A new report from the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) has revealed that the number of biomethane plants in the UK could quadruple by 2021 due to the additional funding for the Renewable Heat incentive (RHI).
The government recently allocated £1.15bn for the RHI which could fund the construction of 140 new biomethane plants in the country.
According to the report, the UK could have 180 biomethane plants in operation by 2021 with the industry experiencing a quadrupling of plant numbers from 10 to 40 since last December.
The increase in biomethane capacity will be potentially enough to power close to 500,000 homes.
Nearly 5,000 construction jobs are expected to be created as a result of the additional biomethane deployment.
ADBA chief executive Charlotte Morton said: "Not only will the additional 140 biomethane plants provide a source of indigenous gas, reducing our dependence on natural gas imports from volatile parts of the world and creating thousands of manufacturing jobs, but will do so by generating value from municipal waste otherwise destined for expensive landfill, and by supporting farming resilience through improved food production and resource management."
Figures released by the trade association highlight that gas from anaerobic digestion (AD) could be enough to supply around 30% of the UK’s domestic gas or electricity demand or fuel 80% of heavy goods vehicles.
ADBA said that anaerobic digestion could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4% in the country.
The RHI funding could allowAD to deliver a third of the additional 20TWh renewable heat required by 2020 to meet the government’s 12% goal.
Morton said: "Aside from the avoided fossil fuel emissions borne from generating renewable energy, AD also reduces emissions from rotting manure, landfilled food waste and expensive carbon-intensive manufactured fertiliser.
"Taken together, ADBA calculates that these savings are worth £65 per megawatt hour in carbon abatement – a substantial contribution that establishes AD as a cost-effective technology for delivering green baseload energy for bill payers."
Image: Anaerobic digestion could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4% in the UK. Photo: courtesy of njaj /FreeDigitalPhotos.net.