(Boursier.com) — PreZero, one of the main players in waste treatment and environmental services in Spain, and Waga Energy started up a biomethane production unit on June 20 at the Can Mata site, located in Els Hostalets de Pierola, about forty kilometers from Barcelona (Catalonia). Its production of renewable gas is injected directly into the network of Nedgia, gas distributor of the Naturgy group, thanks to a six-kilometre connection made as part of this project.
The WAGABOX unit will produce 70 GWh of biomethane per year, equivalent to the consumption of 14,000 homes or 200 buses. Its commissioning will avoid the emission of around 17,000 tonnes of eqCO2 by replacing fossil natural gas. The installation has obtained the “ISCC EU” certification, demonstrating that its production complies with the criteria of sustainability and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions defined by the European directive RED II.
The construction and maintenance of the unit are financed by the sale of biomethane, under a long-term private purchase agreement (“biomethane purchase agreement”). This is the first gas upgrading project from a storage site in Europe to be financed under this common model for renewable electricity projects. This project at the service of the energy transition has received a European grant of 2.4 million euros under the Innovation Fund Small Scale program, intended to promote the deployment of innovative low-carbon technologies.
Occupying an area of 78 hectares, Can Mata is one of the largest waste storage sites in Spain. Operated by PreZero, it treats urban and industrial waste from Barcelona and its surroundings. With more than 22 million tonnes of waste stored for 30 years, the site produces nearly 40 million cubic meters of gas per year, previously recovered in the form of electricity and heat. The commissioning of the WAGABOX unit will greatly increase the site’s energy production.
The result of 15 years of development, the WAGABOX technology combines membrane filtration and cryogenic distillation to recover the gas emitted by buried waste in the form of biomethane. It guarantees higher energy efficiency than solutions based on electricity production, and optimal use of the resource, with no constraints for storage site operators. Seventeen WAGABOX units are in operation in France, Canada and Spain, and twelve others under construction in France, Canada and the United States.
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