The French company Evergaz has taken an important step in the development of the methanization unit in the Chateau-Gontier region (Mayenne), by announcing the injection of its first cubic meters of biomethane into the GRDF network.
Green electricity: a complete range of green energy produced by the methanization plant, Biogaz du Pays de Château-Gontier
This methanization unit is the first site in France to offer a complete range of green energies by recovering biogas in four forms: green electricity, green heat, bioGNV and biomethane. This ambitious project is the result of Evergaz and its partner Meridiam ‘s desire to develop and operate exemplary methanization units in France and in Europe.
The Pays de Château-Gontier biogas plant, which Evergaz will start operating in 2018, is designed as a regional project. It valorizes the organic matter produced locally by farms, agri-food industries or the community. It supplies the equivalent of 3,200 homes with green electricity and has a processing capacity of 35,000 tons of waste per year. The green heat produced by the site is used for the production of the Perreault cheese factory located nearby, thanks to a heating network with a capacity of 2 MWth co-financed by the ADEME. In 2019, Evergaz also built a bioNGV station in the direct vicinity of the unit, open to the public, to supply green fuel to the vehicles of the Communauté de communes du Pays de Château-Gontier and the heavy goods vehicles of several local companies.
The project to diversify the site with the production of biomethane injected into the gas network was announced in February 2021. The biomethane produced by the unit is valorized through its sale to the energy supplier Plüm Energie, and supplies the equivalent of 5,300 people with green gas. The development of the project is supported by Evergaz’s partner, Meridiam, and a banking pool made up of Arkea, Banque Populaire Grand Ouest and Edmond de Rostchild Asset Management (EDRAM), as well as by Suez Organique, which has held a 10% stake in the methanization unit since the beginning of the project.
Virtuous alternatives: biogas as an alternative to dependence on imported hydrocarbons
With the start-up of the biomethane purifier, Biogaz du Pays de Château-Gontier becomes the first site in France to valorize biogas in 4 energy forms: green electricity, green heat, green gas and biogas fuel (bioGNV). This site illustrates both the potential of methanization in terms of energy mix, and Evergaz’s desire to participate in the collective effort of energy transition with the production of a renewable, local and flexible energy that adapts to the needs of consumers in the territory.
France and Europe agree on the need to move away from dependence on imported hydrocarbons, particularly from Russia. Biogas offers a virtuous alternative by contributing both to the strategy of energy independence of the territories and to the objective of ecological transition of the country. The Pays de Château-Gontier Biogas plant has proven environmental, economic and societal benefits by avoiding the release of 8,440 tons of CO2 per year and by allowing the use of natural fertilizers on the fields of 63 local farmers.
By producing locally 32 GWh of biomethane per year and 10 GWh per year of renewable heat to replace imported fossil fuels, it strengthens the energy autonomy of the Château-Gontier region. Moreover, it constitutes a significant contribution to the objectives of ecological transition.
