Flexible Biogas Production with the ReBi Biogas Plant Configuration for Balancing Power Generation - A Comparison of Flexible Biogas Production with Biogas Storing Configurations

The share of electricity produced from renewable energy is constantly increasing in Germany and worldwide. The transformation to an electricity system based on renewable sources is characterized by an increasing need for balancing power in order to compensate power supply from fluctuating sources, such as solar or wind. Electricity from biogas has the advantage that biogas or biomass can be stored and electricity can be generated flexibly on demand. However, it is crucial to guarantee the availability of biogas (biomethane) at the power generation unit whenever it is required to generate electricity on demand especially when days without biogas consumption need to be balanced. In this regard, the demand-adapted, flexible biogas production with ReBi configuration profits from reduced biogas storage requirements leading to lower biogas supply costs compared to alternative storing concepts. Thus, this configuration will be a key element for integrating high shares of fluctuating renewable energies into energy supply systems.