🇳🇴 Rå Biopark enters into agreement with Barents NaturGass

Rå Biopark with a billion dollar agreement on biogas in the north

Both the management of Rå Biopark and Barents NaturGass were all smiles when the letter of intent for the sale and distribution of biogas was signed in Hammerfest. The agreement has a framework of NOK 1.2 billion.

“This is a milestone for northern Norwegian business and industry. The cooperation between us and Barents NaturGass is not only a long-term agreement on the sale and distribution of the biogas that we will produce, but also an enormously important contribution to the green shift in the north.”

“The agreement with Barents NaturGass is a confirmation that Rå Biopark is a good project and that we are now very close to realizing a major renewable energy adventure,” says Sigve Daae Rasmussen, CEO of Rå Biopark.

Paradigm shift

He is supported by Sales Manager Mikael Rikstad Iversen in Barents NaturGass, who is very pleased that in the future they can also offer customers a product that is one hundred percent climate neutral in addition to fossil natural gas.

“For us at Barents NaturGass, this will mean a paradigm shift where we get biogas in our product mix. Three years ago, few people were interested in using biogas in industry or in land and sea transportation. Now everybody wants it. Therefore, it is extremely important for us to be part of this exciting industrial project in the north.”

Filling stations

Barents NaturGass sends 2000 truckloads of natural gas annually from Melkøya to various destinations in the North Calotte. The company supplies energy to 5000 workplaces, including several ferry services. In the agreement with Rå Biopark, there will be cooperation on the development of a network of filling stations in Northern Norway.

“It is relevant to establish filling stations at all hubs in Northern Norway. We want to establish a dialogue with customers and actors who are interested in having a filling station nearby,” says Iversen.

Utilizing energy

The owners of Rå Biopark are all waste companies that have a clear goal of contributing to a far better energy utilization of food waste and sludge than making compost soil. Through closed systems, Rå Biopark will produce liquid biogas equivalent to more than 5 million liters of diesel per year.

“It is really fantastic that we can supply the market with a gas from a renewable source. The climate-neutral fuel we produce will both relieve a strained energy market and make an important contribution to the energy mix of the future,” says Daae Rasmussen.

Great interest

The agreement between Barents NaturGass and Rå Biopark has a duration of ten years with options for extension. The framework is around NOK 1.2 billion. Barents NaturGass will sell all biogas to be produced in Skibotn.

The owners want to concentrate on good treatment of the waste and have decided that sales and distribution will be outsourced to those who work with it on a daily basis.

“There are many people interested in biogas. We could sell our entire production in the European market, but Rå Biopark is a North Norwegian industrial project and the owners have also decided that the gas will be used in Northern Norway to develop the region.

“Therefore, we are very pleased that we can now sign an agreement with Barents NaturGass. The fact that we have entered into a partnership on sales and distribution not only reduces the uncertainty in the project, but also provides us with important gas expertise. We are now a long step closer to realizing the biopark in Skibotn. The final investment decision will be made in late fall,” says Daae Rasmussen.

It is here in Skibotn that the new biogas production plant will be established. The final investment decision will be made by the owners in late autumn.