On 2 July 2025, the Greek Parliament passed a law establishing a framework for biomethane and hydrogen production. The biomethane sector is expected to expand rapidly, via the upgrading of existing biogas plants.
The law, officially gazetted on 4 July 2025 partially implements EU Directive 2024/1788 which calls for equal access to networks for renewable gases, among other things, as part of the EU’s broader Gas Market Reform Package. A draft of the bill was opened to the public for comment on 2 June, with the consultation period ending 16 June.
Here we focus exclusively on the implications for biomethane.
Biogas production and capacity in Greece have risen steadily over the past decade, supported by Feed-in Tariffs for electricity from biogas CHPs. According to EBA statistics, in 2023, approximately 1.3 TWh of biogas was used to produce 0.5 TWh of electricity. However, no biogas upgrading to biomethane had taken place as of that year.
Greece’s National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) targets 2.1 TWh of biomethane production annually by 2030. It suggests that half of existing biogas plants could be converted, potentially yielding 0.7 TWh per year, with a turnaround of less than two years per site.
Carrot or stick approach to upgrading?
The final law adopts both incentives and deadlines to accelerate the transition from raw biogas to injected biomethane. Article 9 of the bill clarifies how connection costs are to be split between facility and the grid operator, namely:
If the pipeline (plant to grid) is less than 3 km, the grid operator will pay the costs;
Between 3 and 10 km, pipeline construction costs will be split between operator and producer (50:50).
Beyond this, the producer is liable for the costs.
This detail was not mentioned in the draft, appearing in the final law post-consultation.
Article 18 regarding incentives for biomethane production states that the producer does not pay a specific fee for grid-injection, rather it is included in the ‘Regulated Asset Base’ and is defrayed among all network users. Biogas operations that are currently receiving operating aid are able to receive biomethane-specific aid after upgrading, provided the aid agreements are secured within the next five years. This is in contrast to the UK, where brownfield biogas projects are unable to receive biomethane production support (via the GGSS) after upgrading.
Hybrid operations (that is, where both upgrading and direct use of the raw biogas occurs) can also receive biomethane support once upgrading capability is installed, provided current FiT arrangements have more than five years of validity remaining.
Should hybrid operation be eschewed, a provision allows upgraded plants to reuse freed-up electricity grid capacity – from decommissioned CHP units – to install new onsite renewable generation (such as solar or wind), with minimal administrative burden.
The final paragraph of Article 18 also ceases the awarding of new or renewed biogas CHP contracts from 1 January 2026, which effectively makes biomethane upgrading the only remaining supported pathway for biogas installations.
However, Article 22 raises an exception for biogas installations using sewage or landfills as feedstock sources; these installations will still be able to apply for and receive a FiT for CHP power generation. This carve-out was added after the public consultation period and reflects that such facilities may lack viable technical or economic pathways to upgrade.
Article 19 contains the context for biomethane GOs, requiring producers who are to receive GOs to have an active operating licence, the use of the national registry, and ensures the traceability of GO transactions. These provisions are in line with the EU RED III Article 19 on Guarantees of Origin. It should be noted that a biomethane GO registry has not yet been established nor has a registry operator been designated by law. However, these will likely fall under the purview of the current RES-E GO authorised body DAPEEP.
Likewise, Article 5 aligns with RED III Union Database provisions concerning renewable energy in the transport sector, in particular sustainability requirements for biofuels and GHG emissions. The Directorate of Renewable Energy Sources have been appointed with responsibility for ensuring compliance.
The mentions of bioLNG (as well as bioCNG) are largely as a corollary of liquefaction being an alternate delivery method for biomethane. Article 3 explicitly defines biomethane to include BioLNG in addition to grid-injected biomethane. Article 16 allows for and acknowledges its use as fuel in ships and vehicles, while Article 17 ensures bioLNG production is eligible for general biomethane support schemes.
While there are no mentions of specific biomethane support schemes, the document lays out the framework for support in Chapter D, which contains the previously mentioned Articles 17-19. Additionally, Article 20 titled ‘Authorising Provisions’ states that decisions regarding competitive procedures for the disbursement of support will come from the Minister of the Environment and Energy, with fiscal approval from the Minister of National Economy and Finance.
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