March 21, 2022. President Jair Bolsonaro participated in the launch of incentive measures for the production and sustainable use of biomethane. This renewable fuel is obtained through the purification of biogas and can replace natural gas, diesel and gasoline.
Bolsonaro drove a biomethane-powered tractor to the Planato Palace, the seat of government. It took him about ten minutes to make the four-kilometer route between the buildings.
The Minister of the Environment, Joaquim Leite, signed the decree that creates the National Program for the Reduction of Methane Emissions, called “Methane Zero”, which will mean advances in the generation and use of biomethane from urban and rural waste.
“The Methane Zero program treats urban and rural waste, which includes poultry, pig, sugar cane, dairy and landfill waste. All this to produce biogas, which generates energy, and biomethane, which generates fuel for heavy vehicles. We will have the opportunity to travel in trucks, tractors and buses powered by this renewable gas, reducing the cost of energy,” Leite said.
The Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, signed a decree that includes investments in biomethane in the Special Regime of Incentives for Infrastructure Development (Reidi) and exempts new projects from taxes that levy the acquisition of machinery, construction materials and equipment.
“We are taking a new step towards the consolidation of an open and competitive market, with a view to providing the same conditions to investors in bioenergy that natural gas producers already had,” Albuquerque explained.
The insertion of biomethane, according to the federal government, will make it possible to build new production plants to increase supply and install green corridors to fill heavy vehicles, which will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Total investments of US$ 7,000 million and the generation of at least 6,500 jobs in the construction and operation of the new units are expected. It is planned to build 25 new plants in six states.
