The European Biogas Association (EBA) is ho0lding its first biogas conference in Bratislava (Slovakia) this week. The conference has been attended by more than 100 participants from all over Europe, especially from the CEE region. The programme covered key aspects of bioenergy policy of the European Commission, private financing opportunities and recent technical developments of Europe’s top industry.
Juraj Novak from the Slovak Republic's Ministry of Economy opened the conference yesterday with a clear statement that Slovakia decided to support biogas as an important pillar in the renewable energy mix of the country.
Meanwhile, another keynote speaker, Hans-Josef Fell, pointed out that after Fukushima there is no other solution to produce electricity than renewable energies from wind, geothermal, solar and biomass. Neither “clean” coal nor gas will solve the problem when looking to emission control.
Biogas is not only a perfect decentralized source of energy but bears a high potential for new jobs in the rural area, commented Arthur Wellinger, President of EBA. Biogas is an excellent business opportunity as was indicated by the different company speakers presenting the newest technical solutions and success stories. Investment capital is a crucial issue for all renewable energies. But there are solutions based on private and public investment as was presented during another focal point of the conference by CEOs and branch leaders of investment companies and banks.
Today, the biogas sector is best developed in Germany, Austria and Sweden, but countries including the UK, Italy and Slovakia also started to promote this energy source. Biogas is a multi-talent that can be used for electricity generation, heating and cooling, and as vehicle fuel. Biogas is today’s reality and not decennia away like fuel cells or hydrogen fuel.
[Inset: Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet adapted by British company GenEco, in collaboration with BRC, to run on biogas]
[Editor's note: Renewable Energy Magazine recently interviewed Arthur Wellinger ahead of this week's conference. The exclusive interview is available here.]
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