Orlen sees regulations and funding availability as potentially beneficial for biogas investments

Poland's largest energy concern Orlen group is carrying out preparatory works on investments into biogas power plants. The right regulations and the availability of funding could help in growing the market, Orlen's representatives told a Poland's lower chamber Sejm subcommittee on critical infrastructure, mining and energy.

"We have 1 billion cubic meters of biogas written in our strategy, which translates into 500 to 600 million cubic meters of biomethane by 2030. The preparatory works for biogas power plants are underway," Orlen's strategy and strategic project office's head Karol Wolff said.

"At this point the investment projects are at the preparatory stages and this is a double-digit number," he added.

Jakub Ruszel, Orlen's executive director for risk management and compatibility, sees a need for the most friendly regulatory climate and financing of these investments for the acceleration from the preparatory phase to certain investment decisions to happen.

"The biomethane market is a one that faces strong regulatory and investment obstacles, connected with positioning of the infrastructure, connecting it to the network, the product quality and mainly the funding. To finance biogas and biomethane we need to have (...) a certain external support and this capital is being organised," Jakub Ruszel said.

"A step in the right direction is the expected introduction of a support system in the wind turbines law update. It concerns small investments, mainly ones producing electric and heating energy - we say that it should also include the possibilities of financing and support for biogas transit," he added.

mcb/ doa/ mik/ nl/