Biomethane is one of the most promising renewable gases (hereafter – RG) – a flexible and easily storable fuel, and, when used along with the natural gas in any mixing proportion, no adjustments on equipment designed to use natural gas are required. In regions where natural gas grids already exist, there is a system suitable for distribution of the biomethane as well. Moreover, improving energy efficiency and sustainability of the gas infrastructure, it can be used as total substitute for natural gas. Since it has the same chemical properties as natural gas, with methane content level greater than 96 %, biomethane is suitable both for heat and electricity generation, and the use in transport.Biomethane is injected into the natural gas networks of many Member States of the European Union (hereafter – the EU) on a regular basis for more than a decade, with the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Sweden and France being among pioneers in this field. In most early cases, permission to inject biomethane into the natural gas grids came as part of a policy to decarbonize the road transport sector and was granted on a case-by-case basis. The intention to legally frame and standardise the EU’s biomethane injection into the natural gas networks came much later and was fulfilled in the second half of the present decade.This paper addresses the biomethane injection into the natural gas grids in some EU countries, highlights a few crucial aspects in this process, including but not limited to trends in standardisation and legal framework, injection conditions and pressure levels, as well as centralised biogas feedstock collection points and the biomethane injection facilities. In a wider context, the paper deals with the role of biomethane in the EU energy transition and further use of the existing natural gas networks.
Although the natural gas and renewable energy sources are two significant elements of the Baltic primary energy mix both today and in foreseeable future, the competitive edge of their usage often prevails over possibilities of mutually beneficial coexistence. Universally both forms of energy are often described as key elements of a transition to a cleaner and more secure energy future (low-carbon economy), but regionally much of the current discourse considers each in isolation or concentrates on the competitive impacts of one on the other. The paper outlines several potential avenues and further research trends of synergies between the natural gas, a proven fast-reacting fossil fuel, and RES as seen from viewpoints of the Baltic energy sector sustainability and security of energy supply.
The successful implementation of smart metering in the European Union (hereinafter – EU) depends on criteria that are mostly determined by the Member States themselves. These criteria cover the regulatory framework and legislation necessary for the establishment and functioning of the smart metering system, the fulfilment of technical and commercial conditions, as well as the security of data collection, archiving and use. The introduction of the smart metering in different Member States has started at different times. In Latvia, its reference point was 2004, when the goal was set to maximise the use of telemetry in the natural gas metering. Currently, in the Latvian natural gas distribution system about 85 % of all consumption data are automatically processed.One of the most important components of the smart natural gas metering is natural gas commercial metering devices (hereinafter – smart meters). They differ in both the principle and type of operation. Depending on the technology used, the metering range changes, and thus the accuracy of the measurements.The article addresses some issues of further successful implementation of smart metering in the Latvian natural gas sector, as well as the measurement accuracy for smart natural gas meters.
In the early 2010s, only 23 countries had access to the liquefied natural gas (hereinafter – LNG). Import terminals, despite attractive short-term economics, took long time to build, and rigid supply contracts made truly global use of LNG rather complicated. Concerns about geo-political risks also stunted demand growth from existing supply sources, even when new LNG export routes and sources became available. Current natural gas market is very different, both in terms of market participants and accessibility and diversity of services. In 2019, the number of LNG importing countries reached 43. Rising competition among suppliers and increasing liquidity of markets themselves created favourable conditions to diversify contract duration, size, and flexibility. In addition, development of floating storage and regasification unit (hereinafter – FSRU) technology provided LNG suppliers with a quick response option to sudden demand fluctuations in regional and local natural gas markets [1]. Moreover, LNG is one of the major options not only for bringing the natural gas to regions where its pipeline supply infrastructure is historically absent, limited or underdeveloped, but also for diversification of the natural gas supply routes and sources in regions with sufficient state of pipeline delivery possibilities. And it concerns smaller natural gas markets, like the Baltic States and Finland as well. Accordingly, prospects for use of LNG there in both mid and long-term perspective must be carefully evaluated, especially in regards to emerging bunkering business in the Baltic Sea aquatory and energy transition in Finland, replacing coal base-load generation with other, more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives.
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