Biomethane Action Plan 2024-2040

On 15 March 2024, Council of Ministers Resolution no. 41/2024 was published, approving the Biomethane Action Plan 2024-2040. The plan was put for public consultation on 25 January and its final version has now been published.

In line with the guidelines set out in the Paris Agreement in 2015, the Biomethane Action Plan aims to promote the biomethane market as a sustainable way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, decarbonise the national economy and reduce imports of natural gas used in the industrial and domestic sectors.

The plan under analysis presents 20 lines of action, all with the aim of preparing and training Portugal to utilise biomethane.

In order to realise these environmental lines and goals, the plan envisages two phases with different time horizons and a transversal axis for the use of gas at national level (in a create-develop-maintain logic):

1. Phase 1 (2024-2026) - proposes measures to create a biomethane market in Portugal;
2. Phase 2 (2026 - 2040) - presents medium-term lines of action for strengthening and consolidating the biomethane market in Portugal;
3. Cross-cutting axis (2024 - 2040) - focuses on guaranteeing the social and environmental sustainability of the actions needed to grow this market.

Of the 20 lines of action identified in the plan, the following should be highlighted:

1. Line of action no. 1 (part of Phase 1) - Pursue a framework of support for biomethane production:  considering that the development of a "business model" for biomethane in Portugal, underpinned by support for production and investment, is fundamental for the start-up and growth of the associated industry, this line of action includes measures aimed at awarding financial incentives with a specific allocation for biomethane (including biogas), associated with contract for difference (CfD) mechanisms, fixed or variable premiums, as well as measures aimed at supporting CAPEX and operationalising the guarantees of origin associated with projects;
    
2. Line of action no. 8 (part of Phase 1) - Clarifying the regulatory framework and streamlining licensing processes: here the plan makes it clear that in order to boost the progress of new biomethane production projects, it is crucial to simplify all the administrative procedures for authorising and licensing biomethane projects, particularly under the General Waste Management Regime and for connecting new or existing installations to the grid;
    
3. Line of action no. 13 (part of Phase 2) - Define the location of "Hubs" for the production of biomethane and its injection into the gas network: Given that the creation of centralised infrastructures at regional level has been considered a strategic solution to enable the injection of biomethane into the public gas network in substantial volumes and in an economically sustainable manner (benefiting from economies of scale), this line of action advocates the creation of biomethane communities perhaps associated with virtual pipelines (road freight and maritime transport), involving various stakeholders, in order to optimise procedures and reduce the system's investment and operating costs;
    
4. Line of action no. 18 (part of the Transversal Axis) - Ensuring sustainable use of Portugal's biomethane potential: among the measures chosen to achieve these objectives, we highlight the promotion of the use of sustainable vehicles and methods for collecting and transporting waste and incorporating digestate into agricultural fields and the operationalisation of the European strategy for reducing methane emissions into the atmosphere ("methane leakage").

For more information, see the Council of Ministers Resolution.