Biometano e rede elétrica: O fio chega mais perto do que o cano

Cerejo, Lucas Nakamura

No. 058 Energy · biomass Biogas on the ground 4/5

Biomethane and the power grid

The wire reaches closer than the pipe

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Map of São Paulo state with municipalities in greens by biomethane potential, darker in the north and centre. On top, basic-grid transmission lines in ochre (up to 230 kV), clay (345 and 440 kV) and plum (500 kV or more) cross the state in every direction, densest from the north-west to the capital; black dots mark substations. A callout points to Valparaíso, 52 km from the nearest substation, with 197,000 m³ a day of potential. In the panel, two sets of bars show the share of the potential by distance to a line and to a substation. — Fig. 058 São Paulo State (SP) EPSG:4674 Source: CP2B (Unicamp), EPE, IBGE

Where there is no pipeline, biogas can become electricity on the spot and leave by wire. In São Paulo, the basic grid, from 230 kV up, adds up to 19,100 km of lines and 91 substations, and covers the state far better than gas pipelines: 58% of the biomethane potential lies within 10 km of a transmission line, and only 1% over 50 km. The bottleneck is the substation, where power enters the grid: 65% of the potential lies over 25 km from one, measured from the municipality’s centre. Valparaíso, in the west, has 197,000 m³ of possible biomethane a day 2.6 km from a line, but 52 km from the nearest substation. On the previous plate, gas from the sugarcane north lay far from the pipe; here, the wire runs right over it. Fourth plate of the collection “Biogas on the ground”.

Technical record · downloads · citation

At a glance

Layers

municipios polygon 645 municipalities: potential and distances to lines and substations (same GPKG as plate 055)
linhas_transmissao line 493 lines of 230 kV or more, 19,100 km inside SP
subestacoes point 185 basic-grid substations, 91 in SP

Metadata

Sources: CP2B (Unicamp) — biogas and biomethane potential by municipality, method v5.1 (2026)
EPE — WebMap: existing transmission lines and substations, as published in the MapBiomas infrastructure database (2022)
IBGE — Municipal Mesh 2025 (2025)
Extent: São Paulo State (SP)
CRS / Projection: SIRGAS 2000 (EPSG:4674)
EPSG:4674
Software: Node.js · d3-geo · QGIS
Method: Straight-line distance from each municipality’s interior point to the nearest basic-grid transmission line and substation, in four bands, crossed with the biomethane potential (CP2B method v5.1, level N4, reference scenario).
Version: v1.0.0
Licence: CC BY 4.0
DOI: being registered on Zenodo

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Figure to reuse

The map without a frame, with legend, scale, reference system and credit written on it: ready for papers, lectures and slides. In two versions: with the basemap (neighbours and sea) or only the mapped area, on white.

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How to cite

Cerejo, L. N. (2026). Biometano e rede elétrica: o fio chega mais perto do que o cano [Biomethane and the power grid: The wire reaches closer than the pipe] (Version 1.0.0) [Data set]. Essencial. https://aikiesan.github.io/essencial-geo/en/maps/058-biometano-e-rede-eletrica-sp/

@dataset{cerejo2026_biometano_e_rede_eletrica_sp,
  author    = {Cerejo, Lucas Nakamura},
  title     = {Biometano e rede elétrica: O fio chega mais perto do que o cano},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {Essencial},
  version   = {1.0.0},
  url       = {https://aikiesan.github.io/essencial-geo/en/maps/058-biometano-e-rede-eletrica-sp/},
  language  = {portuguese},
  note      = {English title: Biomethane and the power grid: The wire reaches closer than the pipe. Licence CC BY 4.0}
}

How to read this plate area, projection, scale, legend and source · 3 terms

1 Area: São Paulo State (SP) The area the plate covers. Outside it, neighbours and sea are drawn in grey, just for orientation.
2 Coordinates and projection: SIRGAS 2000 (EPSG:4674) The layers are in SIRGAS 2000; the drawing’s projection is written in the colophon at the foot of the panel.
3 Scale: Graphic scale bar in the panel The scale bar is true on the central meridian; away from it, measured distances vary a little.
4 Legend and layers: 3 layers in the GeoPackage · polygon, line, point Read the legend before the map: it tells you whether a colour is a rate or a class, and whether a circle is a total.
5 Sources: CP2B (Unicamp) (2026); EPE (2022); IBGE (2025) Every figure comes from a public source, with its year. The data sheet gives each one’s address.

Terms on this plate

Biogas: The gas from the airless breakdown (anaerobic digestion) of organic waste: manure, vinasse, sewage sludge, rubbish. It is 50% to 70% methane; the rest is mostly CO₂.
Biomethane: Biogas upgraded, with most of the CO₂ removed, to ANP’s specification, at which point it replaces natural gas in the pipeline, in industry and in the lorry’s tank.
N1 to N4 (potential levels): CP2B’s four levels: N1 theoretical (all residue generated), N2 technical (after collection), N3 mobilisable (after competing uses and what already becomes biogas) and N4 accessible (after storage and the logistic factor).

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Layers, table and figures, under CC BY 4.0. Cite with the DOI.

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Method notes · No. 058

Biomethane and the power grid in São Paulo

Português · English

Plate No. 058, the fourth of five in the collection Biogas on the ground: the same question as plate 057, now for biogas that becomes electricity. The country’s whole grid is on plate 042.

What the files contain

The GPKG and CSV are those of plate 055. This plate uses the linhas_transmissao and subestacoes layers and, in the municipios layer, the km_linha_transmissao and km_subestacao fields. Its QGIS styles are potencial and distancia_subestacao.

Method

Infrastructure: existing transmission lines and substations from the EPE WebMap, as published in the MapBiomas infrastructure database (the same as plate 042); those in SP or up to about 60 km beyond its border are kept.
Distance: straight-line, from each municipality’s interior point to the nearest line and substation, in km.
Bands: up to 10 km, 10 to 25, 25 to 50 and over 50 km; in each, the sum of the potential (CP2B v5.1, level N4, reference scenario).

Limitations

The database covers the basic grid, from 230 kV up. The 138 and 88 kV lines and the distributors’ substations, where small plants usually connect, are not in it; with them, distances would be shorter.
Distance is measured from the municipality’s centre, not from each plant.
A nearby line does not mean a possible connection: access depends on grid capacity and the operator’s assessment.

View this map’s folder on GitHub