The renewable gas distribution capacity of the network operated by Nedgia, the Naturgy group’s gas distributor, increased fivefold in 2023. The company already operates six injection modules located in Catalonia, Castile and León and Galicia, which inject 174 GWh of biomethane per year into its infrastructure, equivalent to the annual consumption of more than 70,000 homes, thereby preventing more than 32,000 tonnes of atmospheric CO2 emissions per year.
This strong growth will continue in the coming months as Nedgia has 290 project applications in its portfolio, which could inject more than 10.7 TWh of renewable gas into its network, equivalent to the annual consumption of 4.3 million households. Of these projects, 18 are already in the advanced stages of development and will start distributing renewable gas through the network in 2024 and 2025. These figures illustrate the great potential of this renewable energy in Spain.
The presence of renewable gas in Naturgy’s network is increasing in parallel to the development of new biomethane production projects. This energy is produced by treating waste from different sources and is key to achieving the decarbonisation objectives agreed by Spain and the EU. One of its great strengths lies in its similarity to natural gas, as it can be distributed in existing gas infrastructure and used for the same purposes in homes, industries and businesses, as well as in transport mobility, thereby contributing to decarbonisation.
Nedgia is playing a leading role in promoting biomethane through its network of over 57,000 km, which can immediately deliver renewable gas to more than 5 million homes in 1,150 municipalities across 11 autonomous communities.
Despite the significant growth seen in 2023, biomethane requires support mechanisms to promote this renewable gas, like those already in place in neighbouring countries such as France and Germany. Spain has one of the largest production potentials in Europe and could potentially cover 45% of national natural gas demand or 100% of residential and commercial demand, according to a recent report published by Sedigas.
Throughout the value chain
Naturgy aims to be the leading company in promoting renewable gases in Spain, both in the production and distribution of biomethane in Spain in the short term, and in the development of hydrogen as an energy vector that will have a significant impact on the energy mix in the medium term. The company is well positioned to take advantage of the opportunity offered by renewable gases to move towards decarbonisation and is ready to deploy significant investments and resources in this business.