The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic (MIT) has issued additional guidance regarding the ongoing first auction for biomethane support. If fossil fuels—typically natural gas—are used to generate process heat required for biogas production, financial support will not be granted for the equivalent amount of biomethane produced.
Transcript of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's statement of 26 July 2026:
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) informs stakeholders that, during the ongoing first auction for biomethane support, it has received inquiries concerning the use of fossil fuels to cover process heat demand in biomethane production.
The Ministry therefore informs all bidders that if a biomethane producer uses a fossil fuel to meet the technological heat demand of the production process, the amount of supported biomethane produced should be reduced accordingly by the energy equivalent of the fossil fuel consumed. This applies in particular to cases where fossil fuel (natural gas) is used to provide process heat for heating digesters.
Support for renewable gas should not be based on the simultaneous use of fossil fuel (natural gas) without appropriately taking this circumstance into account, as such an approach would reduce the actual contribution of biomethane to the decarbonisation of the energy sector and distort the environmental benefits of the supported projects.
This recommendation is consistent with the objective of promoting and supporting biomethane production, which is to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources (biomethane), and is in line with the approach applied in a number of European Union Member States.
The Ministry therefore recommends that all bidders, in connection with the First Call for Bids under the 2026 Biomethane Support Auction, take the above recommendation into account when preparing biomethane production projects and submitting bids in both the current and future auction rounds.