The Verkhovna Rada has adopted a bill on customs clearance of biomethane (No. 9456), which aims to resolve the issue of its export. This was announced on Wednesday by MP from the Tax Committee Yaroslav Zheleznyak, UNN reports.
Details
"The Rada has adopted #9456 on amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine regarding customs clearance of biomethane. "There were 297 votes in favor," Zheleznyak said on Telegram.
As noted in the explanatory note to the draft law, there was previously an issue of unregulated customs clearance of biomethane, so in order to develop the industry, it was necessary to address this gap at the legislative level.
The draft law provides for amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine (Article 232) regarding customs control and customs clearance of biomethane transported by pipeline across the customs border of Ukraine.
"For Ukraine, the opening of export opportunities means attracting new investments in the energy and agricultural sectors of the economy, creating new jobs, and creating a basis for new taxes at the local and state levels," the drafters of the bill pointed out.
Addendum
The explanatory note to the draft law states that today more than 10 agricultural holdings are considering entering the biomethane market and plan to build more than 30 biomethane plants with a total production capacity of more than 220 million cubic meters per year, so "the issue of entering the European market should be a priority.
According to the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine, which is cited by the authors of the draft law, there are 77 biogas plants in Ukraine. They produce up to 260 million cubic meters of fuel per year, which can be processed into almost 150 million cubic meters of biomethane.
It is estimated that the technically achievable potential for biomethane production is up to 10 billion cubic meters per year. In the case of gradual progress in this direction, total biomethane production in Ukraine could reach 1 billion cubic meters per year in 2030.
Biomethane can be used to replace natural gas, generate heat and electricity, as a fuel for transport, and as a raw material for the chemical industry, and will help diversify energy sources, accelerate the transition to clean energy, and attract investment.