Bonn, July 1, 2019. In 2018, a total of over 340 million kilowatt hours of gas were certified with the Green Gas Label. The biomethane share was 15.3 percent, meaning that around 52.5 million kilowatt hours of biogas were produced in accordance with the highest environmental criteria. The total volume of gas sold grew by almost 20 percent compared to 2017. More than 28,000 customers now rely on gas with the biogas label of the environmental associations, and the trend is still rising.

"Who wants to refer genuine biogas must be careful to sit on no deception packing , explains Marcus Bollmann, member of the board of the green river label registered association. So that consumers are not deceived, it needs an independent control authority for pollution free biogas."

The Green Gas-certified products guarantee environmentally compatible biogas production throughout the entire production chain. The biogas is produced from biogenic residual materials, such as kitchen waste, green waste or waste from the organic waste garbage can, as well as sewage sludge. In the annual certification process, emphasis is also placed on regional processing of the raw materials in order to prevent long transport routes, save CO2 emissions and strengthen regional value creation.

"You only make an ecologically good choice if it contains biogas that is produced under strict environmental conditions. This is what the Green Gas Label has guaranteed for five years now," Bollmann continues. The biogas label was created by environmental and consumer associations. It is the only seal of approval for biogas in Germany that is supported and recommended by leading environmental associations such as NABU, BUND and EUROSOLAR.

If a provider wants to use the label, an independent institute checks whether the criteria are met. This expert control is carried out by DVGW CERT GmbH. Three energy providers now have biogas tariffs tested by the Green Gas Label. A list of all certified biogas tariffs can be found here: www.gruenerstromlabel.de/gruenes-gas/biogas-beziehen/.

For 2019, green gas suppliers continue to anticipate strong growth: according to preliminary estimates, total gas sales will rise to almost 420 million kilowatt hours, which would represent an increase of 22 percent. The share of environmentally friendly produced biomethane is expected to be around 67 million kilowatt hours, approximately 16 percent.

Keywords
Biogas, biomethane, energy transition, green gas, naturstrom, rhön energie, naturenergie, BUND, NABU, EUROSOLAR

About Grüner Strom Label e.V.
The Grüner Strom Label e.V. certifies green energy products. The association awards two seals of approval for this purpose: the Grüner Strom-Label for green electricity with added value and the Grünes Gas-Label for environmentally compatible biogas. The association is backed by non-profit environmental and consumer associations and peace organizations, including NABU, BUND, EUROSOLAR and the Verbraucher Initiative. Grüner Storm-Label or Grünes Gas-Label are the only seals of approval for green electricity and biogas in Germany that are supported and recommended by leading environmental associations. www.gruenerstromlabel.de