Farm energy How UK farms could power homes and businesses

Anaerobic digesters on farms could help end UK's energy crisis

Adairy farmer has called on the government to make it easier for farmers to use cow slurry as a renewable energy source.

Norfolk milk producer Stephen Temple wants the government to tap into biogas, saying it is a major unused energy source. His own anaerobic digester has been turning slurry into energy for a number of years.

The AD plant uses slurry from the farm’s dairy herd, plus maize, low quality silage and whey from the onfarm cheese-making business. About 25% of the energy generated is used on the own farm with the rest exportsed to the national grid.

Like other farmers who supply milk to dairy company Arla, Mr Temple views the untapped potential of biogas as a potential way to help end the UK energy crisis. Arla says the plan could also support the UK’s energy independence.

Clean energy

Mr Temple said: “Cow slurry has the potential to power communities across the UK and be used as a natural fertiliser to nourish the land we farm. Unfortunately installation of an anaerobic digestor to make this happen is not cheap.

“We’re hoping that with the government’s help we can resolve the difficulties farmers face with grid connections, costly installations, and regulatory and planning issues so we can better utilise this invaluable en ergy source.”

Last month, Arla helped erect a rep lica Victorian sewer lamp near Parlia ment Square to draw attention to the untapped potential of biogas as a re newable energy source derived from livestock slurry and food waste.

It came after the government an nounced a major new strategy to deliv er energy security and net zero. Arla said slurry was an often overlooked source of clean energy – and a new plan could harness its potential to power UK homes and businesses.

Energy strategy

Biogas was once a staple of Victori an Britain after Birmingham engi neer Joseph Edmund Webb patented a sewer gas destructor lamp fuelled by emissions from London’s sewers. Arla said farm and food waste could do the same job.

It wants a new national anaerobic digestion strategy incorporating larg er community-based facilities gener ating biogases that can be fed into the gas grid. It is also championing better grid connections to help more farmers install AD plants.

Arla vice president James Pirie said: “Dairy farmers have the potential to play a major role in the future of the UK’s energy security, using natural resources to provide more energy

Biogas could power thousands of homes, says Stephen Temple independence.”

Mr Pirie said Britain’s livestock sector had the potential to turn nearly 91 million tonnes of manure and slurry and 10 million tonnes of food waste into 8 billion cubic metres of biomethane – enough to power 6.4 million homes.

Beware of energy efficiency exemptions

Landlords who applied for exemption from Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for let residential property in 2018 are reminded that their exemption expires this year.

Landlords needed an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of at least Grade E to let out residential property – unless they were eligible to register for a valid exemption which allowed them to continue to rent the property out.

Alexander Macfarlane, head of building consultancy at Strutt & Parker, said: “Any exemptions on the PRS Register last for five years, so this means there will now be property owners who have exemptions that have expired or will shortly do so.

Improvements

“The rules state that at the end of the initial five-year period the landlord either needs to have made improvements to raise the EPC banding to an acceptable level, or they must apply for another exemption.”

Properties found on many rural estates and farms can be challenging to raise to the required standards without risking damaging the fabric of the building. This meant many rural property landlords registered for an exemption.

Mr Macfarlane said: “Landlords need to be aware when reapplying they cannot rely on the fact that they had an exemption before.

“The purpose of the exemption is to afford a landlord time to make necessary improvements, rather than act as a mechanism for avoiding making improvements.”