AD outshines solar and could grow 800%
27 Jun 2012
London – The UK’s anaerobic digestion (AD) industry is punching well above its weight in terms of energy generation, and could achieve an 800% increase by 2020, according to Lord Redesdale chairman of the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA).
“It is incredible that with only 78 plants built outside of the water industry, the UK AD industry is already delivering over four times more electricity than solar PV, said the ADBA leader.
“That is despite gaps in government support, a lack of coherent strategy for how we deal with waste and no strategy for how biogas should best be used,” he said. “There is a huge number of plants in planning and interest in the sector is growing.
“With the right support from government, we could see an eightfold increase in renewable energy from AD by 2020.
According to Lord Redesdale, AD many industry sectors stand to benefit from AD, which could help thousands of businesses to grow.
This, he added, will be the focus of next week’s UK AD & Biogas conference, which will highlight the business case for AD at local authorities, farming, and the food and drink industry.
Among the business benefits, the ADBA notes that integrating AD into a food and drink business can also result in reductions in CRC liability.
At present companies get some benefit for on-site renewable energy generation and ADBA has argued in the recent consultation on simplification of the CRC that companies that use energy from low carbon sources to power their operations should also get a reduction.
Meanwhile, independent think tank CentreForum AD is to launch a report, which calls for a ban on organic waste to landfill and greater support for the industry as a whole.
AD can offer considerable benefits to the food and drink sector by building sustainability into the food chain, through the use of digestate biofertiliser, providing energy security through on-site generation as well as reducing the costs and carbon footprint of energy, the report states.
