Dry summer makes biogas scarce and more expensive

The exceptionally hot and dry summer 2018 in Germany and large parts of Europe has led to a shortage of biogas plants like maize, for which crop yields in some regions have fallen by 50 percent, making the production of biogas more expensive, Andreas Macho writes in the WirtschaftsWoche. According to biogas industry analyst Sarah Gerig, about one third of Germany’s 9,400 biogas plants could become insolvent. “Investors can only hope to get all or at least some of their money back,” she said, adding that the promised returns are not going to materialise in many cases. Gerig said the complicated ownership structure of many biogas plants, with funding coming from multiple sources, made it more difficult for investors to fully comprehend where their money goes.

Find the article in German here (paywall).