Biogas Sector

The GMI Biogas Subcommittee focuses on building capacity within Partner Countries to leverage common interests across the areas of agriculture, municipal solid waste, and municipal wastewater. These interests include biogas energy use, the types of wastes managed, waste treatment technologies, and the potential for synergistic projects involving input streams from multiple sources. Efforts include developing and promoting tools, policy guidance, and project development resources at the national, state, and city level within Partner Countries.

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GMI Technical Groups

Within the Biogas Sector, GMI maintains active technical groups in the areas of agriculture, municipal solid waste (MSW), and municipal wastewater. These groups provide international leadership to mitigate global methane emissions through the abatement, recovery, and use of methane. They promote collaboration between delegates from Partner Countries and Project Network members to build capacity, develop strategies, and expand opportunities for using methane as a renewable energy resource.

Agriculture

Methane emissions come from livestock enteric fermentation, livestock waste management, rice cultivation, and agricultural waste burning.

Municipal Solid Waste

Municipal solid waste management and treatment activities such as landfilling and anaerobic digestion are sources of methane emissions worldwide.

Municipal Wastewater

Methane is produced when the organic material in municipal wastewater decomposes anaerobically.

Upcoming Events

Biogas

Methane Observations for Large Emission Event Detection and Monitoring

19–21 November 2024, Virtual

While carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities, methane is estimated around 80 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere on a 20-year timescale. Methane is an attractive target for mitigation activities because it has a relatively short decadal-scale lifetime in the atmosphere (as compared with the century-scale carbon dioxide lifetime), it can be utilized as an energy source or combusted (converted to CO2) in order to reduce its global warming potential, and the safety issues associated with high concentrations of this flammable gas. Many activities can lead to the release of large concentrations of methane during the course of normal industrial operations or as accidental releases, these are often referred to as super emitter events, which can be identified from modern satellites.

This introductory two-part training will begin with an introduction to the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center and provide participants with an overview of how methane observations from the Earth surface Mineral dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission can be used to identify and monitor areas of high methane enhancement. This course will also demonstrate how to navigate the U.S. Greenhouse Gas center portal to access data products as well as highlight tools for visualizing methane observations.

By the end of this training attendees will be able to:
  1. Identify the goals and objectives of the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center
  2. Define the roles of methane and large emission events in climate change
  3. Identify the sensors used to measure methane
  4. Recognize the strengths and limitations of satellite observations used to measure methane for large emission event tracking
  5. Navigate the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center Portal and the EMIT Open Data Portal to access and visualize data for large emission event tracking
Audience
Federal, state, and local government agency representatives, United Nations agencies with policy mandates related to GHG emission measurement, monitoring and mitigation (e.g., UNEP), entities whose operations produce methane (i.e. oil and gas sector, landfills, livestock, etc.), as well as non-public sector entities with roles/responsibilities in providing GHG data, solutions and services.

University students, early career researchers, and the media may also be interested.

Course Format
Two, 90-minute parts on 19 November and 21 November 2024
Each part includes a 30-min Q&A session

View Details

Biogas

Methane Observations for Large Emission Event Detection and Monitoring

7–9 January 2025, Virtual

This event will be conducted in Spanish.

While carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities, methane is estimated around 80 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere on a 20-year timescale. Methane is an attractive target for mitigation activities because it has a relatively short decadal-scale lifetime in the atmosphere (as compared with the century-scale carbon dioxide lifetime), it can be utilized as an energy source or combusted (converted to CO2) in order to reduce its global warming potential, and the safety issues associated with high concentrations of this flammable gas. Many activities can lead to the release of large concentrations of methane during the course of normal industrial operations or as accidental releases, these are often referred to as super emitter events, which can be identified from modern satellites.

This introductory two-part training will begin with an introduction to the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center and provide participants with an overview of how methane observations from the Earth surface Mineral dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission can be used to identify and monitor areas of high methane enhancement. This course will also demonstrate how to navigate the U.S. Greenhouse Gas center portal to access data products as well as highlight tools for visualizing methane observations.

By the end of this training attendees will be able to:
  1. Identify the goals and objectives of the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center
  2. Define the roles of methane and large emission events in climate change
  3. Identify the sensors used to measure methane
  4. Recognize the strengths and limitations of satellite observations used to measure methane for large emission event tracking
  5. Navigate the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center Portal and the EMIT Open Data Portal to access and visualize data for large emission event tracking
Audience
Federal, state, and local government agency representatives, United Nations agencies with policy mandates related to GHG emission measurement, monitoring and mitigation (e.g., UNEP), entities whose operations produce methane (i.e. oil and gas sector, landfills, livestock, etc.), as well as non-public sector entities with roles/responsibilities in providing GHG data, solutions and services.

University students, early career researchers, and the media may also be interested.

Course Format
Two, 90-minute parts on 7 January and 9 January 2025
Each part includes a 30-min Q&A session

View Details

View GMI Calendar

Recent Events

 NameDateLocationSectorLink
Biogas 2nd International Conference and Expo on Biofuels and Bioenergy 14–15 November 2024 London, United Kingdom Biogas View Details
Biogas Too Good to Waste Webinar – The True Impact of the Solid Waste Sector on Methane Emissions 7 November 2024 Virtual Biogas View Details
Biogas The World Biogas Association India Congress 2024 23–24 October 2024 New Delhi, India Biogas View Details
Biogas 2024 Value of Biogas West Conference 7–9 October 2024 Vancouver, Canada Biogas View Details
Biogas World Biogas Association Brazil Congress 2024 1 October 2024 Iguazu, Brazil Biogas View Details
Biogas 6th International Conference on Renewable Energy, Resources and Sustainable Technologies 26–27 September 2024 Amsterdam, Netherlands Biogas, Oil and Gas View Details
Biogas Biogas PowerON 2024 25–26 September 2024 Copenhagen, Denmark Biogas View Details
Biogas International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) 2024 Waste to Wealth: Solutions for a Sustainable Future 15–18 September 2024 Cape Town, South Africa Biogas, MSW, Wastewater View Details
Biogas International Conference on Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas 22–23 July 2024 Berlin, Germany Biogas View Details
Biogas International Conference on Biogas Science and Technologies 12 July–9 August 2024 Ottawa, Canada Biogas View Details

View All Past Events

Biogas Subcommittee

Subcommittee Co-chairs

Patrick CoatarPeter, Co-Chair
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
United States

Godfred Fiifi Boadi, Co-Chair
Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources
Ghana

Matt Hamilton, Co-Chair
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)
Canada

Subcommittee Members

Representatives from 38 countries participate in the Biogas Subcommittee.

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Project Network

Hundreds of Project Network members support methane abatement projects in the biogas sector.

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Biogas Subcommittee Statement of Purpose
Biogas Subcommittee Statement of Purpose

Tell Us Your Story

Learn how you can showcase your efforts to reduce methane emissions in the biogas sector through the Global Methane Challenge.

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Connect, Contribute, and Stay in Touch

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Featured Tools

Check out these featured tools.

View all biogas resources

Biogas Toolkit (U.S. EPA) (2020)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Biogas Toolkit serves as a centralized knowledge hub for biogas project stakeholders. The toolkit is designed to allow stakeholders to search and browse for information and resources that meet their specific project needs. The toolkit includes information and resources compiled from across several EPA programs, including AgSTAR, the Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP), and GMI.

Solid Waste Emissions Estimation Tool (SWEET) (2020)

SWEET is a free Excel tool created by the Waste Initiative. SWEET helps users scope emissions sources such as waste collection and transportation, open burning, landfill gas collection systems, organic waste management projects, waste handling equipment (e.g., bulldozers), and waste incineration facilities. It estimates waste sector emissions including methane, black carbon, and several other pollutants. It also evaluates emissions reduction benefits of multiple alternative waste management scenarios.

OrganEcs (2016)

OrganEcs aims to help local decision makers in their first evaluation of different treatment options (e.g., composting options and/or anaerobic digestion options). OrganEcs helps users determine the economic feasibility of waste management scenarios by calculating tipping fees, sales of products (e.g., organic compost), and the internal rate of return. OrganEcs use requires expert support.

Biogas Wastewater Assessment Technology Tool (BioWATT) (2016)

The Biogas Wastewater Assessment Technology Tool (BioWATT) provides a quick and preliminary assessment of wastewater-to-energy projects. Through BioWATT, users can receive a specific summary of their biogas production estimates for various wastewater-to-energy technologies, electricity generation potential from the produced biogas, greenhouse gas savings associated with biogas-generated electricity, and more.

International Best Practices Guide for Landfill Gas Energy Projects (2012)

Global Methane Initiative’s (GMI) International Best Practices Guide for Landfill Gas Energy Projects provides a broad overview of the development process for LFGE projects in international settings and presents the technological, economic and political considerations that typically affect the success of LFGE projects. The goal of the guide is to encourage environmentally and economically sound LFGE projects by connecting stakeholders with available information, tools and services. The guide is not intended to provide a step-by-step protocol for project development.

Central and Eastern Europe Landfill Gas Model

The Model can be used to estimate landfill gas generation rates from SWD sites, and potential landfill gas recovery rates for disposal sites that have, or plan to have, gas collection and control systems and are located in Central or Eastern European countries. The Model also may be used for SWD sites in other countries which experience similar site conditions and climate, and have waste composition data.

User Manual

Colombia Landfill Gas Model

The Model can be used to estimate landfill gas generation rates from landfills, and potential landfill gas recovery rates for landfills that have, or plan to have, gas collection and control systems in Colombia.

User Manual

Spanish Version: Colombia Landfill Gas Model and User Manual

Recent Resources

For a complete list of available biogas resources, including technical documents, presentations, and tools, please visit the resources page.

View all biogas resources

Market Opportunities for Anaerobic Digestion of Livestock and Agro-Industrial Wastes in India (2020)

The report on the Market Opportunities for Anaerobic Digestion of Livestock and Agro-Industrial Wastes in India will help inform project developers, policymakers, and other interested stakeholders about the potential for biogas capture and use in India. The report estimates biogas production and emission reduction potential from India’s largest agricultural sectors, and it includes an overview of the uses of biogas and digestate, current biogas policies, technology options, and business models relevant for India.

Scaling Sludge Mountains: Breaking Down Barriers for Chinese Cities to Turn Sludge Waste into Energy (2019)

The Wilson Center’s China Environment Forum (CEF) produced this sludge scoping report for the U.S. EPA and the Global Methane Initiative. The report describes drivers that created mountains of municipal sludge, introduces key political and research entities involved in sludge regulation in China, reviews obstacles in adoption of anaerobic digestion, provides a case study of the challenges facing sludge-to-energy projects, and highlights opportunities for U.S. government, cities, and companies to engage with Chinese government agencies.

Naucalpan, Mexico Waste Characterization Study (2019)

In March 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – as a lead partner in the Waste Initiative – conducted a waste characterization study at the municipality’s transfer station. The study indicated that approximately 69% of the waste handled at the transfer station could be recycled or otherwise diverted from the landfill, and that more than half of the waste could be used as feedstock in composting or anaerobic digestion projects. The municipality is using the results of the study to inform decision making about the project design and procurement options.

From Farm to Table to Energy: Co-digesting China’s Urban Food Waste in Wastewater Treatment Plants (2019)

Prepared by the Wilson’s Center China Environment Forum with assistance provided by GMI, the report highlights food waste trends in Chinese cities and assesses the possibilities of redirecting food waste to municipal wastewater (MWW) and sludge-to-energy (StE) plants. This report also highlights some specific gaps that GMI and other organizations could help fill and potential Chinese partners to engage with to highlight the environmental and economic benefits of co-digestion.

Biogas Done Right - Introduction (2019)

Jorge Hilbert explains and introduces the importance of biogas in the agricultural sector, while additionally explaining biogas’s potential for increasing future energy efficiency and technological sustainability.

Using Animal Manure as a Resource (2019)

Anaerobic digestion, or AD, is the biological process that breaks down biological materials like compost or manure into biogas. Livestock manure accounts for 3 percent of man-made methane emissions globally. Methane, when captured and stored, can be used to generate electricity and heat, or it can be processed into natural gas fuel. By capturing the biogas, we are also preventing the release of methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases, to the atmosphere.

Methane Mitigation Matters: Climate Change (2015)

Methane is a prevalent manmade greenhouse gas that traps 28 times more heat than carbon dioxide (CO2). Reducing methane emissions by recovering and using methane as a clean energy source offers many benefits for the environment and local communities. This video highlights the many ways that reducing methane can benefit the environment and local communities.