| Energy
“Tide may be turning” for UK anaerobic digestion
industry
Renewable technology has “bright future” despite recent difficulties, says industry body.
he “tide may be
turning” for the UK
anaerobic
digestion (AD)
industry,
according to the
head of the Anaerobic Digestion &
Bioresources Association (ADBA).
ADBA Chief Executive Charlotte
Morton said last week in her
welcoming remarks at UK AD &
World Biogas Expo 2018, the
world’s largest international
tradeshow dedicated solely to AD
and biogas:
The last few years have been
very challenging for the UK AD
industry. We’ve been operating in
an environment of declining
government support for renewable
energy, with tariffs for renewable
electricity and, until very recently,
renewable heat steadily falling.
There are, however, a number of
reasons to believe that the tide
may be turning and that AD in the
UK has a bright future.
First, despite significant delays,
changes to the Renewable Heat
Incentive (RHI) have now finally
T
come into effect, providing the
kind of tariff rates for biomethane
production that we were seeing
five years ago as well as new tariff
guarantees that lock in these rates
over a set period. This is bringing
£150-£300m of new investment to
build a further 50+ biomethane
plants. And whilst the current RHI
scheme is due to close by 2021,
the urgent need for more
biomethane is resulting in calls
from the Committee on Climate
Change for the government to put
in place a replacement before the
end of this year.
There is also good news on the
food waste side of the industry,
with the European Union’s Circular
Economy Package having come
into force just last week. One of
the key elements of the package is
an obligation for EU Member
States to bring in separate
collections for biowaste by
December 2023, and we fully
expect the UK to adopt these
targets in the Resources & Waste
Strategy due out later this year.
Finally, there is considerable
18 | Farming Monthly | August 2018
investment coming into the AD
sector as part of an industry
consolidation that involves
refinancing and upgrading existing
on-farm AD plants to improve their
performance. This is expected to
require £300m of opex across the
industry per annum by 2020.
So there’s a huge light at the
end of the tunnel if we can just
keep going through these tough
times.
AD and biogas technologies
convert organic wastes and
energy crops into renewable heat
and power, clean transport fuel,
and nutrient-rich biofertiliser,
helping to reduce emissions whilst
improving energy and food
security and improving air quality.
While the UK AD industry
already has sufficient capacity to
power 1.2 million homes, the
number of new AD plants being
built has been falling in recent
years, constraining the ability of
the industry to help meet
government decarbonisation goals
across heat, electricity, farming,
waste, and transport. ADBA’s
latest Market Report shows that
AD in the UK is currently reducing
emissions by 1% per year but has
the potential to reduce emissions
by 5% if the industry reaches its
full potential.
UK AD & World Biogas Expo
2018 was jointly organised by
ADBA and the World Biogas
Association (WBA) and brought
together AD and biogas
professionals from around the
world to discuss the latest
developments and innovations in
the industry. Alongside an
exhibition
and full stripe
conference
symptoms
Verticillium
programme, highlights from the
expo included a breakfast briefing
for farmers on the opportunities for
refinancing existing on-farm AD
plants, a dedicated lunch and
workshops for local authorities on
introducing separate food waste
collections, and a black-tie awards
ceremony celebrating those
making the greatest contribution to
AD and biogas in the UK and
around the world.
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