Biogas, a fart idea?

Biogas is considered a flexible energy source that, unlike wind and solar energy, can be stored well. In addition, biogas is considered the climate-neutral alternative to natural gas. It is a domestic, renewable energy source and offers a closed CO2 and nutrient cycle.

In 2019, approximately 9,500 biogas plants produced about 5 gigawatts of electric power. This was about 5% of gross electricity consumption.

At the same time, the production of electricity and heat generated about 8.1 billion euros in biomass sales in the same year.

The production of biogas can be more lucrative than raising animals. For many farmers, biogas has therefore become an important source of income. When they produce electricity for the public grid from biogas, they receive a certain feed-in tariff for each kilowatt hour.

But biogas plants have a problem: their profits depend on the global prices of agricultural products. As more and more new biogas plants are built, competition for biomass from the field intensifies. Since corn is the most efficient crop for biogas, critics see a danger in the proliferation of corn crops, which would desert the landscape and deplete the soil.

The federal government around the Federal Minister of Economics would like to further promote biogas until 2024 in order to secure and expand the energy supply in Germany.

A profiteer could be Verbio Vereinigte BioEnergie AG $VBK (+0,18%) could be.

VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG is one of the leading biofuel producers in Europe and sees itself as the only manufacturer and supplier that sells both biodiesel and bioethanol in Germany and Europe.

Its customers include almost all European mineral oil companies.

What do you think, is this share worth an investment?