Biogas could supply half of UK’s domestic gas

According to the Ernst & Young research, published today, biodegradable waste streams, such as sewage, food and wood, could help meet the UK Government’s renewable energy targets for 2020, if turned into biomethane and pumped straight into the UK’s existing gas grid.

It said it could be achieved easily because there would be little need for disruptive infrastructure development, such as digging up roads, and could be done at the same cost as other renewable energy sources, such as offshore wind.

Biogas could help deliver a secure supply of green energy for the UK, as well as help solve Britain’s growing waste problem, said National Grid, which delivers gas to 11 million homes and businesses across the UK.

“Biogas has benefits on so many fronts,” said Janine Freeman, head of National Grid’s Sustainable Gas Group. “It is renewable and [...] provides a solution for what to do with our waste with the decline in landfill capacity and it would help the UK with a secure supply of gas as North Sea sources run down.”

Biogas is produced by two main processes:  anaerobic digestion, which turns wet waste such as sewage and animal manure into biomethane, and gasification, which is used for drier wastes and energy crops.

At the moment, a small quantity of biogas is being produced in the UK from landfill and sewage plants, but it is being used to generate electricity.  However, biomethane, said National Grid, is proven to work because it is already being used across gas grids in Europe.

The report found there were no insurmountable technical difficulties to delivering biogas, but that the right commercial incentives would need to be put in place to encourage the turning of waste into biomethane instead of waste into electricity. It said such incentives would need to come with a comprehensive Government waste management policy.

“Biogas has tremendous potential for delivering large scale renewable heat for the UK but it will require Government commitment to a comprehensive waste policy and the right commercial incentives,” said Freeman.

Last month, David Cameron proposed that a Conservative Government would back biogas as a main source of heating as part of its renewable energy plans for the UK. 

The UK Government has set a target to meet 15 per cent of its electricity needs from renewables by 2020, with wind set to drive the shift to renewables.

National Grid said it had handed its report on biogas to Ed Miliband, Minister for Energy and Climate Change.