SmartBio

The expansion of renewable energies was driven in many places by financial subsidies such as the EEG surcharge. In order to limit costs for end users in the future, new energy plants will be subsidized to a lesser extent or without any subsidies at all. The challenge for biogas plants is that – unlike wind and sun – the input materials are associated with costs, which is why the electricity production costs are significantly higher than other renewable technologies. A cost reduction is only possible to a limited extent, which is why the increase in revenue will be essential for economic operation. The controllability of biogas plants could be a factor to help increase revenue: biogas plants could be increasingly used to provide control energy to stabilize the grid.

IKEM took over the examination and supplementation of the project’s assumptions on legal, regulatory and economic framework conditions for the flexible purchase and flexible production of electricity. The researchers examned the regulations for biogas systems, natural gas CHP units, battery storage and power-to-heat systems at the medium-voltage level.