Northern Ireland’s gas distribution network operators Evolve, Kinecx Energy and Phoenix Energy have welcomed the launch of a government Biomethane Strategy and Policy Framework consultation and urged stakeholders to respond, according to a joint statement reported by Ireland Live, a consultation that matters to biomethane producers, network operators and industrial gas users because it sets the policy and funding questions that will shape the sector. The Department for the Economy said Ministers Caoimhe Archibald and Andrew Muir launched it at the NI Renewable Gas Conference 2026, with responses due by 15 December, according to 4NI.

Evolve is the gas distribution network operator for the west of Northern Ireland and, according to its own website, saw the first direct-to-grid biomethane injection in Northern Ireland on its network in 2023.

Kinecx Energy is the operator of the Ten Towns gas network, which runs from Derry/Londonderry to Antrim and Newry, according to its website.

Phoenix Energy is the gas network operator for Greater Belfast and Larne and hosted the NI Renewable Gas Conference 2026 at which the consultation was launched, according to the joint statement.

The Department for the Economy and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs are the departments that launched the consultation, and DfE also issued a request for information on a biomethane support scheme for industry, according to Ireland Live.

David Butler, director at Evolve, said in Evolve’s statement reported by Ireland Live: “This consultation marks an important milestone for Northern Ireland and a genuine opportunity to build a thriving, homegrown biomethane sector.” The operators said in the joint statement: “Our collective gas network already serves premises across the region and is ready to carry homegrown renewable gas today.”

Responses to the network operators’ 2024 request for information came from 84 prospective producers with about 3.6TWh a year of capacity, according to Gas Networks Ireland.

The Farmers Journal reported that the consultation poses 12 policy questions including financial support, feedstocks, nutrient management, grid connections and environmental regulation.

For the sector, a consultation that pairs support, feedstock and grid questions with a request for information on industrial use gives producers and network operators a joint government framework to respond to.

Source: Ireland Live / 4NI / Department for the Economy / Farmers Journal / Gas Networks Ireland