“…Research interest in this utilization pathway exists primarily in Germany, as more than half of the publications present the utilization pathway using the German example (Fig. 5 ) (Güsewell et al 2021 ; Häring et al 2017 ; Hijazi et al 2019 ). Fig.…”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Flexible generation can be further categorized according to the goal of the flexibilization. The focus is usually on power-led operation (Bär et al 2020 ; Lauven et al 2019 ; Szarka et al 2013 ), but heat-led operation is also being investigated (Ertem and Acheampong 2018 ; Güsewell et al 2021 ).…”
There are many options for the utilization of biogas in different energy sectors (power, heat, mobility). The technical possibilities of using biogas are more diverse than the actual business models applied in the biogas industry. This paper shows the possible utilization pathways of biogas, divided into coupled power and heat generation, direct utilization and upgrading to a gas of a higher value. Subsequently, an overview of the business models discussed is given by a systematic literature review. The latter shows that the investigation of biogas business models is focused mainly on the last decade and has increased slightly over time. The regions of investigation can be found worldwide, with a clear focus on Europe. Direct use is studied mainly in the Asian and African regions. In the European context, a shift from investigating combined heat and power use to upgrading the biogas produced is evident.
“…Research interest in this utilization pathway exists primarily in Germany, as more than half of the publications present the utilization pathway using the German example (Fig. 5 ) (Güsewell et al 2021 ; Häring et al 2017 ; Hijazi et al 2019 ). Fig.…”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Flexible generation can be further categorized according to the goal of the flexibilization. The focus is usually on power-led operation (Bär et al 2020 ; Lauven et al 2019 ; Szarka et al 2013 ), but heat-led operation is also being investigated (Ertem and Acheampong 2018 ; Güsewell et al 2021 ).…”
There are many options for the utilization of biogas in different energy sectors (power, heat, mobility). The technical possibilities of using biogas are more diverse than the actual business models applied in the biogas industry. This paper shows the possible utilization pathways of biogas, divided into coupled power and heat generation, direct utilization and upgrading to a gas of a higher value. Subsequently, an overview of the business models discussed is given by a systematic literature review. The latter shows that the investigation of biogas business models is focused mainly on the last decade and has increased slightly over time. The regions of investigation can be found worldwide, with a clear focus on Europe. Direct use is studied mainly in the Asian and African regions. In the European context, a shift from investigating combined heat and power use to upgrading the biogas produced is evident.
“…The profitability of the biogas plant increases when there is a possibility of selling the heat generated in the electric energy production process, or when it is possible to participate in the energy community where higher prices can be obtained or own energy replaces energy purchased from the grid [32][33][34]. Higher revenue can be obtained by enabling control of energy production within the grid in such a way as to sell the energy in the periods when other RES (PV, wind) do not produce it [35], and in some countries, even by planning flexible seasonal energy production [36]. In the future, biogas energy production, other than from the waste, can be permanently dependent on support policy-for example, justifying it to preserve the environment or to test the technology [37], or other externalities [38][39][40]-because the progress in reducing the technology costs is relatively small, but the competition for the resources used in food production is also small [41,42].…”
Section: Factors Determining the Profitability Of Biogas Plantsmentioning
Poland has a large potential for biogas production from agricultural sources and food waste. This potential is still poorly used. There are many reasons for this state of affairs. We can indicate both the policy of the state towards renewable energy sources (RES) with a small amount of energy from biogas contracted at auctions, investment risk, and especially low return on investment in the absence of investment support. An important reason is also the limited state budget. The purpose of this work was to determine the endogenous factors that determine ROE, the direction of the impact of these factors, as well as the strategy of biogas plants in shaping the ROE level. The DuPont model was used in the analysis of ROE changes. We used the deviation method to determine the impact of the various factors on ROE. Against the background of the energy sector in Poland, the value of ROE in the examined biogas plants should be considered satisfactory, and in 2020 it was, on average, 13.9%. The decrease from 17.2% in 2019 occurred despite the increase in energy prices and the increase in the net profit margin (NPM). It resulted from the reduction of ROE’s financial leverage through external capital. A high level of debt characterized the examined biogas plants, and the pursuit of risk reduction and debt reduction negatively impacts on ROE. This may indicate the need for state investment support at the plant construction stage or low-interest investment loans to develop biogas plants. In addition, using only price guarantees under the feed-in tariffs, with dynamic changes in costs, may bring the industry a relatively high investment risk compared to other RES, where the operational costs during the lifetime are low, as it is in PV or wind systems.
“…The model analysis was conducted using an established biogas repowering assessment model for the existing BGPs implemented in Matlab (see Güsewell et al (2019) for more details on the general model and Güsewell et al (2021) for more details on the CHP dispatch optimization). Figure 1 gives a graphical overview of the model.…”
Section: Model Analysis and Regional Adaptationsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The yearly rated power output is also reduced to be in line with the applied synthetic heat demand profile for a generic residential area. More details of the seasonal flexibilization and the comparison of different operation modes are given in Güsewell et al (2021). For the "Biomethane" concept, there are no changes in rated power and gas production.…”
Section: The Selected Follow-up Concepts and Their Core Designmentioning
For the existing biogas plants (BGP) in Germany, the period of the public support scheme begins to end in 2021. From a technical point of view, essential components have an operational life span of more than 20 years and allow for an extended operation. However, a profitable extension would require suitable follow-up concepts and depends on the underlying plant-specific setup, the regional conditions, as well as the regulatory and economic framework. Based on an expert evaluation, four promising follow-up concepts were identified in a multistage process consisting of expert interviews, workshops, and an online survey. These follow-up concepts are “Basic flexibilization,” “Substrate change,” “Seasonal flexibilization,” and “Biomethane upgrading.” They were assessed with a plant-specific biogas repowering model for a heterogeneous data set of 2,508 BGPs and were compared in three scenario frameworks to derive robust development paths. To capture the heterogeneity of the existing BGPs in Germany, the model was developed further regarding regional parameters such as power output, substrate mix, and emission factors. Across all the scenarios, “Seasonal flexibilization” proves to be the most promising follow-up concept for more than 50% of the BGPs. This is followed by “Substrate change,” which is particularly suitable for larger BGPs with high shares of energy crops and no heat utilization. Biomethane upgrading is usually the second choice compared to participation in extended public support schemes for electricity production. However, it is the only concept that is profitable under current market conditions due to the high CO2-quota prices in the German fuel sector. The development pathways also show a significant potential to increase the net GHG reduction, which on BPG average can be nearly doubled. Our approach shows that the interplay of the heterogeneous BGP structure, the applied economic decision variable, and the nonuniform framework conditions in different energy markets is of crucial importance when assessing similar biogas markets, identifying robust follow-up pathways, or designing framework policies.
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