UK trade body highlights biomethane potential

The UK has the potential to produce the equivalent of more than 45 LNG tankers' worth of biomethane, or 40 TWh, per year by 2035, according to a report today by the Renewable Energy Association (REA).

By the end of 2016 the country's biomethane industry will produce the equivalent of four liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers worth of green gas yearly, the organisation said. Biomethane is produced by digesting food and other organic wastes and is injected directly into the natural gas grid.

If the industry growth to 2035 lives up to expectations, biomethane production could result in the UK being able to reduce its LNG imports by over 25% from 2014 levels, the REA says.

It recommends a mandatory collection of food waste as "a pragmatic, cost-effective policy" to back biomethane expansion.

The British biomethane industry was the fastest growing in the world in 2015, according to the announcement. By the end of last year, 50 projects were completed and another 15 are expected to be finished this year.

"While the government for years has touted the ‘fracking revolution,’ biomethane is actually getting on with the job of increasing our domestic gas production whilst decarbonising supply," said Kiara Zennaro, head of the REA's biogas sector group.

The REA also said that there was a great potential to use more renewable gaseous fuels such as biomethane in transport and called for policy changes in that respect.

Its report has been timed to coincide with UK Biomethane Day in Birmingham.

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