Beginning the investment and construction process for building a biogas plant requires an analysis of potential location. 🏢 Appropriate siting of the biogas plant is a prerequisite, essential, and crucial condition enabling successful further administrative procedures. 🌍 Among the most important factors to consider at this stage, we must highlight:
property location,
power connection capacity in the power grid (for biomethane plants - to the gas distribution network or to the gas transmission network),
access to the district heating network,
coverage of the property by nature conservation forms,
ensuring legal title to the property.
1. 🏡 Property Location 🌱
The first step in the production process of biogas plants is substrate preparation, involving organic materials that will undergo fermentation. These materials may include food scraps, manure, crop residues, and other organic matter. At this stage, it is essential to properly shred the materials to facilitate fermentation and ensure uniform conditions for microorganisms. 🌱
2. 💡 Power Connection ⚡
If an investor intends to introduce the generated electricity into the power grid, planning the location of the biogas plant must take into account the available power connection capacity of the local grid. While connecting renewable energy installations to the grid is a duty of network operators, in cases where there is insufficient connection capacity, the operator may refuse connection citing technical and economic constraints. 🌐
Therefore, implementing the investment should be preceded by an analysis of the available power connection capacity for energy sources. The obligation to publish this information, updated at least once per quarter, stems from Article 7, paragraph 8l of the Energy Law. Energy companies engaged in electricity transmission or distribution publish the total available power connection capacity for sources and planned changes to these values for the next 5 years from the date of publication, as well as a list of entities applying for connection of sources to the power grid with a nominal voltage higher than 1 kV. ‼️ This information is available on the websites of distribution system operators. 🔌
3. 🔥 Access to District Heating Network 🏭
Enhancing the profitability of biogas investments involves utilizing the heat produced in biogas plants through cogeneration. Therefore, when selecting a potential location for a biogas plant, it's worth considering the possibility of heat utilization. This entails assessing the local district heating infrastructure and identifying entities willing to accept and utilize the heat produced, especially in rural areas. So far, this solution is rarely employed, mainly due to significant distances between biogas plants and the nearest district heating networks, which are primarily located in urban areas. Details regarding the connection of installations to the district heating network will be discussed in upcoming blog posts. 🌐
4. 🌳 Nature Conservation Measures for Property 🏞️
When determining the location of a future biogas plant, it is necessary to verify whether any part of the planned investment falls within an area protected for nature conservation. Situating investments in areas under nature conservation may pose challenges to the investment process. Biogas plants, except for agricultural biogas plants with a capacity not exceeding 0.5 MW, may be considered projects with significant environmental impact. A potential investor must undergo an environmental impact assessment procedure, considering the possibility of being required by the responsible authority to prepare an environmental impact report.
It's worth noting that locating investments in areas containing national parks, nature reserves, landscape parks, protected landscape areas, Natura 2000 sites, ecological areas, and nature-landscape complexes may encounter additional obstacles. These restrictions also extend to buffer zones around national parks, nature reserves, and landscape parks. 🌲
5. 📜 Ensuring Legal Title to Property 🏠
A crucial step preceding the commencement of administrative procedures is ensuring the legal title to the property on which the biogas plant is to be located. Possessing legal title enables the disposal of the property. The investor should conduct an audit of the legal status of the land, particularly by examining the land register of the respective property.
The safest legal title for the investor is ownership of the land. However, biogas plants are increasingly being implemented on leased land, posing the risk of legal fusion between the biogas plant and the property.
To minimize this risk, the lease agreement should clearly state that the components of the biogas plant do not constitute an integral part of the property and are the property of the lessee. Although specific form requirements are not mandated by law, the agreement should be made for a specified period and disclosed in the land register. 🌱
Summary:
🌱 The selection of a biogas plant location requires consideration of various factors, such as substrate availability, electrical grid connection capacity, access to district heating networks, environmental protection, and ensuring legal property title. Each of these elements is crucial for the successful initiation of the investment and construction process. 🏗️
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