Thursday 21 January 2021
First biomethane PPA in Spain cuts emissions
Global service provider, Ferrovial Services, has commissioned what it claims to be the first biomethane PPA; choosing renewable over natural gas.
It has selected French company, Waga Energy to turn landfill gas, at the Can Mata landfill site, into a renewable alternative.
The company claims this will be the first gas injection project in Europe to be financed by a long-term power purchase agreement.
It will be done using Waga Energy’s new technology called the WAGABOX, which will inject 70 GWh of biomethane per year into Spanish operator Nedgira’s gas network; enough to power 14,000 Spanish homes. The project will supposedly cut emissions by 17,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
The Can Mata site is argued to be one of the most important waste storage sites in Spain. It produces more than 40 million cubic meters of raw biogas every year, which is converted into electricity and fuel but there is hope that Waga Energy’s new invention can increase the energy yield.
Regional Director of Ferrovial Services, Antonio Aliana said “the agreement signed with Waga Energy strengthens Ferrovial’s commitment to sustainable development. This circular economy project will make it possible to produce biomethane, for the benefit of our citizens, thanks to the most advanced technology for the recovery of biogas from waste gas”.
The WAGABOX unit will be commissioned in 2022 and 10 of these units have already been installed in France, avoiding 45,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions across the year.
