The Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) has welcomed a report from the National Energy System Operator (NESO) on the role of biomethane in the energy system to 2050, which concludes the fuel could deliver significant value across the energy system.
NESO's report finds that around 30 TWh a year of biomethane production is achievable by 2050 before any feedstock trade-offs arise — five times current output — and identifies 108 TWh of feedstock potential, suggesting substantial scope for further growth beyond that level.
Its modelling indicates that using biomethane in power generation can reduce the costs of the future power system, and that biomethane may be the most practical or economic long-term route to decarbonising dispersed industrial sites outside major clusters, which account for around half of Great Britain's hard-to-electrify gas demand.
NESO also warned that without a timely successor to the Green Gas Support Scheme, growth in the sector is likely to stall — a concern that ADBA said echoes longstanding calls from across the industry.
Chris Huhne, chair of ADBA, said the report settled the argument on feedstock availability and costs, and that biomethane lowers rather than adds to the cost of the power system.
He described 30 TWh as a floor rather than a ceiling, and called on the government to set a production ambition, bring grid-injected biomethane into the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, and publish plans for a successor support scheme, noting that France and Germany each injected more than twice the UK's volumes last year.
ADBA welcomes NESO biomethane report and calls for government action
