CVE and IES Biogas close a deal for new biomethane plant in Toulouse

Italian company IES Biogas has signed a new contract with French company CVE for a construction of a 320 Nm3/h (1.2 MWeq) biomethane plant near Toulouse. The project will be located on an area of about 28,000 sqm in the municipalities of Labessière-Candeil and Montdragon.

The plant, which is expected to come on stream in 2023, will treat around 25,000 tonnes/year of organic, industrial and agro-industrial waste: this is made up of 29 different types of biomass, including slaughterhouse and bakery waste, which will be transformed into green and sustainable energy. The biomethane produced by this plant will be fed into the Teréga gas network.

Operating in the construction and management of biomethane plants, IES Biogas, a subsidiary of Snam, one of the largest energy infrastructure players in the world, entered the French market a few years ago and in the forthcoming months will conclude the construction of one more plant in the north of the country, in Amiens, which will treat waste from large-scale retail trade and catering, obtaining 2.2 mln m3 of biogas.

The CVE Group is an independent French producer of renewable energy across multiple countries and sources of power. The Group develops, finances, and builds solar and hydro power plants and biomethane units to operate them on its own for their entire lifespan. The Group’s goal is to provide sustainable responses to the energy and environmental needs of businesses and communities, in a direct energy sales model. In December 2021, CVE raised €30 million from Swen Capital Partners to finance the development of its biogas business, and aims to become the leading independent player in renewable gas in France based on a local model.

According to the recent Statistical Report 2021 of the European Biogas Association EBA, with a biomethane production of 2,207 GWh, France is the fastest growing European country in this sector: 91 plants went into operation in 2020, another 81 were installed in the first seven months of 2021. Currently 950 new projects are underway with a total production capacity of 22.6 TWh/year.

Gallery: Article Bioenergy Insight, Focus Europe January/February 2022