Biogas as fuel for the lowest-level power plants

Miłosz  Ciurkot; Piotr  Olczak

doi:10.59400/esc1764

Biogas as fuel for the lowest-level power plants

Miłosz Ciurkot Faculty of Energy and Fuels, AGH University of Kraków, 30-059 Cracow, Poland
Piotr Olczak Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, 31-261 Kraków, Poland

Article ID: 1764

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59400/esc1764

Keywords: biogas; Poland; energy; economy; biowaste

Abstract

In the face of European climate policy, the aim of which is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, we are still looking for alternatives to traditional fossil fuels. Apart from the obvious solutions offered by wind and solar energy, it is worth paying attention to a still undeveloped, but potentially developing branch of energy, which is generating energy from biogas. Poland currently produces 638 million m³ of biogas per year and has biogas installations with a total installed capacity of 276 MW. However, these numbers still do not fully satisfy both Polish possibilities and needs. This study analyzes the current use of this fuel in the Polish energy sector, as well as the possibilities and future prospects for biogas as a fuel for distributed generation power plants in Poland. The current review of the use of biogas as a fuel clearly indicates that biogas is not a commonly used renewable energy source with a total share of power among other RES sources of 4.2%. The analyses also indicated that the maximum theoretical Polish potential for biogas production may reach even 4.2 billion m³. At the end of the article, simple financial analyses were made regarding the profitability of investments in agricultural biogas plants, and their results showed a high profitability of investments in such energy units (theoretical payback periods of financial outlays are only 4 years).

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Published

2025-01-02

How to Cite

Ciurkot, M., & Olczak, P. (2025). Biogas as fuel for the lowest-level power plants. Energy Storage and Conversion, 3(1), 1764. https://doi.org/10.59400/esc1764

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