Renewable energies have grown in the last years, including biogas with a 177% increase between 2010 and 2013. The market is even more interesting due to the potential of biomethane production, which could become strategic both for the national energy policy and for the environment.

The development of the Italian energy policy towards the circular model, independent from foreign countries, can only be achieved if citizens and all the other stakeholders agree to the adoption of “new technologies” even in their “neighbourhood”.

The Nimby Observatory highlights how the emergence of spontaneous phenomena and the creation of committees is increasing year after year, resulting great difficulties in implementing entrepreneurial initiatives in the energy field. Regarding to the anaerobic digestion sector, the largest number of disputes come from the so-called “no-biogas committees”, which in recent years have shifted from sit-in and protest marches to lawsuits and petitions against plant owners.

This is the scenario for ISAAC (Increasing Social Awareness and Acceptance of biogas and biomethane), funded by the European Research and Innovation Program Horizon 2020, involving partners as AzzeroCO2, Legambiente, CNR, Chimica Verde Bionet and CIB. The project aims to remove the non-technological barriers that inhibit the penetration of biogas / biomethane into the Italian market.