Biomethane is expanding its influence on Brazil's transportation sector, with more public policies to foster decarbonization of cars and trucks, despite resistance from groups that believe renewable natural gas could be put to better use.
Brazil's Renovabio program allows biomethane plants, along with those for other biofuels, to generate decarbonization credits, which automotive fossil fuel distributors are obliged to buy to reach yearly quotas.
The mines and energy ministry MME also has studied creating green or blue corridors — supply routes for biomethane or natural gas fueled vehicles, respectively. The energy transition committee in the gas-for-jobs government program has listed the transportation sector as one of the "best potential" segments for natural gas and biomethane to reduce emissions and is working toward building consensus about which measures should be adopted.
But biomethane corridors should take at least three or four years to become a reality as it will require that time for supply and demand to balance, according to Brazil's international center for renewable energies (CIBiogas). There is also a lack of infrastructure to transport biomethane to consumers, which would be necessary to make these plans viable, said Renata Isfer, chief executive of biogas producers' association Abiogas.
Sao Paulo state's governor vetoed a state bill last week that would exempt hydrogen and electric powered vehicles from taxes and a promised to set another bill to grant the exemption to biomethane and natural gas-fueled buses and trucks from 2024-2028.
Sao Paulo's capital public transportation fleet includes nearly 12,000 buses, of which only 270 are electric- or battery-powered; the remaining use diesel. The city has committed to reach 20pc of the total electric and battery buses by 2024, but set no target for biomethane.
Sao Paulo intercity buses add another 3,600 vehicles to the state's fleet, with 94 electric buses and three diesel-electric hybrid units. There is a regional biomethane initiative for vehicles in neighboring Minas Gerais state, aiming to incentivize its use in the public transportation fleet.
Using biomethane in transportation has drawn criticism from the Brazilian association of energy-intensive industries (Abrace). Industries have a greater need to decarbonize operations and keep its biomethane environmental credits, Abrace's natural gas director Adrianno Lorenzon said.
Biomethane producers have also been pressuring the government to include a biomethane mandate where Brazil's national energy policy council, CNPE, would define a target mix of 1pc on natural gas pipelines. That could be adjusted yearly up to 10pc, according to market participants.
Natural gas consumer groups say they would oppose the measure, as they believe it would be better to let participants opt to buy biomethane when it is economically feasible to them, instead of forcing them to.
