Energy and Climate are Hot: NGVs are Not ... but they could be!

Welcome to the first of a four part discussion on legislative and regulatory initiatives being undertaken by European Union policy makers, written especially for NGV Global.

PART 1

Energy and environment legislative and regulatory initiatives are among the most important ‘front page’ issues being tabled in Brussels in the opening months of 2008.  Some initiatives, like the ‘Energy and Climate Package’ launched on 23 January 2008 are newly emerging.  But there are a host of other initiatives carried over from 2007 that will continue to be debated throughout the year and likely longer.   While energy and climate are (in policy terms) ‘hot’, NGVs are not; but they might be if a credible campaign to get back on the political agenda becomes an industry priority.  The strategy must include focusing not only on the European Commission and European Parliament, but also on specific environmental NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and, of course, the natural gas industry itself.

THE IMAGE CHALLENGES FOR METHANE: FOSSIL AND RENEWABLE

Fossil Natural Gas & Energy Security

Energy security has been one of the most important issues on the European energy agenda. At a recent meeting with a key policy driver at the Directorate-General for Transport and Energy (DG Tren) when NGVs were raised as one immediate possible solution to diversifying the transportation sector’s nearly 100% reliance on petroleum  the response was, “Natural gas for vehicles?  You have a ‘Russian problem’.”   He was, of course, alluding to Europe’s 25% reliance on Russia for its natural gas supply.  This policy maker also expressed concerns about natural gas being used as a political weapon and about the current entrepreneurial advances being made by the Russian gas industry to gain greater influence of the vertically integrated supply, transmission and natural gas distribution network between Russia and the rest of Europe.  Fossil natural gas and its delivery network to Europe, at least from the Russian side, clearly have an ‘image issue.’

Renewable Biogas

Judging from the sentiments from the energy, environmental and transportation policy makers NGVs has slipped off the legislative radar screen.  The European Commission’s 2003 policy advocating replacing 10% of the transportation fuel by 2020 with natural gas has been diluted by the enthusiasm for liquid biofuels.  On the other hand, the issue of biofuels sustainability – the origins of the feedstock and impacts on land use and food prices – is a high priority issue within the debate on biofuels that represents a major opportunity for NGVs.  

The European Commission’s Sustainable Energy Week in Brussels at the end of January included a series of policy sessions where a number of statements by senior policy makers and energy/environment stakeholders about future policies and decisions did not take into consideration an NGV option. 

•    Matthias Ruete, head of the Directorate-General for Energy and Transport said during the session on renewable energy, “Please tell me how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in cars without using biofuels.  It cannot be done.  We don’t have any technology ready at the moment that allows us to have clean propulsion by 2020.”  

•    The director of the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) Arthouros Zervos, in this same session presented elements of their ‘Renewable Energy Technology Roadmap Up to 2020.”  The section of the roadmap on transportation called the Biomass Technology Roadmap for 2020 focuses strictly on liquid biofuels. Biogas for vehicles is not on the roadmap. The EREC is comprised of eight non-profit associations and federations, including the European Biomass Association (AEBIOM), the European Biomass Industry Association (EUBIA), and the European Renewable Energy Research Centres Agency.  Clearly the biogas-to-biomethane for vehicles message hasn’t yet registered with these special interest, renewable energy organisations.  Reaching these organisations and educating them about biogas is an essential part of an overall strategy to enhance the awareness and use of biomethane in vehicles.

•    Following a presentation from an Italian gas industry executive during another session at Sustainable Energy Week the issue of biomethane for vehicles was raised in a private conversation, suggesting that it could be a great opportunity for incorporating renewable energy into the longer-term gas industry strategy.  Biogas, in his view, was not interesting due to its decentralized supply and the relatively low potential to deliver quantities of gas comparable to the normal pipeline supplies. If this is a popular view within some of the largest gas companies in Europe, than part of a political strategy must be to convince the gas industry of the virtues of pursuing a ‘climate friendly’ business strategy that includes renewable biogas.  It could provide the ‘sex appeal’ currently lacking to attract more support for NGVs and, broadly, natural gas.

At a recent gas industry dinner/discussion event in Parliament sponsored by Eurogas 27th March, the leading natural gas industry lobbying organisation in Brussels, Claude Turmes, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Luxembourg discussed the virtues of pursuing a biogas-to-biomethane strategy for vehicles.  Mr. Turmes is the designated Rapporteur who is organising the Parliament’s response and amendments to the European Commission’s proposed Renewable Energy Directive. He is the Vice Chairman of the Group of Greens/European Free Alliance and a strong supporter of renewable fuels.   His view to using biomethane in vehicles was that the CO2 savings from using biogas in the electricity sector was three-to-five times greater than when biogas is upgraded and used as a transportation fuel.  This same argument also is frequently heard from the European Commission, especially DG Environment.  Mr. Turmes listened carefully to the facts about the opportunities to link waste management, clean water and clean air strategies to renewable biogas, also as an energy strategy element for the transportation sector.  Mr. Turmes asked for documentation to support the statements about biomethane, which was a refreshing response from a well-respected MEP.  Mr. Turmes, along with several MEPs from other parties will play a pivotal role in the upcoming debates about the EU’s renewable energy policy.  

End of Part 1 - See Part 2 next week.

(Jeff Seisler can be contacted via the Clean Fuels Consulting website)