German Economy Minister Katharina Reiche has proposed importing “green” gas fuel from Ukraine to meet future requirements for the share of ecological gas in heating systems.
According to Reiche, biomethane is already available on the market. However, there are still regulatory issues on both the Ukrainian and EU sides.
The German government, a coalition of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats, intends to allow increased use of gas for heating, in particular biogas. The parliamentary groups of the ruling coalition have reached an agreement on this issue as part of the reform of the heating law. This will significantly ease the rules for homeowners who are replacing their heating systems: the current requirement for at least 65% renewable energy for heating will be abolished. Instead, a quota for “green” gas is envisaged: heating systems must gradually switch to biomethane and synthetic fuels.
In this context, Reiche suggested considering the import of biomethane from Ukraine as a possible way to meet demand.
It should be noted that on February 6 last year, the Energy Customs successfully completed a periodic customs declaration for the export of the first batch of biomethane from Ukraine to Europe via pipeline. The agency called this a “historic occasion for the Ukrainian energy sector.”
