Lack of Ambition at 20 MW New Capacity Per Year a Concern : DECC Decision on Biogas FIT Scheme Welcomed by Industry

The UK government’s Department for Energy & Climate Change (DECC) has published its response to the Feed in Tariff (FIT) review consultation, which includes a commitment to re-introduce pre-accreditation for anaerobic digestion to the scheme.

The announcement, made today, has been welcomed by the Anaerobic Digestions & Bioresources Association (ADBA) which said that the because of the long deployment periods for AD projects – often over a year – the ability for a plant to pre-accredit under the FIT scheme is essential for investors to have certainty of financial return before committing to funding.

In a statement the organisation said that DECC has listened to industry over the planned reforms and that will ensure that the anaerobic digestion industry is able to continue to deploy valuable additional electrical capacity, albeit at substantially reduced levels.

However, the trade association went on to caution that DECC’s ambition for total deployment remains “startlingly low” and noted that the government has confirmed that it will provide support for a maximum of around 20 MW additional AD capacity each year between 2016-19. This compares to industry’s deployment of 48MW in 2014 alone.

“We are pleased that DECC has kept the Feed-in Tariff open and listened to some of the key points made by the AD industry - including the re-introduction of preliminary accreditation, which is absolutely necessary to give developers and investors confidence in a capped system.

“However, the industry is deeply concerned by the overall limitations to support for one of the most cost-effective carbon reducing technologies. A maximum of 20MW of new capacity each year is less than half of AD deployment in 2014, and severely restricts our ability to deliver baseload energy and decarbonisation across waste treatment and farming – despite the Committee on Climate Change recognising the importance of action in these areas in their advice on the fifth carbon budget.

“ADBA will continue to work with DECC on the future of the Feed-in Tariff scheme, including through the tariff review next year, and advocate much stronger ambition for future growth in anaerobic digestion.”

Read More

German Waste to Biogas Technology Firm Building Second South Korean Plant

Vechta based German biogas firm, WELTEC BIOPOWER has begun construction work on a small scale anaerobic digestion plant around 80 km north of the South Korean capital Seoul, in Gyeonggi-do province.

Biomethane from Organic Wastes Could Quadruple by 2021

Government investment could prompt a lead to a quadrupling of the number of biomethane plants in the UK, according to a market report from the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association.

VIDEO: CDM Project Brings Biogas Fuelled Cooking to Nepalese HouseholdsA Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) programme to bring clean-burning cooking stoves fuelled by biogas from the anaerobic digestion of animal wastes to households in is improving health for people in Nepal.