The bill that would significantly expand the production and use of biogas in Austria has therefore — due to the upcoming election campaign — not been abolished but postponed. The Alpine country already has several hundred biogas installations that use biological residues and natural waste as feedstock for producing gas for industrial and household use.
The current energy legislation expires next year. A compromise was reached within the Austrian 'turquoise-green' coalition to link and expand the current mostly small networks and to increase the minimum nationwide usage. By 2035, at least 15 percent of Austrian gas consumption should be from 'local production' rather than imports.
Austria is now exploring options to renegotiate the long-term supply contract with Russia. The gas contract between Vienna and Moscow was extended in 2018 until 2040. It includes a fixed purchase obligation and requires payment even if gas is not delivered. So far, more than 90 percent of Austria's gas imports come from Russia.
Both the center-left SPÖ and the far-right FPÖ opposition refused — for various reasons — to support the biogas proposal of the caretaker governing coalition of the Christian-democratic ÖVP and the Greens. This makes promoting the new sustainable biogas energy source a part of the campaign for the parliamentary elections at the end of September.
A recent survey among German farmers showed that interest in biogas production is decreasing because it is unclear whether the European subsidy scheme will be extended.
In Denmark, biogas production still seems to be a good prospect: two new plants are planned in the rural municipality of Tønder. Production in an existing local biogas plant is to be increased, even though it is currently still operating at a loss.
The initiators of the expansion are five farmers from the surrounding area. Their project site covers 20 hectares. The plant is expected to process between 700,000 kilograms and 1.1 million tons of biomass annually. An annual production of 58 million cubic meters of biogas is projected.