RWE launches international biogas trading

The transport of biogas is a component of the supra-regional growth initiative of our newly founded Gas Strategic Business Unit (SBU). According to Wouter Visser, Head of Portfolio Development & Structuring at RWE Supply & Trading, “We are proud to make our contribution to connecting UK biogas production to the Continental European market.”

Biogas consumption is constantly rising in the Netherlands and local production can no longer keep up with demand. The production of biogas requires, above all, a lot of space and that is one thing that is not abundant in the Netherlands. The energy company Essent, which serves around two million gas customers, has also run into this constraint, and so RWE Supply & Trading is helping this Dutch RWE subsidiary to procure and transport biogas.

RWE Supply & Trading’s office in the southwest English town of Swindon procures the gas from the UK biogas specialist Barrow, which is then transported to the interconnector pipeline in Bacton. From there, the Gas Portfolio Management Department organises further transport to the Netherlands. Sixty gigawatt hours of biogas are to be delivered from Great Britain to the Continent by October 2018. Later, the supply will be increased to 200 gigawatt hours per year.

RWE Supply & Trading and its partners comply with the strict International Sustainability and Carbon Certificate (ISCC) system for biogas trading and thus also fulfil the requirements of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive. “ISCC certification has a number of advantages,” says Fedor Wesseling, head of biogas activities in the Portfolio Development & Structuring team. “The strict regulations foster strong credibility and enhance our reputation, which is very important in ensuring high customer retention.”

Looking forward, the biogas market still has great potential. Presently, however, the individual national markets are relatively isolated and cross-border trading in the European gas network is limited. RWE wants to make a contribution to opening up the European biogas market further.