Many reasons for choosing EKOenergy
We recently welcomed a new consumer of EKOenergy-labelled biomethane. Ecohz facilitated the deal and wrote a nice article about it, based on an interview with Steven Vanholme from EKOenergy’s Secretariat. Check out the article ”EKOenergy: how sustainable biomethane can combat energy poverty” on Ecohz’s website.
There are many reasons why consumers choose EKOenergy, not only for renewable electricity, but also for renewable gas.
- EKOenergy-labelled biogas comes from organic residues and small woody biomass. This way, we avoid the gasification of crops that could have been used as food or that have displaced the production of food.
- All EKOenergy consumers contribute to our Climate Fund, which funds renewable energy projects in low— and middle-income countries. Consumes also support us as an environmental NGO in our work to promote sustainable renewable energy worldwide.
- Users of EKOenergy-labelled gas can use our name and logo in their communication.
- Choosing EKOenergy is a way to contribute to the implementation of the SDGs
Ongoing review of our criteria for renewable gas – Comments welcome
EKOenergy’s criteria for renewable gas have existed since 2017. In 2022, we updated the chapter about raw materials allowed for producing EKOenergy-labelled biogas. In 2023, we initiated a more encompassing review involving all aspects of the gas criteria.
You can find the current version of the draft for the new criteria here: EKOenergy’s criteriat for renewable gas – Review process 2023 – 2024.
For most of the aspects our label covers, the changes relate mainly to wording, not content. One exception is the issue of gas leakage into the atmosphere. The global warming potential of methane and hydrogen is many times bigger than that of carbon dioxide. Even relatively small amounts of leaked gas can, therefore, undermine the climate benefits of biogas. In the new draft, we suggest adding a paragraph requiring the operator of the gasification installation to submit a description of measures taken to detect and avoid gas leakage into the atmosphere.
Please send your thoughts and comments to steven.vanholme
sll.fi
Published: 25 March 2024
