SPD lawmakers call for green gas quota in German grid
Handelsblatt
Energy politicians from the Social Democratic Party (SPD) are proposing to introduce a mandated share of climate-friendly gases into the German gas mix, reported Handelsblatt. Companies that supply natural gas to customers would be obliged to supply an increasing share of so-called "renewable gases" annually; such as biogas, but also green hydrogen or synthetic methane. These would then gradually displace natural gas from the gas grids. The lawmakers propose a share of 0.67 percent by 2025, which would rise to 7.5 percent by 2030. “We are creating an effective incentive to invest in the production of renewable gases,” MP Andreas Rimkus told the newspaper. “This way we are advancing the hydrogen ramp-up and providing a reliable framework for the transformation of the natural gas infrastructure.”
An increasing and mandated share of green gases could represent a lifeline to German gas grid operators, who might want their infrastructure used as long as possible. The extent to which fossil and renewables gases play a role in Germany’s energy mix in the future (especially during the transition to climate neutrality) is contested – so is the question of how much of the current infrastructure can be preserved and used. Think tank Agora Energiewende recently said that the move to climate neutrality would make 90 percent of the country’s gas distribution grid obsolete.
