Potential for Over 3000 Biogas Plants on UK Farms : ADBA: Huge Opportunity On-Farm Anaerobic Digestion of Agricultural Waste in UK
There is potential to increase on-farm anaerobic digestion by ten-fold in the UK, according to industry body the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA) and a renewable energy project funder, Privilege Finance.
The association explained that on-farm AD plants allow farmers to convert agricultural wastes such as manures and slurries, as well as purpose-grown crops (often grown as part of a traditional rotation) into renewable heat and power and nutrient-rich biofertiliser.
There are currently 334 AD plants using agricultural feedstocks across the UK, up from just 66 in 2013.
“There are multi-million-pound opportunities in refinancing and upgrading the over 300 on-farm AD plants now operating across the UK to make these plants more efficient and deliver greater financial and environmental value,” said Charlotte Morton, Chief Executive of ADBA. “We estimate that the value of operational expenditure on all UK on-farm AD plants will be £150 million per annum by 2020.”
“With a further 300 on-farm AD plants having received planning permission and the potential for the current number of on-farm AD plants to increase ten-fold, these financial and environmental opportunities are only going to increase over the coming years,” she continued.
The value of operational expenditure on on-farm AD is expected to exceed £150 million per year by 2020.
Phil Gerrard, Chief Executive of Privilege Finance, agreed: “Having invested over £300m in agricultural and food waste renewable energy projects, we know from experience that AD is a viable way of creating energy from what would typically be considered waste products.”
ADBA added that agricultural plants have been the primary driver of AD growth over the past five years, and the agricultural sector is now the largest in the AD industry, outstripping wastewater and food waste both by number of plants and energy capacity. Of the 54 new AD plants commissioned in 2017, over three quarters were agricultural plants.
The organisation estimates that there are at least 4300 dairy farms across the UK with dairy herds of 150 cows or more for which AD would be viable. Only two of the 90 million tonnes of farm wastes produced in the UK are currently recycled through AD, but recycling all farm wastes would fulfil around 90% of the Committee on Climate Change’s 2030 decarbonisation target for agriculture by reducing emissions from agricultural wastes.
"With opportunities to reduce agricultural emissions, decarbonise the grid and generate more green gas for the UK network, it’s undeniable that on-farm AD can help the government to achieve its Carbon Budgets,” Gerrard concluded.
ADBA recently called on the government to provide clear and meaningful incentives for farmers to introduce AD into their farming operations and use digestate-derived biofertiliser as part of its proposed Agriculture Bill.
Read More
ADBA Responds to Doubling of Food Waste Recycling by Parliament
Charlotte Morton, Chief Executive of ADBA has called for adherence to the food waste hierarchy in response to new statistics showing that the amount of food waste produced by Parliament has more than doubled in the past three years.
VIDEO: Poo Power for Motown Zoo
Michigan State University has created the ‘first anaerobic digester at a zoo in North America’, capable of powering some of the zoo’s operations from its animal’s wastes.
Renewi’s Anaerobic Digestion & Compost Plant Reach ‘Full Service’ in Surrey, BC
International waste management and recycling firm, Renewi, has reached full service on its organic biofuel contract with the City of Surrey in Canada.