Poland Launches Its First Biomethane Plant: A Market Breakthrough on the Horizon?

(Un)tapped potential

The investment in Strzelin is the first large-scale biomethane plant in Poland. Until now, only a pilot facility in Brody, launched in February 2025 by scientists from the University of Life Sciences in Poznań (capacity: 0.499 MW), has been in operation for research purposes.

According to a report by the National Centre for Research and Development, the total technical potential for biomethane production in Poland is 8 billion m³. The investment potential is conservatively estimated at 3.2 billion m³, which represents 40 percent of the technical potential¹. To balance its energy system, Poland needs between 1.5 and 2 billion m³ of biomethane per year, while industry – especially the chemical industry – has a high demand for this raw material².

So far, all of the above potential is served by a single biomethane plant. By comparison, there are currently 270 biomethane plants operating in Germany, supplying 1.4 billion m³ renewable gas to the grid each year. In 2024 alone, 21 biomethane plants were commissioned³.

However, this does not mean that there are no projects in Poland. According to a report by the Polish Biomethane Organisation, 105 investment projects at various stages of development were identified for the first quarter of 2025, with a total production capacity of approximately 349 million Nm³ per year. Medium-sized installations (1–5 MW) dominate.

Reasons for the current weakness of the biomethane market

Inadequate legislation was almost unanimously identified as the main reason for the stagnation of the Polish biomethane market to date.

Investors emphasised significant difficulties in connecting to the gas network. These concerned both the lack of information about the capacity of the gas network and the regulations imposed by operators regarding the minimum calorific value of biomethane (over 38 ^MJ/m3).

Biomethane plants were also hampered by lengthy administrative procedures at the investment stage, including environmental decisions, building permits and occupancy permits.

Another major weakness was the lack of a support system that would provide biomethane producers with reliable revenue prospects, even though support systems in Poland are successfully operating for biogas projects.

Improvement of the investment landscape

In recent months, however, there has been a marked improvement in the legal and regulatory conditions for the development of biomethane plants in Poland. An important step was the publication by Polska Spółka Gazownictwa ("PSG") of gas network absorption maps, which for the first time enabled investors to assess the real possibilities of connecting installations to the network. PSG also changed its approach to biomethane quality parameters, including combustion heat requirements, which significantly facilitates the design of installations. According to PSG, 970 decisions have already been issued regarding the connection of biomethane plants – both conditions and statements on the possibility of connection to our network – and 12 connection agreements have been concluded⁴.

Link to the absorption map: Polska Spółka Gazownictwa – Ready for biomethane

A support system for biomethane plants with a capacity of up to 1 MW has been in place in Poland for a year, based on a feed-in premium mechanism. This mechanism allows the sale of electricity on a competitive market with the right to cover the negative balance, which constitutes a subsidy to the level of the guaranteed fixed purchase price.

According to the current regulation, the reference price of biomethane for renewable energy installations used to produce biomethane from biogas is approximately €126.30 per 1 MWh, and for biomethane from agricultural biogas it is €​127.93 per 1 MWh. Importantly, the system only applies to biomethane fed into the gas network.

Further changes on the horizon

The observed direction of legislative changes in Poland seems to favour biomethane.

A number of provisions improving the situation of biomethane producers have been included in the draft amendment to the Act on Onshore Wind Farms. Among other things, it was proposed to introduce a support system for biomethane installations with a capacity of more than 1 MW, based on an auction formula. Separate auctions are planned for biomethane installations with an installed electrical capacity of less than 2 MW and equal to or greater than 2 MW. It has also been proposed to enable biomethane producers to build direct gas pipelines to end users, bypassing gas network operators.

Admittedly, due to the president's veto, the above provisions have not yet entered into force. However, it seems that the resistance of the presidential office mainly concerned the distance rule for onshore wind energy, and there is a broad consensus in Poland on the development of biomethane. Therefore, representatives of the biogas industry, led by the Polish Chamber of Biomethane, are calling for the biomethane provisions to be separated into a separate bill, which should meet with the president's approval.

Summary

The direction of energy legislation and policy development indicates that the biomethane market may become one of the fastest growing segments of the energy sector in Poland.

According to the draft National Energy and Climate Plan, Poland plans to achieve biomethane production of 1.5 billion m³ by 2030 and 3.9 billion m³ by 2040. This opens up significant investment opportunities – both for greenfield projects and acquisitions of developed installations with permits and connection conditions.

The structure of the Polish energy mix and EU requirements indicate that biomethane biomethane is set to become an integral and strategic part of Poland’s energy mix.

The biogas and biomethane market in Poland is monitored on an ongoing basis by Rödl & Partner's lawyers, who are ready to support investors and entrepreneurs at every stage of project development – from planning to implementation and operation.