IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v18y2025i18p4863-d1748458.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role of Renewable Gas Energy Communities in Austria’s Energy Transformation

Author

Listed:
  • Carolin Monsberger

    (AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Giefinggasse 2, 1210 Vienna, Austria)

  • Stefan Reuter

    (AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Giefinggasse 2, 1210 Vienna, Austria)

  • Franziska Ackerl

    (AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Giefinggasse 2, 1210 Vienna, Austria)

  • Bernhard Mayr

    (AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Giefinggasse 2, 1210 Vienna, Austria)

  • Bernadette Fina

    (AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Giefinggasse 2, 1210 Vienna, Austria)

  • Bernadette Mauthner

    (Biogas Bruck/Leitha GmbH, Szallasweg 1, 2460 Bruck an der Leitha, Austria)

Abstract

Renewable energy communities (RECs) can play a vital role in integrating renewable gases like biomethane into Austria’s energy system. This study examines critical gaps in national regulations for renewable gas RECs (short ‘gas RECs’) and the need for clarification in certification processes. The novelty of this study lies in the development of energy community (EC) variants for renewable gas, focusing on Industrial, Communal, and Agricultural Symbiosis. A case study of Bruck/Leitha evaluates the techno-economic feasibility of gas RECs, showing that while biomethane’s production costs are higher than natural gas by 2.14 cents/kWh in 2021, it offers greater price stability. Although biomethane is economically less competitive, it provides significant ecological benefits. The results underline the importance of policy advancements, including funding mechanisms and regulatory clarity, to support the integration of gas RECs into Austria’s energy system.

Suggested Citation

  • Carolin Monsberger & Stefan Reuter & Franziska Ackerl & Bernhard Mayr & Bernadette Fina & Bernadette Mauthner, 2025. "The Role of Renewable Gas Energy Communities in Austria’s Energy Transformation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-21, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:18:p:4863-:d:1748458
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/18/4863/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/18/4863/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:18:p:4863-:d:1748458. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.