Biogas could heat half of UK homes
Gas made from waste food or sewage could heat half of the UK’s homes, a study by Ernst and Young on behalf of utility firm National Grid finds.
Biodegradable waste could be used to make biomethane which would be piped into the gas grid, and would help achieve targets to source 15% of all energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Biogas, which is already being produced and injected into gas grids in Europe, is made through anaerobic digestion of wet waste such as sewage or manure, or through gasification of drier waste or energy crops.
‘Biogas has tremendous potential for delivering large-scale renewable heat for the UK but it will require government commitment to a comprehensive waste policy, and the right commercial incentives,’ Janine Freeman, head of National Grid's sustainable gas group, comments.
‘It provides a solution for what to do with our waste with the decline in landfill capacity and it would help the UK with a secure supply of gas as North Sea sources run down,' Freeman adds.
Presently, a small quantity of biogas is produced from landfill and sewage plants but is burnt to produce electricity. National Grid says piping the gas to homes would be more efficient.
The study states that delivering renewable gas could cost £10 billion (€11.156 billion), comparing similarly with the provision of other types of renewables, such as wind power, and the unit cost of the gas would be similar to other green energy sources.
The report says there would be no great technical difficulties in delivering biogas, and with an extensive gas grid in the UK major new infrastructure development will not be necessary.
The government set out its policies on recovering energy from waste in its Waste Strategy 2007.
Biodegradable waste could be used to make biomethane which would be piped into the gas grid, and would help achieve targets to source 15% of all energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Biogas, which is already being produced and injected into gas grids in Europe, is made through anaerobic digestion of wet waste such as sewage or manure, or through gasification of drier waste or energy crops.
‘Biogas has tremendous potential for delivering large-scale renewable heat for the UK but it will require government commitment to a comprehensive waste policy, and the right commercial incentives,’ Janine Freeman, head of National Grid's sustainable gas group, comments.
‘It provides a solution for what to do with our waste with the decline in landfill capacity and it would help the UK with a secure supply of gas as North Sea sources run down,' Freeman adds.
Presently, a small quantity of biogas is produced from landfill and sewage plants but is burnt to produce electricity. National Grid says piping the gas to homes would be more efficient.
The study states that delivering renewable gas could cost £10 billion (€11.156 billion), comparing similarly with the provision of other types of renewables, such as wind power, and the unit cost of the gas would be similar to other green energy sources.
The report says there would be no great technical difficulties in delivering biogas, and with an extensive gas grid in the UK major new infrastructure development will not be necessary.
The government set out its policies on recovering energy from waste in its Waste Strategy 2007.
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