Biogas boost for food processors
11 Sep 2014
Food and drink processors with anaerobic digestion (AD) facilities were yesterday given a boost by an Environment Agency ruling on feedstock.
The agency confirmed that biogas producers will no longer need to pay for permits or waste handling controls to use fruit and vegetable by-products in the AD process.
Previously, the addition of even a small quantity of these by-products into the AD process (such as leaves and roots, or produce that is misshapen, bruised or undersized) would require operators to apply for expensive permits and implement the same waste handling controls as a commercial food waste AD plant.
This will be the final piece in the puzzle for several on-site AD projects that had been hanging in the balance
REA technical director Jeremy Jacobs
The change to the regulations follows sustained campaigning from trade body the Renewable Energy Association (REA) on this issue.
REA technical director Jeremy Jacobs said the decision would enable the construction of more onsite AD plants to go ahead.
“This regulatory boost will be the final piece in the puzzle for several on-site and on-farm AD projects that had been hanging in the balance, which is great news,” said Jacobs.
However, he warned that despite yesterday’s ruling, many firms considering onsite AD were still being discouraged by the current biogas feed-in tariffs (FIT), which he said had structural problems that “disproportionately affect the smaller players in the market”.
In a consultation this summer the government said that the current 7.5p flat rate risked overcompensating some larger biogas projects with better economies of scale.
It proposes replacing this with a tiered system where plants are paid a tariff at a higher level of between 7.1p and 9.9p per kWh for the first 15,000 MWh of biomethane injected into the grid, and a lower rate ranging between zero and 2.1p thereafter.
“As the election nears, we’re encouraging all parties to commit to a genuine and lasting solution to the FIT problem when it is reviewed in 2015,” said Jacobs.
“This will unlock AD’s full potential for creating much needed green jobs and growth in the rural economy, as well as producing sustainable fertiliser, green gas and electricity to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.”
