{"id":6055,"date":"2026-07-15T07:44:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T06:44:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/?p=6055"},"modified":"2026-07-19T05:01:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T04:01:14","slug":"biogaz-maera-montpellier-gaz-vert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/en\/biogaz-maera-montpellier-gaz-vert\/","title":{"rendered":"Biogas: Maera, Montpellier's example of local energy at the heart of energy independence"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>\n.es-art{font-family:inherit;color:#36485a;line-height:1.7;font-size:17px}\n.es-art-hero{margin:0 0 26px;border-radius:16px;overflow:hidden;box-shadow:0 10px 30px rgba(22,49,79,.12)}\n.es-art-hero img{display:block;width:100%;height:auto}\n.es-art .lead{font-size:19px;color:#1f4a73;font-weight:500;margin:0 0 22px}\n.es-art h2{font-size:27px;line-height:1.25;color:#16314f;font-weight:800;margin:38px 0 14px}\n.es-art h3{font-size:21px;color:#1f4a73;font-weight:700;margin:26px 0 10px}\n.es-art p{margin:0 0 16px}\n.es-art ul{margin:0 0 18px;padding-left:0;list-style:none}\n.es-art ul li{position:relative;padding-left:30px;margin:0 0 10px}\n.es-art ul li::before{content:\"\";position:absolute;left:0;top:7px;width:18px;height:18px;border-radius:50%;background:#eafff2}\n.es-art ul li::after{content:\"\\2713\";position:absolute;left:5px;top:4px;color:#1f8a4c;font-size:12px;font-weight:700}\n.es-art .es-box{background:#f4f7fa;border-left:4px solid #1f8a4c;border-radius:12px;padding:18px 22px;margin:24px 0}\n.es-art .es-box p:last-child{margin-bottom:0}\n.es-art a{color:#1f8a4c;font-weight:600;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(31,138,76,.35)}\n.es-art a:hover{border-bottom-color:#1f8a4c}\n.es-art .es-cta{display:block;margin:34px 0 6px;background:linear-gradient(95deg,#16314f,#1f4a73);border-radius:18px;padding:30px 28px;color:#fff}\n.es-art .es-cta h3{color:#fff;margin:0 0 8px}\n.es-art .es-cta p{color:#d6e2ee;margin:0 0 16px}\n.es-art .es-cta .btn{display:inline-block;background:#43d98a;color:#0b1a2b;font-weight:700;padding:12px 24px;border-radius:999px;border:none;text-decoration:none}\n@media(max-width:680px){.es-art h2{font-size:23px}.es-art{font-size:16px}}\n<\/style>\n<div class=\"es-art\">\n<figure class=\"es-art-hero\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/biogaz-maera-montpellier-opt.webp\" alt=\"Biogaz Maera : unit\u00e9 de production de biogaz et biom\u00e9thane \u00e0 Montpellier\" \/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"lead\">Le blocage du d\u00e9troit d&rsquo;Ormuz et ses r\u00e9percussions sur le GNL qatari, conjugu\u00e9s \u00e0 l&rsquo;arr\u00eat de l&rsquo;approvisionnement en gaz russe depuis la guerre en Ukraine, ont plac\u00e9 l&rsquo;ind\u00e9pendance \u00e9nerg\u00e9tique au premier plan. Dans ce contexte, le biom\u00e9thane produit localement s&rsquo;impose comme un actif strat\u00e9gique. La station Maera, \u00e0 Montpellier, en offre une illustration concr\u00e8te. Le biogaz Maera illustre parfaitement cette dynamique de production locale de gaz vert.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Biogaz Maera : une station d&rsquo;\u00e9puration qui produit du gaz vert<\/h2>\n<p>Le biogaz Maera est produit directement sur le site d&rsquo;\u00e9puration. L&rsquo;unit\u00e9 de traitement des eaux us\u00e9es Maera, situ\u00e9e \u00e0 Lattes et g\u00e9r\u00e9e par la M\u00e9tropole de Montpellier, a officiellement mis en service son dispositif de production de gaz vert le 4 juin 2026. Gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 un chantier de modernisation de 165 millions d&rsquo;euros lanc\u00e9 en 2023, les eaux us\u00e9es collect\u00e9es permettent d\u00e9sormais de produire du biom\u00e9thane, une \u00e9nergie locale et renouvelable inject\u00e9e dans le r\u00e9seau de GRDF.<\/p>\n<p>Once the works are complete, the plant will produce twice as much energy as it consumes. Each year it will supply the equivalent of 9,000 low-energy (BBC) homes with biogas, as well as 3,000 homes with hot water and heating. Production will ramp up gradually: around 20 GWh by 2028, close to 10% of the gas consumed across the metropolitan area, then 32 GWh in 2029. On a broader scale, Montpellier M\u00e9tropole plans to connect 45,000 households to its urban heating networks by 2030.<\/p>\n<div class=\"es-box\"><p><strong>Key takeaway:<\/strong> Maera shows how existing public infrastructure can become a producer of local renewable energy \u2014 a model of direct interest to <a href=\"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/en\/valorisation-du-biogaz\/\">local authorities committed to biogas valorisation<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n\n<h2>How biomethane is monetised in France<\/h2>\n<p>The production cost of biomethane remains on average higher than the market price of natural gas. To make a facility profitable, project developers have several monetisation mechanisms available, which currently coexist but cannot be combined on the same facility.<\/p>\n\n<h3>The state-backed feed-in tariff<\/h3>\n<p>Introduced in 2011, the feed-in tariff guarantees facilities producing less than 25 GWh per year a fixed remuneration over 15 years for each megawatt-hour injected (open window). Above 25 GWh per year, projects fall under the tenders organised by the French Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), introduced in 2024 in line with the 2018 programming law, with a ceiling tariff set by the tender specifications.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Over-the-counter contracts (BPAs)<\/h3>\n<p>Biomethane Purchase Agreements (BPAs) are contracts negotiated directly between a producer and a consumer, often an industrial company wishing to green its gas consumption over the long term at a smoothed price. They can be direct or go through an intermediary supplier.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Biogas production certificates (CPBs)<\/h3>\n<p>Le cadre r\u00e9glementaire des certificats de production de biogaz est d\u00e9fini par les pouvoirs publics ; voir le portail de l&rsquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ademe.fr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ADEME<\/a> pour les modalit\u00e9s officielles.<\/p>\n<p>Established by the 2021 Climate and Resilience Act and specified by the decree of 6 July 2024, the <a href=\"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/en\/certificats-de-biogaz\/\">biogas production certificates<\/a> reverse the funding logic: it is now the gas suppliers themselves who finance the sector, by surrendering to the State each year a volume of certificates proportional to their sales. The stated objective is to reach 10% biomethane in the networks by 2030.<\/p>\n<p>The obligation trajectory ramps up quickly: from 0.41% of the volume sold in 2026 to 4.15% in 2028, for an estimated cumulative total of 10.4 TWh. In the event of a shortfall, Article L. 446-46 of the Energy Code provides for a penalty of 100 euros per missing MWh, calibrated to stay above the expected market price of a certificate so as to discourage suppliers from preferring the fine to purchasing.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Guarantees of origin (GOs)<\/h3>\n<p>Distinct from CPBs, guarantees of origin trace the renewable origin of the gas for the end consumer: an electronic certificate is issued for each MWh of biomethane injected (Article L. 446-18 of the Energy Code). Since 1 October 2023, their registry has been managed by the company EEX. A notable point for a case like Maera: Article L. 446-22 allows a municipality, a grouping of municipalities or a metropolitan authority hosting a facility to receive, free of charge, all or part of these guarantees to certify the local origin of its own consumption \u2014 without being able to resell them.<\/p>\n\n<h2>A cost now spread across all consumers<\/h2>\n<p>Le mod\u00e8le \u00e9conomique du biogaz Maera repose sur ce partage. Le prix d&rsquo;un CPB se forme librement, \u00e0 l&rsquo;\u00e9quilibre entre le co\u00fbt complet de production du biom\u00e9thane et la valeur de march\u00e9 du gaz. Sur la base des co\u00fbts constat\u00e9s en 2024-2025, la CRE estime ce prix d&rsquo;\u00e9quilibre autour de 80 \u20ac\/MWh PCS en 2026, avec une baisse attendue \u00e0 mesure que la fili\u00e8re gagne en maturit\u00e9.<\/p>\n<p>Passed on to bills, this mechanism has a concrete effect: for a gas-heated household consuming around 12 MWh per year, the CRE estimates the additional annual cost at close to 8 euros in 2026, then around 79 euros in 2028. Unlike guarantees of origin, which concern only voluntary green offers, CPBs weigh uniformly on all gas offers. Financing biomethane thus becomes the concern of all consumers.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Biomethane, a sovereignty asset<\/h2>\n<p>\u00c0 l&rsquo;image du biogaz Maera, la production locale renforce l&rsquo;autonomie \u00e9nerg\u00e9tique du territoire. Au-del\u00e0 de sa dimension environnementale, le biom\u00e9thane local pr\u00e9sente un atout strat\u00e9gique : sa cha\u00eene de valeur \u2014 g\u00e9nie civil, technologies d&rsquo;\u00e9puration, mati\u00e8re premi\u00e8re \u2014 est int\u00e9gr\u00e9e sur le territoire, alors que le pays cherche \u00e0 r\u00e9duire sa d\u00e9pendance aux importations de gaz. Le cas Maera illustre comment une infrastructure publique existante peut contribuer, \u00e0 son \u00e9chelle, \u00e0 cet objectif d&rsquo;ind\u00e9pendance \u00e9nerg\u00e9tique. Cette dynamique rejoint la structuration plus large du <a href=\"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/en\/biomethane-2026-marche-europeen-entreprises\/\">European biomethane market for businesses<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"es-cta\"><h3>Monetise your biogas certificates with E-Station<\/h3>\n<p>Comme le montre le cas du biogaz Maera, chaque unit\u00e9 de m\u00e9thanisation peut valoriser sa production ; E-Station vous accompagne pour transformer ce biogaz Maera en revenus concrets.<\/p><p>Producer, supplier or industrial company: E-Station supports you in the valorisation and trading of your biogas production certificates.<\/p><a class=\"btn\" href=\"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/en\/certificats-de-biogaz\/\">Discover our solutions<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"es-maillage-related wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"es-maillage\"><strong>On the same topic:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"\/en\/cae-certificats-economies-energie-2027\/\">CAE: why the energy savings certificate market could swing into surplus as early as 2027<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/cee-certificats-electrification-evolution\/\">CEE and electrification certificates: understanding the evolution of energy transition support<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/cee-financer-renovation-energetique\/\">CEE: how to finance your energy renovation with energy savings certificates<\/a><\/li><\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Le blocage du d\u00e9troit d&rsquo;Ormuz et ses r\u00e9percussions sur le GNL qatari, conjugu\u00e9s \u00e0 l&rsquo;arr\u00eat de l&rsquo;approvisionnement en gaz russe depuis la guerre en Ukraine, ont plac\u00e9 l&rsquo;ind\u00e9pendance \u00e9nerg\u00e9tique au premier plan. Dans ce contexte, le biom\u00e9thane produit localement s&rsquo;impose comme un actif strat\u00e9gique. La station Maera, \u00e0 Montpellier, en offre une illustration concr\u00e8te. Le [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biogaz-biomethane"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/biogaz-maera-montpellier-opt.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6055"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6318,"href":"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6055\/revisions\/6318"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-station-groupe.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}