biogas plants is located in Bavaria. There are currently 2,750 biogas plants in Bavaria with an electrical output of 1,450 megawatts. This corresponds roughly to the output of the Isar 2 nuclear power plant, which has not been on the grid since last year.
In order to raise awareness of the diverse possibilities of biogas production, the Ministry of Agriculture has commissioned the Central Agricultural Raw Materials Marketing and Energy Network (C.A.R.M.E.N. e.V.) to carry out an information campaign in 2024. In expert discussions in all administrative districts as well as at trade fair appearances and in social media, information was provided about biogas in organic farming, alternative substrates such as flowering and wild plants or liquid manure, small liquid manure systems and fermentation product management. C.A.R.M.E.N. e.V. is the coordination office for renewable raw materials and renewable energies based in the Competence Center for Renewable Raw Materials in Straubing.
