欧美文化:Lithuania inaugurates 1st biomethane plant

VILNIUS, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Lithuania's first and so far only biomethane plant is now operational, the country's Ministry of Energy said on Monday.

The Tube Green plant, located in the Pasvalys District, is estimated to produce 100 gigawatt hours (GWh) of biomethane per year. This will cover up to 1 percent of the country's total annual gas demand.

Tube Green is implementing the project in cooperation with local biofuel producer Kurana, with an investment of 15 million euros (16.05 million U.S. dollars).

Lithuania's Environment Minister Simonas Gentvilas said in a news release that 2.8 million euros were allocated to the plant from the European Climate Change Program.

According to the Ministry of Environment, the purification technology that the plant is using will avoid emissions of pollutants, noise or smell during production and transportation.

"The rapid development of biomethane production will help Lithuania reduce its consumption of fossil fuels and consolidate its energy independence," Jurgis Polujanskas, chief executive officer (CEO) of Kurana, told the Baltic News Service(BNS).

Biomethane produced from food or agricultural waste is part of the circular economy and is considered one of the most advanced types of renewable energy that many European countries are actively developing.

Lithuania aims to produce at least 950 GWh of biomethane by 2030, BNS reported. (1 euro = 1.07 U.S. dollar)