Viability of biogas as an agro-environmental measure

The report evaluates Denmark's efforts to increase biogas production from 5% to 50% of total manure by 2020 to meet renewable energy and GHG targets. It identifies significant financial and infrastructural barriers at the national level, including a lack of break-even pricing and an 'infrastructural lock-in' favoring existing energy providers. A case study of the Biokraft plant on Bornholm reveals that while political support and nutrient management benefits (such as meeting 'harmony requirements') enable adoption, the plant suffered from failed high-tech investments and unstable manure supply. The report concludes that biogas's effectiveness as a tool for combating nutrient pollution is contested, and its success depends on multi-stakeholder innovation partnerships and a more transparent debate on its actual risks and benefits.

• Denmark aims to increase the fraction of total manure processed in biogas plants from approximately 5% to nearly 50% by 2020, which is expected to reduce annual emissions by 807,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent and increase energy production from 4 PJ in 2009 to around 17 PJ in 2020.
• National-level challenges hindering biogas expansion include the inability to reach break-even results under current pricing, a lack of local capacity to manage financial risks, and an 'infrastructural lock-in' that favors existing energy providers over biogas.
• The Biokraft plant on Bornholm was severely undermined by a failed investment in 'high-tech' equipment from a supplier called BioScan, which was intended to produce industrial fertiliser but never became operational.
• A primary motivator for farmers to use biogas plants like Biokraft is the ability to navigate 'harmony requirements' (statutory norms relating livestock production to available land), as delivering manure to the plant effectively removes livestock units (LUs) from the farm.
• Biogas is perceived as a mechanism for farmers to expand production within regulatory frameworks, though stakeholders disagree on whether this actually reduces nutrient leaching into the aquatic environment.
• The financial viability of biogas is complicated by the European Commission's refusal to recognize biogas as an 'Annex 1 product' from farms, forcing Denmark to use national co-funding rather than EU funds for market-oriented biogas.
• There is a lack of intersectoral coordination in Denmark, where biogas is managed as an energy measure by the Ministry of Energy and Climate, while nutrient management is handled separately, meaning CO2 benefits are often not factored into 'Green Growth' discussions.
• Operational success at Biokraft improved after the board was restructured to replace municipal politicians with farmers and business representatives, shifting the focus from political negotiation to market interests.

APA

Larsen, R. K. (n.d.). Viability of biogas as an agro-environmental measure. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-BalticCOMPASS-ViabilityOfBiogasAsAnAgroEnvironmentalMeasure-2012.pdf

Chicago

Larsen, Rasmus Klocker. Viability of biogas as an agro-environmental measure. Stockholm Environment Institute, n.d. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-BalticCOMPASS-ViabilityOfBiogasAsAnAgroEnvironmentalMeasure-2012.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Larsen |first1=Rasmus Klocker |title=Viability of biogas as an agro-environmental measure |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-BalticCOMPASS-ViabilityOfBiogasAsAnAgroEnvironmentalMeasure-2012.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{larsenndviability, author = {Larsen, Rasmus Klocker}, title = {{Viability of biogas as an agro-environmental measure}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-BalticCOMPASS-ViabilityOfBiogasAsAnAgroEnvironmentalMeasure-2012.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }