The financing will allow Genia Bioenergy, a subsidiary of Genia Global Energy, to promote unique biogas facility projects in Spain with the aim of promoting anaerobic digestion as a sustainable alternative for the management of urban waste, recovering it in the form of energy, fertilizers and organic amendments
The subsidiary of Genia Global Energy, a business group specialized in renewable energies and energy efficiency installed in the Science Park of the University of Valencia (PCUV), has managed to raise more than 15 million euros for the development of eight biogas projects in Spain. This funding is part of a government aid program aimed precisely at promoting this type of facility and which was endowed with 150 million euros. The company submitted eight initiatives to the call for proposals and all of them have received financial support.
Specifically, this incentive program of the Central Executive is part of the Renewable Energies Perte. It was aimed at singular projects of biogas installations with the objective of promoting anaerobic digestion in Spain as a sustainable alternative for the management of urban waste, valorizing it in the form of energy, fertilizers and organic amendments.
According to the rules of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, initiatives that contribute to decarbonize different sectors of the economy were eligible, as well as to increase environmental protection and the achievement of the objectives set in the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) 2021-2030 and the Long-Term Energy Strategy 2050. In this sense, they had to be focused on the production of biogas by anaerobic digestion; be facilities for heat production, electricity generation, cogeneration or biomethane production; or promote developments that take advantage of the digestate resulting from the process for agricultural uses.
A total of 136 projects were submitted, but only 75 were accepted, i.e. 55% of the total. And among them are the eight presented by the Valencian company Genia Bioenergy, which will benefit from investments totaling more than 15 million euros, representing more than 10% of the total incentive program.
A total of 136 projects were submitted, but only 75 were accepted, i.e. 55% of the total. And among them are the eight presented by the Valencian company Genia Bioenergy
Eight projects funded
One of the projects consists of a facility for the thermal use of biogas obtained in a slaughterhouse in Buñol (Valencia); another four projects will be located in Catalonia and will be dedicated to improving the efficiency of urban water treatment plants.
Two other facilities will be located in Gran Canaria and will be responsible for using biogas to generate electricity and digestate for various forms of fertilization of tomato, banana or papaya plantations or the use of heat to pelletize solid digestate. The last project included in the program includes the management of municipal organic waste for anaerobic digestion and the use of the biogas obtained to produce electricity in Huesca.
"One of the keys to success has been that the projects constitute true circularity schemes, with a closed solution for the digestate and a justification of the energy yields and biogas production," Bernat Chulià, studies and projects director at Genia Bioenergy
According to Bernat Chulià, director of studies and projects at Genia Bioenergy, "one of the keys to success has been that the projects constitute true circularity schemes, with a closed solution for the digestate and a justification of energy yields and biogas production." In addition to these benefits, he stresses that the effective demonstration of the emission reductions involved in managing waste and by-products through anaerobic digestion and the balance between the objectives of the Biogas Roadmap and those of the customers must be added to these benefits.
These eight projects are added to the portfolio of facilities managed by the company, which has several dozen biogas and biomethane facilities throughout Spain. It also participates in several R&D projects on biogas technology with the aim of improving the efficiency of the process and finding new uses.
Alliance with Enagas
At the same time, the Valencian company recently partnered with Enagás Renovable through the platform 'The Green Vector', in which each company has a 50% stake, to promote the development of 10 biomethane plants from organic waste in Spain. In this alliance, Enagás contributes its experience in the development and promotion of renewable gases and Genia, the technology and the management and integration capacity of all the actors in the waste valorization chain.
Its roadmap will be divided into two phases. The first phase will involve the development of five biomethane production facilities by 2024, to be commissioned by 2026, which will produce around 500 GWh. In the second phase, the platform will undertake the other five plants, which will produce another 500 GWh by 2030, doubling the amount of waste managed.
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