Let’s continue our tour of France on methanization to focus, in this article, on the South-West region.

The map below roughly defines the area concerned, that is to say a large part of New Aquitaine, and the western part of Occitanie. In the figures given we exclude the departments of Deux-Sèvres, Vienne, Haute-Vienne, Creuse, Corrèze, Lozère, Gard and Hérault.

This map created by Methappro represents all the methane digesters in operation or planned in metropolitan France. The yellow markers are the injection sites (production of biomethane) and the blue markers are the cogeneration sites (production of electricity).

The defined area includes approximately 135 methanisation sites, including those already in operation and projects, and excluding treatment plants and boiler recovery systems. This volume is low when compared to equivalent areas in the North of the country, but there are significant disparities between departments.

In Nouvelle-Aquitaine, there is a low development of methanisation in the highest departments of the area surrounded on the map. The departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime, for example, have fewer than 10 units each, half of which are only at the project stage or under construction. Despite a significant agricultural deposit and therefore an existing biogas production potential, these projects are difficult to implement for reasons of cost and local opposition from local residents.

The Gironde , with its high wine production, brings together the majority of units supplied by the wine industries and distilleries. These mainly use biogas in boilers to supply their own production sites. Sewage treatment plants are also very present around Bordeaux.

Agricultural methanization is beginning to develop there with around ten sites, all using injection.

Dordogne already had a few cogeneration sites at the beginning of the 2010s. In this agricultural department where livestock farming, large-scale crops and viticulture are very present, methanization is slowly establishing itself as a model that can benefit the local economic fabric. Including current projects, the department has reached around fifteen methanization units by cogeneration or injection (mainly agricultural).

In Lot-et-Garonne , more than 60% of the territory is covered by agricultural production (prunes, hazelnuts, strawberries, etc.). Once again, a territory conducive to methanization, which is gradually becoming more widespread despite the complexity that such projects require. The department will soon have around ten sites in operation.

Moving down to the Landes , the number is equivalent: around ten units in operation or planned (cogeneration or injection). The vast majority of them are agricultural.

Agricultural methanization is also developing in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques , where there are also around ten sites (this time not counting industrial units). The majority of them operate using an injection model and are therefore recent.

Overall, methanization in Western Occitanie has accelerated in recent years with more than half of the units built from 2021 or planned (i.e. around 33 out of 59).

While departments such as Tarn-et-Garonne , Pyrénées-Orientales , Ariège , and Aude each have fewer than 5 units, others such as Aveyron or Gers will soon reach ten sites (excluding wastewater treatment plants and boiler recovery). These figures nevertheless remain very low when compared to other regions further north in France. This can be explained both by a lack of popularity of the model and by the difficulty of setting up such systems, which requires the grouping together of several farms (given the financial investment and the volume of deposits).

Methanization is much more recent in the South-West of France than in the northern regions. More than 50% of the sites have been put into operation since 2021 or are still in the planning stages. With significant agricultural and agro-industrial production, the area has very significant deposit potential. Methanization could contribute to the establishment of a more virtuous waste management system while gradually integrating into the agricultural world in this area.

Industrialists from the region or elsewhere: if you wish to revalue your biowaste through methanization, contact us! louis@methappro.fr

The figures in this article come from the Methappro database and may change depending on the criteria chosen and actual developments (new projects, unit sales, etc.).