Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
hence facilitate the unavoidable hen-and-egg situation, but can also serve as
a backup and secure supply source in the event of production failures or
sudden growth in demand.
The Swedish NGV market is a showcase for this type of synergy. Gas grid
coverage is limited to the west coast of Sweden, making it necessary to
utilize biogas as the main source of gas in the rest of the country. Natural
gas in compressed and liquefied form is used as backup to sustain the
biomethane market development. At times of accelerated market expansion,
the use of natural gas may increase for a time, but customer preferences
motivate the gas suppliers to strive for a growing share of renewable
methane, even in the parts of Sweden with natural gas grid access. Over
time, the volumes of biomethane on the Swedish NGV market have
continually increased, in 2011 reaching 60% on an energy basis in a total
market of more than 1200GWh, supplying 38 600 vehicles, of which a
significant portion are buses.
Road transport of biomethane should be avoided for larger volumes
because grid transport is so much better in terms of both costs and energy
expenditure. This is addressed by investing in local gas grids. The expansion
and connection of local grids to the national grid is a natural progression in
an expanding biomethane market, once again showing the importance of
natural gas and biomethane working together in the same market.
It can be envisaged that LBG will change the market conditions in a very
positive manner for countries with conditions similar to Sweden. The three
types of distribution - by grid, LNG by road and CNG by road - will co-
exist, fulfilling different needs of the market.
18.3 Growth of the natural gas vehicle market in
Sweden
The emergence of a prolific and highly renewable Swedish NGV market has
its origin in the fact that Swedish energy supply has become more and more
renewable over the past 40 years. Swedish needs for heat and electricity are
well covered by renewable and nuclear sources instead of fossil fuel. Only
the transport sector remains dependent on fossil oil-based fuels. There was
thus no real incentive for natural gas to become a primary solution for
residential heating needs and its distribution is restricted to a grid
established along the south west coast of Sweden, with consumption
dominated by industry and, more recently, large-scale CHP applications.
From a Swedish political viewpoint, natural gas is a fossil fuel (not
significantly differentiated from oil and coal) and the grid has not been
allowed to grow nationally. A strong lobby from solid biofuels actors has
also been an important factor in this context. Thus, the national certificate
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