TotalEnergies has started up its 18th biogas production unit in France, which will be the largest in the country with a maximum capacity of 160 gigawatt-hours (GWh).
Called BioBéarn and located in Mourenx in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, this new unit, supplied with organic waste, has started to inject its first cubic metres of biomethane into the natural gas transmission network operated by Téréga. It will produce 69 GWh in 2023, then gradually ramp up to meet rapidly growing biogas demand.
This project, which the company said illustrates its desire to promote a circular economy, makes it possible to recover 220,000 tons of organic waste into 200,000 tons per year of digestate, a natural fertiliser, and 160 GWh of biomethane, equivalent to the average annual consumption of 32,000 inhabitants.
More specifically, BioBéarn enables the Lacq basin, historically focused on gas activities, to pursue its strategy of local and sustainable growth, this new unit avoiding the emission of 32,000 tons of CO2 per year.
The development of BioBéarn, initiated in 2016, is the result of a concerted effort with all local stakeholders – including more than 200 farmers and agri-food manufacturers, local residents and local and elected representatives – allowing the project to adapt to the needs and potential of the territory.
"TotalEnergies is proud to commission the largest biogas plant in France and thanks all project stakeholders for their support. This new plant is part of TotalEnergies' desire to promote biogas, a clean gas that strengthens the country's energy sovereignty and the development of the circular economy. This project allows TotalEnergies to increase its production capacity to 700 GWh in biogas and is a new step in the objective of reaching 20 TWh by 2030 ," said Olivier Guerrini, biogas director of TotalEnergies.
TotalEnergies commissions France’s largest biogas plant
