Lisbon, Feb. 27, 2025 (Lusa) - Floene, which manages nine of the eleven gas concessions in Portugal, has already received around 230 requests to inject renewable gases into the grid, of which 33% for biomethane.
Although the legislation and regulations for hydrogen and biomethane production units are still being developed, expressions of interest from producers keep coming to the former Galp Natural Gas Distribution company, which is present in 106 districts across the country.
While previously the requests were more for renewable hydrogen injection, during 2024 there was "a significant growth in requests for biomethane", which more than tripled, Floene's CEO Gabriel Sousa told Lusa.
"On our side, we've seen an increase in injection requests. Now, for these projects to come into operation, it is crucial that we have a definition of legislation and regulation," he pointed out.
The Biomethane Action Plan, approved by the Cabinet on 15 March 2024, sets the goal of replacing almost 10% of natural gas with this green gas by 2030. But a year later, "the appointment of coordination groups is still being made so that the measures can be studied, developed and put into practice", he added.
"We need to do this faster. The wheel has been invented, we should be able to take advantage of it and do in a short time what other countries have taken seven to eight years to do," argued the head of Floene, which owns more than 13,500 kilometres of natural gas distribution network.
"Investors need confidence and predictability," he commented, stressing that they need to know how the injection mechanism will work.
"On the one hand, we are very pleased to see these injection requests, but they are slow to translate into concrete projects because investors are waiting for these rules to be completely defined," he said.
This is the opposite of the French market. "In France the rules are very clear. The support of the regulator and the government is very strong," explained the CEO of Floene, which this Friday will strengthen its strategic partnership for the development of renewable gases with GRDF, France's largest distributor.
Furthermore, as he points out, these are "highly decentralised projects. They're not just in Lisbon or Porto, but in the various regions of the country".
Biomethane can be produced using waste from the agricultural sector or, for example, municipal waste.
"I think we have to have a definition, a direction for energy policy, to speed up the decarbonisation of the gas system as quickly as we can," he warns.
"Fortunately, we have seen a very significant development of green electricity in Portugal. But it's not sustainable or reasonable for a country to depend on a single solution. We need green gas," he said.
He also emphasised that the quantities are available. In his view, Portugal now needs to start this race as soon as possible.
This week, REN - Redes Energéticas Nacionais announced that the winners of the first biomethane and renewable hydrogen auction, financed through the Environmental Fund, have committed to a maximum of 36 months to move forward with injecting renewable gas into the national gas system.
The auction, worth €140 million, allows for long-term contracts for the injection of renewable hydrogen into the public gas network.
The quantities of renewable gas fixed in this auction will be bought by the wholesale supplier of last resort for injection into the transmission and distribution networks, operated by REN and Floene, respectively.
In each geographical area there is a supplier of last resort who guarantees the supply of natural gas to economically vulnerable consumers or in areas or market segments where there are no offers on the free market.
SCR/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
