© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Goldman Sachs logo is seen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/Photo by archive
By Virginia Furness
LONDON (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs (NYSE:) Asset Management said on Monday it had launched a biomethane business called Verdalia Bioenergy and aimed to invest more than 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion) in Europe over the next four years. .
Biomethane, a lower carbon alternative to fossil fuels, is produced from the decomposition of organic waste and is considered a key pillar in efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the European Union.
Some €80 billion of investment is needed to increase EU biogas and biomethane production tenfold to reach a target of 370 terawatt hours per year (TWh) by 2030, accelerating decarbonisation and increasing energy security.
Verdalia Bioenergy will invest in both early-stage biomethane development projects and existing assets with the aim of contributing to Europe’s energy security and decarbonisation agenda, the asset manager said on Monday.
It has already signed an agreement to buy a portfolio of biomethane projects with a total capacity of around 150 gigawatt hours per year (GWh/year) in the mid-stage of development in Spain.
“We believe that biomethane is today one of the most attractive segments in the energy transition for infrastructure investors,” said Matteo Botto Poala, managing director of GSAM’s infrastructure business.
Biomethane can be used in the same way as natural gas and distributed using the same infrastructure, but it comes without the same high level of climate-damaging emissions.
Biogas and biomethane production have already created 210,000 green jobs in Europe and are saving 60 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year, according to the European Biogas Association.
($1 = 0.9295 euros)
(This story has been rearchived to correct a typo in the headline)
