Denmark hikes proportion of biogas in grid to 25%: grid operator

Denmark has increased the proportion of biogas injected into its system to almost 25% of total demand as of the end of 2021, gas grid operator Energinet said Jan. 7.

That was an increase from around 21% at the end of 2020, it said in a statement. "Never have biogas plants in Denmark added more gas to the Danish gas system than they did in 2021," it said.

Denmark is a leader in the production of biogas in Europe and hopes to be able to meet 75% of its gas demand from biogas by 2030. By 2034, biogas production is expected to cover all Danish gas consumption on an annual basis.

Overall gas demand in Denmark is currently estimated at a little under 3 Bcm/year.

Energinet said that 51 biogas plants have been connected to the gas system since 2013.

Biogas -- largely produced through anaerobic digestion of organic matter and processed for injection into the gas system as biomethane -- can be used for heating and power generation.

Energinet said biogas production was also a "significant" contributor to Danish security of supply.

"Biogas increases the Danish self-sufficiency of gas and results in a larger decentralized and dispersed gas supply to Danish gas consumers," it said.

Conventional gas

Denmark has traditionally been a relatively big producer of conventional gas, mainly from its offshore Tyra field, with total Danish gas output running at more than 11.5 Bcm/year at its peak in 2005.

However, commercial offshore gas production is expected to be just 2.7 Bcm in 2025, according to the latest industry outlook, due mostly to the delayed redevelopment of Tyra.

Tyra -- the country's biggest field -- was taken offline by operator TotalEnergies in September 2019 for major redevelopment work and had been expected to restart in mid-2022.

However, TotalEnergies has pushed the expected restart date back to mid-2023, saying the pandemic had caused "significant" delays to the global supply chain delivering key components for the development.

Tyra is integral to Denmark's upstream gas industry with more than 90% of its gas production processed through the field's facilities.

Danish gas output in the longer term is also expected to be impacted by the government's decision not to offer any blocks in new exploration rounds.

Denmark is also due to begin imports of gas from Norway from October 2022, when the Baltic Pipe project comes online.