Ireland Finally Gets Biomethane Rules Right

Ireland's energy regulator formalises biomethane certification and grid access rules ahead of a key EU deadline

21 May 2026

Two long-awaited decisions from Ireland's energy regulator are quietly reshaping the country's renewable gas sector. Published in March 2026, both rulings from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities address the certification and grid barriers that have stalled upstream investment for years.

Producers injecting biomethane into the national network will now receive an electronic guarantee of origin for each megawatt-hour delivered, tradeable across the EU and verifiable against sustainability criteria. Gas Networks Ireland will operate the registry. Issuance is targeted to begin by January 2027, with registration requirements kicking in from September 2026. Annual fees are set at €2,000 for producers and €3,000 for suppliers and traders. Imported certificates will require a sustainability certificate from an approved EU voluntary scheme after 5 August 2026, the transposition deadline for Gas Directive 2024/1788.

Not everyone views the framework as finished. Under current rules, only licensed gas suppliers may cancel certificates, which effectively shuts out industrial buyers hoping to use guarantees of origin for EU Emissions Trading System compliance. The regulator has signalled that could change as related EU provisions are transposed, but the uncertainty is real for offtakers weighing long-term purchase agreements.

Grid access received similar attention. The Commission approved a temporary reverse compression arrangement, allowing biomethane plants on distribution networks to push output into the national transmission system. Projects must meet a minimum annual volume of 4 GWh and draw funding from a dedicated Price Control allocation on a first-come, first-served basis.

Behind both rulings sits a harder target: 5.7 TWh of indigenously sourced biomethane per year by 2030. With the market infrastructure now in place, investors have what they needed to move from consideration to commitment.