The political ecology of biogas generation in Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Value extraction in and around agriculture substrates

This paper discusses the extraction, distribution, and accumulation of surplus value in and aroundindustrial scale biogas from agricultural substrata in eastern Germany, as a case of “green” capitalism. Specifically, itbuilds on the findings of an eight-month case study in the länder of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommer,between May 2018 and January 2019. The paper develops a value and class analysis showing that investing in “green”energy generation in a marginal area or territory can be an effective accumulation strategy aimed at capturing sustainedvalue streams from public subsidisation while keeping costs low thanks to land cheapness and concentration. This typeof strategies, the paper argues, imply the use of land as a financial asset and its incorporation within value extractionchains at multiple scales.