The Ukrainian Agri Council together with the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine has launched a project to disseminate knowledge and experience in the production of biogas/biomethane and the cultivation of energy plants. The first event was a webinar, where representatives of the biogas production market talked about the prospects of biomethane production in Ukraine, practical experience, investment evaluation of launching biogas production and growing energy plants. More than 200 participants joined the online event.

"For several years there has been an increasing interest in biogas production among agrarian business. The war has only accelerated these processes. Investments in biogas plants will provide agricultural enterprises with energy independence and additional income. UAC understands how important it is today for farmers to gain knowledge and practical experience in biogas production from experts in this field. Therefore, together with the Bioenergy Association, with the support of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, we invited biogas producers, representatives of companies specializing in the construction of biogas plants, to provide effective guidelines for the implementation of these projects," said Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Agri Council Dmytro Kokhan .

According to  Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Vitaliy Holovni , agricultural waste provides an opportunity to create the simplest and most effective added value that even average farmers can develop.

"The main producers of raw materials for biogas production are farmers. Everything that used to be considered waste can today be waste for energy security and income. As military experience has shown, there were no outages during power outages in communities where biogas plants were operating. Expanding their networks will allow the country to achieve energy decentralization and independence", - explained Vitaliy Holovnia.

According to Yuriy Shafarenko, Deputy Head of the Main Department of Expert and Analytical Support of the Directorate for Economic Policy of the Office of the President , biomethane, which is produced from organic waste, in terms of its physical and chemical properties fully complies natural gas standards and can be added to the Ukrainian gas transportation network.

"The potential production of biomethane in Ukraine currently  stands at 21 billion m3/year. If we add to this the potential of production of energy crops and their processing into biogas, this is an additional 20 billion m3/year. These volumes fully satisfy Ukraine's gas needs and even allow its export. In addition, the development of this industry will create new jobs and increase tax revenues to the budgets of all levels," Yuriy Shafarenko emphasized.

According to the head of the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine, Heorhiy Heletukha , the increase in bioenergy generation in Ukraine is 11% per year. From 2010 to 2020, this figure has tripled. In 2020, 5.2 billion m3 of natural gas has already been replaced. 

"The production of biomethane does not require changes or modernization of gas transportation networks and gas equipment. Ukraine has a developed HTS network, to which it is easy to connect and sell biomethane. Ukraine has the potential to offer the cheapest raw materials for its production. Also, biomethane plants generate digestate, which can become the main organic fertilizer for the revival of Ukrainian soils", - Heorhiy Heletukha expalined the advantages of biogas production.

Market experts of the biogas production also provided step-by-step instructions for implementing biogas plants projects that work from agricultural complex, animal and energy crops wastes. And everyone interested had the opportunity to ask questions. Details are available in the webinar  video recording.