A socio-economic analysis of biomethane in the transport sector: The case of Italy

The transport sector has a low penetration of renewable energy, and this presents a serious obstacle to tackling climate change. Biomethane is seen as a decarbonisation solution, but only some European countries have pursued its development. Italy is one of these countries, having released a decree to stimulate development of the sector. The present work considers two typologies of substrate (the organic fraction of municipal solid waste and by-products) used in three sizes of plants (125 m3/h, 250 m3/h and 500 m3/h). A detailed socio-economic analysis is presented and policy implications are provided. The recovery of waste enables the creation of a circular economy, but the economic feasibility of such a model is verified in only some scenarios. A sensitivity analysis on the critical variables is conducted to support investment in this area. The use of green gas is found to be capable of significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector, but the economic value of any environmental externality is low due to the value of carbon dioxide.