AD&BIORESOURCES News
THE UK ANAEROBIC DIGESTION & BIORESOURCES TRADE ASSOCIATION’S Quarterly MAGAZINE adbioresources.org
Issue 35 spring 2017
2017 – The year of biomethane
2017 Plant Update
Biogas upgrading
UK AD & Biogas and World Biogas Expo 2017 Preview
ADBA R&I Forum 2017 Preview www.adbioresources.org
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Foreword Seizing the global opportunity
Inside this issue > Foreword:
3
View from the top:
4
ADBA News:
5-6
Best Practice Matters:
7
Feature: Biomethane:
8-13
ADBA National Conference 2016 Review: 15-17 Technology Focus: Biogas upgrading:
18-20
AD & Biogas Industry Awards 2017 Preview: 21 UK AD & Biogas and World Biogas Expo 2017 Preview:
22-23
Plant Update:
24-25
Members' News & Views:
26-30
Government & Agency News: Policy:
31 32-33
R&I Update:
34
R&I Special: Industry Focus: R&I:
35 36-38
ADBA R&I Forum 2017 Preview:
39
Operator & Working Groups:
40
Regions:
41
Upcoming Events:
42
Membership Matters:
43-46
Cover image: National Grid
By David Newman, President, World Biogas Association
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hroughout 2017 we will see significant change on a number of fronts, from the Trump presidency to the UK’s changing relationship with the European Union. But one thing I am confident of is that the global AD industry will continue to grow.
The European Commission’s Circular Economy Package is entering into its final months of negotiation in Brussels, with associations, countries and companies all lobbying for their interests. Critical to the biogas sector will be the provisions regarding biowaste; specifically, whether biowaste collection should be mandatory and whether new materials such as bio-based and biodegradable materials are included within the biowaste definition, so they can be collected and recovered through composting or AD. What the final version of the Package will look like is anyone’s guess and we won’t know for some months yet, but I’m hopeful that it will provide a step in the right direction for waste management in Europe. Meanwhile, the installation of the Trump presidency in the US (along with the Republican-dominated House and Senate) means that our framing of waste and renewable energy policies when talking with the new administration needs to be more in terms of energy security and the ‘bottom line’ rather than climate change and sustainability. Food waste is collected in very few states in the US and so the potential for biogas development is huge. However, quite how our American colleagues will work this into planning, policies and incentives with the new administration, given its climate scepticism, will be interesting to see. The World Biogas Association was formed to help national associations, companies and public administrations understand the role that biogas is playing in creating low cost and low carbon energy and nutrients globally, whether in the villages of southern Asia or the cities of Europe and North America. Reducing global food waste and recycling what’s left through AD is not only beneficial from an environmental point of view but also presents a huge market opportunity for ADBA and WBA members. The UK is in a fantastic position to use our existing expertise in treating waste to share best practice and become a global leader in addressing the food waste challenge. I look forward to working with you in seizing this global market opportunity.
Editorial: To be considered for inclusion in a future issue contact: Editor: Kate O’Reilly T +44 (0)7894 039609 E kate.oreilly@adbioresources.org
AD&Bioresources News FEATURES Features planned for Issue 36 (Summer) include: • Feature: Reaching the UK AD industry’s potential • Technology Focus: CHP technology • ADBA R&I Forum 2017 Review • AD & Biogas Industry Awards 2017 Preview • UK AD & Biogas 2017 Show and Exhibitor Preview Copy deadline: 7 April
Sponsorship and advertising: Tori Abiola, Head of Sales T +44 (0)203 176 4414 E tori.abiola@adbioresources.org
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View from the top WE MUST SEPARATE FOOD WASTE TO REDUCE IT AND REALISE AD’S FULL POTENTIAL By Charlotte Morton, ADBA’s Chief Executive
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ast year I attended a workshop in which Ian Boyd, the Chief Scientific Advisor at Defra, said that he couldn’t think of a better use of £55m than investing in rolling out separate food waste collections across England. More than six months on, I’m frustrated at the government’s inability to cotton on to this no-brainer – but increasingly hopeful that it is only a matter of time before it does. The business case for separating food waste, both to reduce it and recycle what’s left through AD, is a rock solid one that also offers a whole range of opportunities. Recycled through AD, inedible food waste could produce 9 TWh of methane, enough to heat 720,000 households. AD delivers nutrient-rich digestate biofertiliser, which can help to restore our depleted soils and save farmers money on the cost of energy-intensive commercial fertilisers. AD plants and their supply chain could generate 30,000 jobs by 2030 if the industry continues to grow. Diverting the biodegradable municipal waste currently sent to landfill in the UK to AD each year to 2032 would achieve more than the emissions reduction of around 9 MtCO2e per year required to meet the Fifth Carbon Budget reduction target. Need I go on? One of the key points I highlighted to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee when giving evidence to their inquiry on food waste in early February was that the right outcomes from recycling food waste can only be delivered by looking at the big picture. Cost benefit analyses need to recognise that while waste management authorities might bear any upfront costs of separate food waste collections (where not offset, for example by more infrequent residual waste collections), some of the benefits that result from AD, such as greenhouse gas abatement and renewable energy production, accrue to the UK as a whole. While we wait for stronger action from government on making inedible food waste more readily available for AD, there are a host of other opportunities stemming from Theresa May’s policy agenda. BEIS’ Green Paper on building an Industrial Strategy is welcome, particularly given its focus on science, research and innovation, which are all critical to ensuring the UK is in the best position to be a world leader in the £1 trillion global biogas industry. We have been working with a range of universities and others in putting together the case for a Centre for Anaerobic Biotechnology and Bioresources Research, which for a government investment of £50m would provide the required step change in research and innovation to help AD become cheaper than coal and provide more energy than nuclear. BEIS’ call for evidence on the UK bioeconomy has also given us the perfect opportunity to shout about the multiple benefits of AD for the UK economy. Our 4
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response identifies the important contribution further growth in AD would make to decarbonisation, sustainability and food security in particular. Given the uncertainty surrounding the UK’s future relationship with the European Union and the high level of political instability in many other Western democracies, it’s more important than ever that we as an industry work together to keep pushing government to support the green economy and ensure that we take full advantage of the opportunities presented to us, so we can realise the huge national and global potential of AD.
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ADBA News
AD Market Report shows green gas doubled in 2016
ADBA’s December 2016 Market Report, published at our annual National Conference, revealed that the UK now has almost 90 plants injecting biomethane into the gas grid, double the number in December 2015. The report investigates and explores the growth, developments and market changes in the AD industry to date and shows that the total number of AD plants in operation has risen from 424 in late 2015 to 540 at the end of 2016. This gives the UK more capacity to recycle food waste, more sustainable farming and wastewater treatment options, more low carbon baseload electricity generation, and more green gas in our grid. AD has also already reduced UK greenhouse gas emissions by nearly one per cent annually. This growth has come despite policy uncertainty around the future of low carbon energy support, which is stifling future growth. With the right support, the biogas industry could deliver 250 MW of new generation capacity over the next two years – enough to add 10 per cent to our tight winter 2018 capacity margin and bring benefits to farming, recycling and the economy. Members can download a copy of the report from the members’ area at adbioresources.org. Non-members can purchase the report by contacting alex.monks@adbioresources.org
ADBA responds to RTFO consultation In January, we submitted written evidence to the Department for Transport’s (DfT’s) consultation on changes to the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO), a key policy for the decarbonisation of transport and for the development of waste-based and advanced fuels. Transport accounts for around a quarter of domestic greenhouse gas emissions, so there are huge carbon savings to be made in this sector and great contributions to come from AD if DfT takes our policy recommendations on board in its reforms. Our response centred around three key recommendations: • Increasing the overall obligation and the 2030 trajectory. Our response supports an increase in the obligation of renewable volume of fuels to 9.75 per cent by 2020, and beyond this we call for even greater ambition, increasing the obligation incrementally to 2030.
• Introducing a cap on crops used for biofuels. Our response encourages DfT to set a crop cap of seven per cent (as opposed to other suggestions of two or zero per cent) to ensure that the UK biofuel industry can continue to grow. We argue that the UK level of crops used in transport is only around 1.5 per cent on an energy basis, but that maintaining a higher ceiling of seven per cent (though not necessarily reaching that) provides flexibility and ensures the UK can meet its Carbon Budgets, whilst adhering to sustainability priorities and indirect land use change obligations. Thank you to everyone who got in touch to share suggestions and views, and special thanks to those who took part in the RTFO consultation workshop. To discuss the RTFO or our response, contact thom.koller@adbioresources.org
• Creating a development fuel sub-target. We support this proposal and call for biomethane to be one of the specified fuels in this category. However, we believe there is a strong case to support all varieties of well managed feedstocks sent to AD, where the sustainability and low carbon credentials can be established – not just wastes and residues. www.adbioresources.org adbioresources.org
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ADBA News
ADBA Chief Executive gives evidence to EFRA Committee on food waste Our Chief Executive, Charlotte Morton, has called for mandatory separate food waste collections in England at the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee’s inquiry into food waste in England. Charlotte said that it is ‘mind-bogglingly obvious that we should be separating out food waste and recycling it’, and pointed out that a lack of mandatory separate food waste collection means that we are missing an opportunity to reduce food waste, and preventing valuable resources from being extracted from the waste stream to be recycled through AD. She cited the example of Milan as an urban area that has been successful in separately collecting food waste and sending it for recycling through AD.
Charlotte also called on the Environment Agency to enforce the waste hierarchy, pointing out that it is ‘their duty to do so’. The full video of the evidence session and ADBA’s full written response to the inquiry can be found on the EFRA Committee website at http://bit.ly/1rBtDTc
Charlotte also noted that cost benefit analyses need to recognise that, while waste management authorities might bear any upfront costs of separate food waste collections (where not offset, for example, by more infrequent residual waste collections), some of the benefits that result from AD, such as greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement and renewable energy production, accrue to the UK as a whole. Charlotte quoted the World Resource Institute’s figure that if food loss and waste were a country, it would be the third biggest emitter of GHG emissions, behind the US and China.
AD can be at the heart of the UK bioeconomy
In late January, we submitted our response to BEIS’ call for evidence on the UK bioeconomy. Our response puts forward strong arguments on the role AD can play in supporting the UK economy, achieving sustainability, and attracting investment in the UK. We also set out what is required to achieve significant growth in the UK biogas industry, such as funding for research and development, and stable and supportive government policies, and provided evidence of the UK AD industry’s opportunity to be at the heart of the growing global biogas industry, now estimated to be worth £1 trillion.
What’s the future for heat in non-domestic buildings? Late January also saw us submit our response to BEIS’ consultation on the future of heat in non-domestic buildings. We urged BEIS to consider the numerous benefits of AD and its carbon cost effectiveness as a producer of low carbon heat. With the right policies in place to support research and development of new feedstocks, we estimate that the AD industry could generate around 35 TWh by 2020-25 and around 80 TWh by 2030-35. Our response also discussed the important role biogas is playing in decarbonising the supply of heat. We addressed the significant opportunities to build on this success by integrating heat networks in existing and new sites through government support schemes such as the Heat Network Investment Project. The Renewable Heat Incentive does not provide support for network infrastructure to deliver heat to the end user, and in fact, the cost of infrastructure to deliver low carbon heat to end users has proved prohibitively high for the majority of AD plants. The role of AD in the low carbon provision of heat will be an ongoing topic during 2017 and in the years to come. If you have any comments on our response or suggestions for contributions to future work, please contact thom.koller@adbioresources.org
Our response notes that further growth in the bioeconomy could be achieved by building on UK academic expertise, supporting on-farm and agricultural AD, solving the global food waste problem, exporting waste management technologies, and developing anaerobic biorefineries. We also identified the important contribution further growth in AD would make to decarbonisation, sustainability and food security. Our submission will also contribute to informing BEIS’ Industrial Strategy. For more information, see Policy, p33
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Best Practice Matters Certification Scheme work takes shape In 2016, our Best Practice Scheme really began to take shape, driven by a fantastic amount of support from industry partners, regulators and, of course, ADBA members. The scheme’s Steering Group, led by Amaya Arias-Garcia, has provided expertise and motivation, driving the project forward. In July, we delivered the first outputs of the project; a series of best practice checklists, which are guides to some of the key topics a developer or operator should consider, ranging from procurement to risk management. I hope that you will visit our website and download the documents – they are available to all free of charge and contain a wealth of combined knowledge and practical advice.
For information and advice on any areas relating to AD best practice, contact our Environment and Regulation Manager, Jess Allan T +44 (0)203 735 8380 E jessica.allan@adbioresources.org adbioresources.org/our-work/best-practice-scheme @JessicaAllan2 anyone interested in being involved in the project, so please feel free to get in touch using the details above. Finally, as part of this project, we have produced a briefing note on the importance of good design and compliance with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 – visit our website to find out more.
We are now building on this to tackle the second phase of our project; the development of a certification scheme. This will allow operators to have their plant certified as meeting best practice and to receive the benefits of doing so; for example, lower insurance costs and lighter-touch regulation. The checklists mentioned above will be a foundation for the scheme so if you have any comments or feedback, please contact me to discuss. The main steps for the first half of 2017 are: Develop scheme criteria, documents and audit process Jan-Mar 2017 Appoint suitable Certification Body Mar 2017 Work with UKAS and Certification Body to agree pilot process Apr-Jul 2017 Launch pilot Jul 2017 At our Regulatory Forum on 23 May in Bristol, which is a free, ADBA members-only event (see p43) we will be having a focused discussion on the certification scheme. We will also provide updates and opportunities for discussion at the Spring Members’ Meeting (see p46), and at our operator and working group meetings (see p40). I am always happy to hear from
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Biomethane
Biomethane – the sleeping giant of AD
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t has been an interesting year for the anaerobic digestion sector, with much of it spent waiting for the government’s response to its consultation on the future of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). However, the general feeling is that the published proposals represent good news on the back of a surprisingly positive 12 months for biogas. And if there is one area in which the mood is most upbeat, then it must surely be the biomethane sector. The demand for green gas is rising. The biomethane-to-grid sector has seen the largest growth in the biogas industry over the last three years, with almost 90 plants now feeding green gas into the grid. Of these, 77 have been commissioned since 2013, with the agricultural sector generating more than 50 per cent of the total biomethane produced. By the end of 2016, the sector was producing 58,520m3/h of biomethane, representing around 2.6 TWh of energy.
The importance of support
However, the importance of long term, appropriate levels of support for the continued success of the biomethane sector cannot be underestimated. While not as severe as the tariff degression seen for biomass combustion, support levels for biomethane under the RHI fell sharply in the last two years, with tariffs reducing by a total of 44 per cent from January 2015 to January 2017. Fortunately, the government’s latest announcement, just before Christmas, goes some way to counteracting this, with RHI tariffs for plants of all sizes increasing by around a third and pre-accreditation guarantees for all biomethane projects and all biogas heat projects above 600 kWth. According to Cian O’Donnell, Renewable Energy Consultant with Octego, this should allow continued investment in the sector: “This latest stimulus provides the financial certainty needed to boost the growth of the industry, as many investments were put on hold until the latest changes were confirmed. The tariff reset will boost investor interest, with the tariff guarantee mechanism providing a catalyst to reach financial close.”
Green gas can play a major part in decarbonising Britain’s domestic heat network
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For ADBA’s Policy Officer, Thom Koller, it’s important, however, that government continues to be reminded of the damage that further degression could cause. “In our response to the RHI consultation last summer, we pushed for the biogas heat tariffs to be reviewed alongside those for biomethane. We then built on the case made in our consultation response and wrote to Baroness Neville-Rolfe, the former Minister of State for Energy and Intellectual Property, to set out our case, as tariffs were, at that time, almost a third of what they were when the consultation questions were set,” he explains. “We also reiterated the importance of changing the degression mechanism so that in future, any degressions would
Biomethane be based only on growth in deployment. Further degressions will make the government’s ambition of supporting 20 biomethane and 95 biogas heat plants commissioning per year by 2021 hard to deliver.”
Heating Britain’s homes
Until recently, the gas grid has not really figured in government plans to decarbonise the heat sector but this area is now finding itself under the spotlight. The think tank Policy Exchange produced a report on the subject entitled ‘Too Hot to Handle’, and Richard Howard, its Head of Energy and Environment, thinks green gas could have a major part to play: “Before addressing the question of how to decarbonise heating in homes, it’s worth taking a moment to ask how big a challenge that is. The UK currently spends £32bn a year on heat, which accounts for 48 per cent of total energy use and one third of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – 23m homes currently have gas heating.” In 2012/13, DECC concluded that the best long term option for urban areas would be heat networks, with heat pumps in rural areas and gas as a transitional solution in suburban areas. “Fundamentally, this roadmap suggested for 2050 a mix for heating of 85 per cent heat pumps, 10 per cent heat networks and less than five per cent gas,” says Richard. However, converting 80 per cent of homes to heat pumps could cost in the region of £300bn. At the same time, peak winter heat demand exceeds 300 GW, a swing that the electricity grid could not cope with without massive extra capacity. “This is how people use heat and want to use heat,” continues Richard. “You might be able to shift demand a little, but you are not going to be able to reduce that seasonal peak by much. Gas could play an important role – but it’s not low carbon. The good thing about green gas (such as biomethane) is that you are changing something outside the home. People can continue to use their boiler, but with a greener form of gas. That is essentially easy for people in the way that switching to electric heat pumps is not. It doesn’t fundamentally change their interaction with their energy or heating. The argument that we ought to scrap the gas grid in decarbonising heat should be challenged.”
Overcoming technical and financial barriers
But getting green gas into the grid in the first place is not without its difficulties. One of the barriers to biomethane injection has been the often costly technical standards which must be met. However, a new project by National Grid could help to overcome this. National Grid has secured £4.8m of Ofgem funding for its Project CLoCC (Customer Low Cost Connections) Policy Exchange’s Richard Howard believes we should challenge the notion that the gas grid cannot help to decarbonise heat
National Grid’s Project CLoCC aims to ensure a variety of connection options are available for its changing customer base
venture, which will see the company and its partners design and build an innovative gas connection solution for the National Transmission System (NTS). It is primarily aimed at smaller and unconventional gas customers for whom connecting to the NTS under the current arrangements can be extremely challenging, and aims to ensure that a variety of connection options are available for its changing customer base. “Project CLoCC strives to reduce both the time and cost of connecting onto the NTS, for new and existing customers, by fundamentally challenging every aspect of the current connection process,” explains Nicola Riggon, Communications Support for Project CLoCC at the National Grid. “This critical innovation work will support the development of future indigenous gas sources, such as biomethane, whilst also supporting the development of exit projects, such as for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Given the higher flow levels on the NTS, Project CLoCC is investigating whether there would be a requirement for biomethane producers to add propane when injecting into the NTS,” she adds. “Additionally, there would be no obligation to add odorant when injecting into the NTS, so this would provide an extra cost saving to a biomethane producer.” Ofgem funding is also being used for a three-year pilot study to update the way gas bills are calculated, to take into account more of the lower carbon alternatives to natural gas likely to be powering homes and businesses in the future. The pilot will look at how customers can be billed using the calorific value of the gas they actually receive, rather than using an average. This should remove the need for alternative, low carbon gas producers to add costly propane to their gas to bring it up to an average calorific value. The study will look at a number of methods for achieving this, including using smart meters to record the calorific value of gas being used by homes and businesses.
Building capacity
All of this will come as welcome news to biomethane plant developers, whose numbers are continuing to grow. New plants are being commissioned right across the UK, including the Amur facility in South Milford. Once commissioning is completed and the 500 kWe food waste plant enters commercial operation, at full capacity it will provide 800m3 of gas to the grid, as well as 1,200 kW of thermal power via a CHP engine and boiler. Continued>> www.adbioresources.org adbioresources.org
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Biomethane Future Biogas currently has a number of grid plants, collectively supplying around 3,000m3 of biomethane every hour into the grid. Speaking at the recent ADBA National Conference in London, the company’s Head of Business Development, John Scott-Kerr, stated his belief that there will have to be a focus on driving down development costs in the future, with more plants also looking to capitalise on the biomethane certificate market. Future Biogas is one of a number of biomethane companies, along with Biogas Power, Air Liquide and Ecotrocity, to have signed up to Green Gas Trading’s Biomethane Certification Scheme. This enables generators to certify the biomethane they produce and trade the ‘green’ element of their gas separately from the physical commodity gas, maximising the value of their product. Buyers such as Marks & Spencer can then purchase the certificates to decarbonise their gas supply, helping to meet corporate social responsibility objectives.
John Scott-Kerr of Future Biogas at the ADBA National Conference 2016
Decarbonising the transport sector
One consideration for policy makers, however, is how to maximise the benefits of biomethane. Unlike other forms of renewable energy, biomethane is also suitable for use as a transport fuel and there is debate over whether it is better to use it for heat or transport. “The emissions savings are broadly similar between use in transport or heat,” explains David Joffe, Team Leader, Buildings, Industry & Devolved Administrations at the Committee on Climate Change (CCC). “Our approach is not to be specific about the end use – producing and injecting biomethane into the grid (displacing natural gas) provides the main emissions reduction. Whether that gas then ends up in one sector or another is not very important, but as methane is a potent greenhouse gas, any leakage of methane in its use affects the overall GHG savings. For transport uses, there are concerns over some designs of engine that lead to methane leakage (so-called ‘methane slip’) that would be of concern if methane were to be used widely, so it will be important to ensure that the risk of methane leakage is minimised.” David continues: “To the extent that there are further savings to be had from taking methane out of the grid and using it in transport, the case for this would need to be robust even if it were fossil natural gas being used. After all, for a given level of biomethane supply, any increase in demand for methane from transport will increase fossil gas consumption by an equivalent amount. Current estimates indicate a small GHG reduction from using fossil methane in transport relative to diesel. This saving, combined with wider benefits (eg air quality), would need to be sufficient to justify any costs of a switch from diesel to methane in heavy vehicles.”
In addition to reduction of carbon footprint, lower NOx and particulate emissions from gas vehicles are massive drivers for the use of biomethane as a transport fuel, according to Will Llewellyn of Red Kite Management. Will adds that the largest reduction of carbon footprint is achieved when wastes are used as the feedstock for making biomethane: “We are seeing an increase in the supply of OEM gas variants of a wider range of vehicles that can run on biomethane, and we expect increased uptake in the sub 7.5 tonne commercial vehicle sector going forward. The future is looking really positive, and Red Kite and its partners have demonstrated the effectiveness of a biomethane-fuelled fleet in meeting air quality targets. We are expecting strong growth in this sector,” he stresses.
Transport policy drivers
For its part, ADBA is continuing to push government for greater recognition of the role biomethane can play in cutting transport emissions and improving air quality. “The Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) target to provide 9.75 per cent of the UK’s fuel supply from renewable sources by 2020, and to continue this to 2030, is positive and in our consultation response to the Department for Transport (DfT) we called for further ambition beyond this,” outlines ADBA’s Thom Koller. “Our response, to which a number of ADBA members contributed, made a strong case for the inclusion of biomethane from certain feedstocks as an eligible ‘development fuel’, for which a new sub-target obligation was suggested. Following the consultation, it remains to Continued>>
Amur’s South Milford plant will supply 800m3 of gas to the grid
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Biomethane Future Biogas’ plants supply green gas to the Biomethane Certification Scheme
be seen whether the changes proposed will provide sufficient certainty to help grow the biomethane-powered vehicle market. Questions remain over how the ‘development fuel’ Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates (RTFCs) will work in practice, whether volatility in the RTFC market can be addressed to encourage investment, and how the GHG reporting mechanism will work alongside the new RTFO.” Within the latest DfT consultation, there is also a clear intention to provide a positive investment environment beyond 2020 to further encourage the development of waste-based and advanced fuels, while limiting the use of
fuels made from crops. This includes stimulating the supply of sustainable ‘development fuels’ and targeting transport sectors difficult to decarbonise, such as freight. “It is important that biomethane is considered to be eligible as a ‘development fuel’ for the sub-target,” adds Thom. “This could bring more certainty in support and encourage investment, whilst also reducing relative costs. In the short term, biomethane is one of the only potential development fuels that could be produced on a large enough scale to meet the fuel suppliers’ obligation. Although it is DfT’s proposal to include biomethane in the sub-target, at present it is open to question in the consultation, so we need to put together a strong case for it.”
Lower NOx and particulate emissions from gas vehicles are key drivers for the use of biomethane as a transport fuel
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Biomethane Realising the potential
What’s certain is that there are clear benefits to using biomethane both for heat and as a transport fuel. Despite the sector’s upward growth trajectory, if its potential is to be fully realised, a significantly greater volume of home-grown green gas will need to be produced in the years to come. “The AD industry as a whole currently produces 9 TWh per year; only 25 per cent of the 35 TWh that it could generate if all suitable feedstocks were sent to AD using existing technology,” says ADBA’s Thom Koller. “With investment in research, this 35 TWh could become closer to 80 TWh. Research to improve the energy output potential of AD in the UK needs to be focused in areas such as pre-treatment technologies for high-lignin feedstocks, improved yields, lower parasitic load process equipment and biomethanation of renewable hydrogen.”
ADBA is continuing to push government for greater recognition of the role biomethane can play in cutting transport emissions and improving air quality
The CCC agrees that anaerobic digestion, and the production of biomethane in particular, has significant untapped capacity. “Our scenarios assume that biogas can deliver around 21 TWh of gas into the gas network by 2030, which would represent around three per cent of natural gas consumption in that year, under our central scenario,” explains the CCC’s David Joffe. “We also assume a small amount of biogas use at or close to the site of production, due to geographical constraints around injection into the gas grid, both for heat generation on farms and a small amount of distributed power generation.”
would provide GHG emissions savings in excess of 5 MtCO2e/year by 2030. For comparison, the overall savings in our scenario by 2030 are 192 MtCO2e/ year, so this is again around three per cent – a useful contribution towards meeting the UK’s overall decarbonisation targets.”
David continues: “The emissions savings come primarily from displacing natural gas consumption, but also from the local generation of heat and/or power, plus the avoided methane emissions from landfill and on farms by digesting these wastes in a controlled way; capturing the methane for energy use rather than allowing it to escape into the atmosphere. This combination
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ADBA National Conference 2016 Review
Towards a brighter future
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ptly titled ‘Opportunities in a Changing World’, ADBA’s National Conference 2016 aimed to cut through the year’s political upheaval and look towards a brighter future. Attracting over 200 attendees, 32 speakers and fifteen exhibitors, the event addressed the biggest challenges and opportunities currently facing the AD sector, including R&I, food waste, green gas, on-farm AD, biomethane and the deregulation of the water sector. Held at One Great George St, Westminster on 8 December 2016, one of the Conference’s first presentations was from Matthew Bell, Chief Executive of The Committee on Climate Change. Matthew explained that in order to meet the requirements of the Fifth Carbon Budget, action on climate change needs to be spread across all sectors. While some areas, such as waste and industry, are seeing real progress, others – such as transport – have stagnated. Matthew stated that there is potential for AD to play a role in several of these lower-growth areas, including generating low carbon heat for domestic, public and commercial buildings; decarbonising HGVs and buses; and providing an efficient biofertiliser. ADBA’s Chief Executive, Charlotte Morton, brought home the scale of AD’s potential. “If we harness the potential of R&I, the AD industry can be eight times bigger than it is today,” she told delegates. However, Charlotte was also realistic about the challenges the industry is facing, pointing to the renewable energy ‘black hole’ that is looming large as a result of the FIT being squeezed into non-existence, the RO closing in March and the then uncertainty around the RHI tariffs (which at the time of the Conference were still awaiting confirmation). And with one-third of all food grown around the world being wasted, the fact that England has still not introduced mandatory separate food waste collections continues to be a cause for concern. As Charlotte concluded, “We need to act local but think global.” Continued>>
“As a first-time attendee, I found the Conference useful for getting a picture of where the AD industry is currently – what the challenges are, and where future growth is likely to come from. As our firm has worked on a number of international projects, it was also good to hear about the launch of the World Biogas Association and the global opportunities for AD.” James Wood-Robertson, Legal Director, DLA Piper UK LLP
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ADBA National Conference 2016 Review
Act local, think global
The global focus continued into the Conference’s subsequent presentations, not least the speech made by David Newman, who had recently been unveiled as the President of the newly-formed World Biogas Association. David talked about the opportunities for AD – and for UK firms – to address concerns in various parts of the world. “In Brazil, for example, 99 per cent of all waste is dumped,” he stated. “Two thirds of this is biogenic, which presents a great opportunity for AD companies. There’s also the opportunity for sewage/ wastewater AD in developing countries, where sanitation is an issue.” David added that the international AD sector has the potential to be worth £1 trillion. But there is still work to be done to increase the efficiency of AD technology, as Angie Bywater told delegates in her presentation. To this end, the Universities of Oxford, Southampton, Reading, Newcastle, Imperial College and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew – supported by ADBA – have set out a proposal for a Centre for Anaerobic Biotechnology and Bioresources Research. Angie and Charlotte Morton told the Conference that the aim of the Centre is: “To coordinate research…to get results much faster than is happening currently. There’s £1.5bn of funding available. We have an opportunity to take things from deep science to implementation.” For more details on this proposal, see our article on p36. 16
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WRAP’s Richard Swannell then outlined the global food waste challenge and the need for change, telling delegates: “Business as usual is no longer possible.” As well as helping to reduce food waste volumes, Richard explained that food waste recycling will bring cost savings to businesses and highlighted the importance of measurement and vertical integration. “One of the AD industry’s advantages is digestate,” he added, “which can be used to help grow new crops.”
The importance of green gas
Richard was followed by former Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Caroline Flint MP, who set out her four-point plan for the UK to realise the potential for green gas. “Green gas should be an integral part of the government's long term energy strategy,” she urged. The four key policy proposals she suggested are: helping local communities to see waste as an opportunity; making long term investment decisions; national and local coordination on food waste collections, and green gas infrastructure; and backing biogas for use in transport. Explaining the advantages of green gas in heating, and the success of Vulcan Renewables’ biomethane plant in her constituency, Ms Flint added: “Replacing natural gas from Qatar with green gas from Doncaster – who could object to that?”
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ADBA National Conference 2016 Review “We have attended the ABDA National Conference for the last three years, both as delegates and exhibitors. For us, this was an excellent event. Within a single day we were able to meet with both existing and future customers along with the UK gas distribution companies. We’re now looking forward to the exhibition in July 2017.” Glen Lancaster, Sales Manager, Thyson Technology
“The day has been marked by some really good discussions. There have been several cross-fertilisations of ideas and technology, including two meetings which I have just set up. I have met more people than I expected to and it has been a very useful event.” Dr Nick Cheffins, Principal Sustainability Officer, Lincolnshire County Council
Cost reductions could lead to an increase in the use of smaller on-farm plants, driven primarily by waste management and pollution control agendas. This is why the Asiantath Ynni Severn Wye Energy Agency is currently investigating ‘off-the-peg’ solutions for Welsh dairy farmers, as Associate Project Manager Andy Bull explained: “The Welsh Government is keen on promoting AD on dairy farms in particular. We lost the message of the other benefits of AD as we’ve concentrated so much on energy production.” Green gas was also the subject of the first panel debate, which was chaired by Reed Landberg of Bloomberg News. National Grid’s Stuart Easterbrook said that there are ‘lots of ways to generate green electricity but very few ways to generate green gas’. And Chris Huhne, Former Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, and ADBA’s Strategic Adviser, stated: “AD is the low cost carbon cutter – cheaper than solar, offshore wind and new nuclear. With imports now more expensive due to the fall in the value of the pound following the Brexit result, prices for foreign gas are set to rise. AD is home grown and can be turned on and off – it will lower our import costs and has benefits over and above other renewables,” he argued, bringing the morning sessions to a close.
The future of on-site and farm AD
The afternoon sessions began with a panel debate on the future for on-site and farm AD as incentives reduce. If end users such as businesses and farmers are to continue to invest in AD, then it was agreed that the cost of both the technology and regulation needs to reduce. Dr Alan Taylor of Aardvark suggested that developers need to move away from producing bespoke plants to cheaper solutions. He added that reduced subsidy support would force the industry to be less expensive. “We need a better understanding of the biology to get gains in gas production and there has to be a way of packaging up plants so that they are repeatable,” he suggested.
Food waste collection
Delegates were also able to hear about how separate food waste collection schemes in the devolved administrations are working in practice, and what lessons can be learned for future policy making. Speakers from Biogen, Zero Waste Scotland and WRAP, among others, considered the possible implications of WRAP’s Consistency Framework report for the AD industry and the main challenges of getting more food waste out of the waste stream going forward.
What lies ahead for water and biomethane?
The future of the water sector in the face of Water 2020, and how this may impact and benefit the wider organic waste sector – including AD – was also on the agenda. And there was a lively debate about the best use for biomethane, with many citing its flexibility and ability to replace natural gas in the UK’s gas grid for domestic heating. However, Tony Griffiths of Gas Alliance argued that, “Putting biomethane into the transport sector is the best bet for biomethane in the UK; certainly for the people who live here.” As well as the carbon and greenhouse gas benefits of using biomethane for transport, Tony pointed to the improvements in pollutants such as NOx and particulates, which are becoming increasingly problematic in urban areas, adding: “I think 2017 will see a big uplift in terms of biomethane.”
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Technology Focus: Biogas upgrading
Be flexible and avoid biomethane slip-ups
Maxine Mayhew, Group Commercial Director of Northumbrian Water Group (NWG), looks at the advances, challenges and opportunities in the development of biogas upgrading technology, with a particular emphasis on the water sector. “As technology advances, challenges and pitfalls are commonplace, but most importantly, so are opportunities to break new ground. The growth of anaerobic digestion (AD) and advanced anaerobic digestion (AAD) in the water industry is no different. Our work has resulted in NWG being the only water company that uses 100 per cent of its sewage sludge to create renewable energy. This innovation is in use at two industrial scale AAD sites; Howdon in North Tyneside and Bran Sands in Teesside. A third plant, near Leeds, is a joint venture and takes this further by focusing on agricultural AD.
At all of our sites, we ensure that the biogas produced is used effectively. All plants have maximum flexibility, as we have installed sufficient combined heat and power capacity together with gas upgrading equipment (we use water scrubbing or membrane technology). Bran Sands AAD plant has over 4.5 MWe installed CHP capacity. Its location does not allow for a dedicated natural gas supply, so the emphasis here is on maximising the renewable electricity produced. Challenges faced include eliminating the presence of condensate so the siloxane removal system is more effective.
The requirement to dispose of wastewater makes AAD particularly suited to wastewater treatment works. However, it is necessary to dry the gas to meet gas quality standards and these sites do produce higher methane emissions. But there is also the opportunity for businesses to diversify. At NWG’s Ridge Road agricultural plant, farm waste is used to produce biogas, with no water requirements, allowing operation away from existing facilities and networks. This represents an opportunity to use a combination of CHP and biomethane gas injection using membrane technology in a way that operates within a smaller
Northumbrian Water Group’s Bran Sands AAD plant
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AD & Bioresources News | spring 2017
Howdon operates water scrubbing technology to meet the tighter standards expected by the gas distribution network operators. Water scrubbing also requires lower capital expenditure, no pre-treatment and is well suited for larger installations. The emphasis here is to inject all the biomethane directly into the grid and maximise the renewable electricity produced. The plant has 6 MWe installed CHP capacity, together with a local gas connection. However, developers must be aware of the tougher constraints of such a site, such as the need for a larger footprint and additional planning considerations.
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Technology Focus: Biogas upgrading the largest installation so far is currently being commissioned in Italy, where 6,250 Nm³/h of biogas is being upgraded to pipeline quality biomethane. This could have implications for the decarbonisation of the transport sector, says Volker Wehber, Global Director for SEPURAN® Green at Evonik: “The use of biomethane derived from organic waste sources as an alternative fuel in CNG or LNG powered vehicles is still in its infancy, but this is set to become more and more popular and will play an important part in meeting GHG savings and carbon footprint targets of individual companies and beyond.” Evonik is continuously developing its membrane product portfolio for efficient gas separation and the next generation of SEPURAN® Green membranes are scheduled to be launched in late 2017.
Thyson supplies a split configuration grid entry unit, separating the RTU and ROV elements of the network package
footprint, with the potential for finer control of the final gas quality. Unlike with sewage sites, gas pre-treatment is required and there is a higher electricity demand, in the region of 0.2-0.3 kWh/m3 of biogas. Additionally, there is uncertainty in relation to the lifespan of the membrane.
in the type of projects coming on stream, with a clear move away from 100 per cent crop based plants to more waste driven opportunities. Whilst the RHI remains a key element to the financial success of these projects, the ability to use a waste stream, particularly for water companies, also brings some additional added value.”
Challenges for this type of installation include those experienced at existing plants, together with the complexity of ensuring that the quality of feedstock is managed, which directly impacts upon gas quality. Chicken litter increases the risk of excessive levels of ammonia in the digestate, so we now introduce zeolite into the process, which actively adsorbs unwanted components.
Glen continues: “Within our specific area it’s not always easy to bring innovation. As the final release point to the network, our focus is to ensure that the biogas meets the requirements of the GSMR standards, along with providing actual flow rates to the network operator. However, one of our recent developments has been to supply a split configuration grid entry unit, which effectively separates the RTU and ROV elements of the network package. These elements are always owned by the network operator and separating them has helped to overcome pipeline adoption issues at some sites.”
The challenge for new developers is one of balancing the advantages and disadvantages of the different options of biogas upgrading technology to deliver the best plant to suit their capabilities and resources.”
Upgrading solutions from ADBA members
There have been many changes to the biogas to grid market over the past 18 months, and as a provider of grid/network entry packages, Thyson Technology (TTL) has been at the forefront of developments. “At the end of 2015, we were celebrating the fact that we had obtained RHI for our first grid entry unit at Brinklow,” says Glen Lancaster, Sales Manager. “If we advance 12 months, we have now added a further 13 projects to the network with a 100 per cent record of achieving the RHI target/gas on date. During the year, we have also had the opportunity to work with all four gas distribution networks on a wide variety of projects, including both on-farm generation and wastewater feedstocks. However, throughout 2016, we have seen a significant shift
Membrane technology Another innovation in the biogas upgrading sector has come from Evonik Resources Efficiency GmbH, which has developed the SEPURAN® Green membrane technology. Thanks to a simple modular set-up, the technology is suitable for small, medium and large scale installations –
Meanwhile, DMT Clear Gas Solutions, part of DMT Environmental Technology, has announced that it is to build ‘the largest installation in the field of biogas upgrading’. The US-based project, which will process pig manure, will use DMT’s highly selective membrane technology to upgrade the biogas into biomethane, which will then be injected into the national gas grid, benefitting 30,000 households per year. “This is an amazing project, not only because of its size but especially because of its relevance for the industry,” says Robert Lems, General Manager of DMT Clear Gas Solutions LLC. In addition to upgrading technology, DMT supplies technology for desulphurisation and will also provide a pre-treatment stage for this project to remove sulphur from the biogas prior to upgrading. With nearly 50 biogas sites worldwide, Air Liquide has developed technologies and expertise that span the entire biomethane value chain. It has also designed its own membrane technology for upgrading biogas for subsequent injection into the gas grid, the production of vehicle fuel and the production of renewable hydrogen from liquid biomethane. According to David Hurren, General Manager for UK of Air Liquide Advanced Business Europe, key points to consider when investing in upgrading technology Continued>> DMT’s US project will provide green gas for 30,000 homes
Evonik has developed the SEPURAN® Green membrane technology www.adbioresources.org adbioresources.org
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Technology Focus: Biogas upgrading Air Liquide has opened its first refuelling station, supplying CNG and LNG from biomethane
are operational expenditure, methane recovery rate and equipment availability. “We already have two biomethane plants in operation in the UK and will run six plants by the end of 2017,” he explains. “Biomethane upgraded by Air Liquide can also be used as fuel. In 2016, we opened our first multi-energies station in Europe (France), which can refuel vehicles with compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the same site, produced in part from biomethane, but also with liquid nitrogen for refrigerated transport.”
Avoiding the methane slip It’s clear that technologies for biogas upgrading have experienced tremendous progress over the past five years and the technology is now fairly advanced. Pentair Haffmans has installed the first operating system worldwide to be retroactively equipped with a bolt-on carbon dioxide (CO2) recovery system, meaning there is no ‘methane slip’. The plant, with a raw gas capacity of 2,000 Nm3/h, is operated by a 1,050 acre farming operation in Andover and fed with energy crops. With the addition of the Pentair Haffmans’ CO2 recovery system, the methane yield of the plant is increased to 100 per cent. During the recovery process all impurities are
removed from the CO2 and sent back to the biogas upgrading unit. This results in approximately 87,600m3 of additional biomethane per year being injected into the gas grid. In addition, at full capacity, 1,600 kg/h – approximately 38 tonnes/day – of CO2 is recovered from the biogas stream, liquefied and stored in a buffer tank. This CO2 complies with EIGA (European Industrial Gases Association) specifications and is sold to an international industrial gas company, providing the plant operator with a significant additional revenue stream. With this combination of biogas upgrading and CO2 recovery technology, the volume of damaging greenhouse gases released to the atmosphere is reduced to almost zero.
Sustainable operations This is significant as reducing greenhouse gas emissions is now more critical than ever. The World Meteorological Organisation has confirmed that 2016 was the hottest year on record, and the United Nations report that we’re only a matter of degrees away from global ‘catastrophic temperatures’. This is an important point to bear in mind when selecting biogas upgrading
Pentair Haffmans has avoided the methane slip by retroactively fitting a bolt-on CO2 recovery system 20
AD & Bioresources News | spring 2017
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According to Puregas, reducing GHG will become ever more important for plant operators
technologies, says Mark Storey, Sales and Marketing Manager for Puregas Solutions, which has been operating for over 25 years and offers CApure biogas upgrading plants, solutions for the removal of H2S, VOCs and siloxanes, as well as membrane upgrading plants, network entry facilities and propane enrichment equipment. “The German Government has already imposed a limit of 0.5 per cent methane loss from biogas upgrading plants and in the UK, achieving the sustainability criteria is becoming increasingly important in securing the RHI,” says Mark. “A biogas upgrading plant with 98 per cent methane recovery will ‘slip’ two per cent of the methane in the raw biogas to atmosphere. A typical plant, operating 8,500 hours per year and processing 2,000 Nm3/h of biogas with 55 per cent methane content, will therefore slip 22 Nm3/h of that methane to the atmosphere. That’s 187,000 Nm3 of methane per year, which is the equivalent of over 179,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Never mind the loss of potential RHI revenue.” The problem is that while methane doesn’t stay as long in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, it is initially far more devastating to the climate because of how effectively it absorbs heat. In the first two decades after its release, methane is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide. While it’s worth remembering that anaerobic digestion of sewage reduces methane emissions, plant operators would be wise to ensure they select upgrading technology that reduces the methane slip to a minimum. “Technologies are now available with a methane slip of less than 0.1 per cent,” adds Mark. “It’s extremely important, therefore, to carefully consider the technology choice when factoring in the sustainability criteria of a given biomethane project and its environmental impact.” www.nwg.co.uk www.thyson.com www.evonik.com www.dmt-et.com www.airliquide.com www.pentair.com www.puregas-solutions.com
AD & Biogas Industry Awards 2017 Preview
Celebrate with the best of the global biogas industry
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irmly established as the must-attend event for key players in the anaerobic digestion industry, the AD & Biogas Industry Awards are back for the sixth year on 5 July 2017, this time with the support of the World Biogas Association. Featuring an even bigger international focus, this year’s event is an unrivalled opportunity for growing and innovative businesses to showcase their products, skills and technologies, as well as the latest innovations, to a captive audience in a superb venue; The Vox Conference Centre, Birmingham, UK. Consistently bringing together the industry’s finest, the awards, which are organised by ADBA, celebrate all those making an exceptional contribution across all sectors of the AD industry: agriculture, energy, sewage treatment, waste management, transport, academia, and much more... Does your company or project have what it takes to be named the best in its field?
Enter now
Is your plant the very best in its sector? Are there people, businesses, products or services that deserve special recognition? Could your project serve as an example of how to do AD well? To honour and recognise an individual, team, project or business making a real difference, download the entry form for free today at adbioresources.org/events/awards You can enter more than one category but all applications must relate to achievements or performance during the 12-month period from March 2016 to March 2017. However, relevant material can be submitted for work prior to March 2016 that has contributed to the results seen in the applicable period.
Deadline for entries – midday 3 April 2017
The categories UK Awards
• Best sewage treatment AD plant UK *NEW* • Best on-farm AD plant UK • Best food waste AD plant UK • Best on-site food & drink industry AD project UK • Best small scale AD plant (sub 250 kW) UK
International Awards
• Best international sewage treatment AD plant *NEW* • Best international agricultural plant • Best international commercial plant • Best international small scale plant
UK & International Awards
• Innovation in sewage treatment through AD • Best food waste reduction and collection system • Best process optimisation • Making the most of digestate • Making the most of biogas • AD hero of the year • AD team of the year • Best AD support (Technical) • Best AD support (Legal/Accounting/Consulting) • Regulatory/H&S Leadership Award • Research Project Award
Tickets now on sale The AD & Biogas Industry Awards 2017 will feature over 250 industry, government and press representatives and offers outstanding networking opportunities. The black-tie ceremony includes a pre-dinner drinks reception, three course meal with wine, a renowned host and first class entertainment from a live comedian. Book your place today at adbioresources.org/events/awards Individual tickets • Non-member early bird single ticket: £169 + VAT = £203 • Member early bird single ticket: £149 + VAT = £179
Individual tickets • Non-member single ticket: £199 + VAT = £239 • Member single ticket: £179 + VAT = £215
Table tickets • Non-member early bird table of 10: £1,580 + VAT = £1,896 • Member early bird table of 10: £1,390 + VAT = £1,668 Early bird tickets available until 7 April
Table tickets • Non-member table of 10: £1,850 + VAT = £2,220 • Member table of 10: £1,670 + VAT = £2,004 Normal rates apply after 8 April until 30 June
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UK AD & Biogas and World Biogas Expo 2017 Preview
Headline sponsor
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The global hub of the AD and biogas community
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“UK AD & Biogas again exceeded our expectations. This is the most successful exhibition we attend worldwide.” Paul Davies, Landia
“We attended UK AD & Biogas for the first time in 2016, where we were speaking as well as exhibiting. The event was well organised and resulted in many interesting discussions and contacts with professionals genuinely looking for new solutions. In fact, we made a sale as a direct result of our participation.” Dr Lore Grohmann, Wilson Power Solutions
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his summer, UK AD and Biogas will return for its seventh consecutive year at the Birmingham NEC (5-6 July). The event continues to grow proportionately with the number of plants being built in the UK, and this year’s show is looking more exciting than ever.
In addition to its continued focus on the UK market, last year saw us expand the show to cover the most exciting global markets for AD and biogas. This year, the World Biogas Association will co-host the brand new World Biogas Expo 2017 in the same hall as UK AD & Biogas 2017 but with its own dedicated space, international pavilions and conference area. This will enable us to showcase what’s happening around the world on an even larger scale, as well as demonstrate the best of the UK AD industry. Combining both the domestic and international AD marketplaces, UK AD & Biogas and World Biogas Expo 2017 will be the one stop shop for everything AD, from collecting and growing every type of feedstock to making and using the energy and bioproducts from biogas and biofertilisers. Featuring technology, equipment and innovation, you’ll find everything you need to make your next AD project a success. As the leading trade show and conference dedicated to AD, biogas and bioresources we are delighted to be seen as the hub of the international AD industry, with more business done across these two days than throughout the rest of the year. This year’s expanded format will build on the success of our previous shows to maintain its position as the definitive meeting point for the global biogas community. We look forward to seeing you there. Visitors – Register for free at adbioresources.org Exhibitors & Sponsors – Book your stand or raise your company’s profile by contacting tori.abiola@adbioresources.org www.adbioresources.org adbioresources.org
UK AD & Biogas and World Biogas Expo 2017 Preview Developing the international biogas industry At the 2016 show, we launched seven international market reports and welcomed delegations, visitors and speakers from over 50 countries, including the USA, Canada, Argentina and South Africa. Since then, in collaboration with over 20 founder members comprising other national associations, companies, universities and organisations from across the globe, ADBA helped to found the World Biogas Association (WBA) at COP22 in Marrakech. The WBA aims to develop the global biogas industry – a market estimated to be worth £1 trillion – in the process making a huge contribution to meeting climate change targets and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We are delighted that the WBA has agreed to add its support to the global element of UK AD & Biogas 2017 through establishing and co-hosting the new World Biogas Expo 2017. To find out more about the work of the WBA or to become a member go to worldbiogasassociation.org
“A great opportunity to network and learn more about the industry. It’s a well managed event and should be central to the future development of the industry as a whole.” Keith Sweeney, NG Bailey
“An excellent event, extremely well organised, strongly recommended to everyone involved in the industry.”
“An excellent and informative show. If you are interested or involved in this industry, it’s a must-attend event.”
Jim Kingston, Altaca Group
Lesley Mckee, Alan Boswell Group
Calling all speakers Do you have an interesting or unique approach to AD in regards to feedstock, processes or your relationship with local communities? Then we’d like to hear about it! To register your interest as a speaker, contact desiree.dececchis@adbioresources.org
Join our exhibitors Our confirmed international exhibitors include: • A-Consult • AD4Energy • Air Liquide • Balmoral Group • Biogest Energie und Wassertechnik • Clarke Energy • CSO Technik • DuPont • Edina • Evonik Industries AG • Hitachi Zosen • HRS Heat Exchangers • Jelf Clarke Roxburgh • Kirk • Landia • Malmberg • MAN Rollo B.V. • NETZSCH Pumps & Systems • Orbital • Pentair Haffmans BV • PlanET Biogas UK • Puregas Solutions • Q8 Oils • Schmack Biogas GmbH • Scotia Gas Networks • Siemens • Vogelsang • Weltec Biopower • Xergi And many, many more…
Book your stand Want to raise the profile of your AD business? Then this is an ideal opportunity to rub shoulders with over 4,000 AD professionals and meet potential clients from across the world. Many of our stands have already been filled so please contact tori.abiola@adbioresources.org to book your exhibitor place today.
“Better than ever, with a large and varied range of exhibitors promoting their products, services and innovative technologies. A definite must-attend for anyone in the AD/biogas industry.”
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spring 2017 | AD & Bioresources News
Nigel Fisher, Galliford Try
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Plant Update
The year of biomethane
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gainst all odds, the UK’s AD industry is continuing to grow. At the end of 2016 there were 540 plants in operation – up from 424 in 2015 – and this figure is set to increase 1 over the next 12 months. This growth is largely being driven by the number of new biomethane plants coming on stream – the UK now has almost 90 plants injecting biomethane into the grid, double the number from the same time last year. And with the announcement that the RHI tariffs will increase from April 2017, the future looks bright for home-grown green gas.
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The new year heralds a more positive picture for electricity, too. The government’s response to the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) consultation will bring in slightly higher tariffs for AD than those proposed in the consultation. However, as the end of the FIT nears, we are urging the government to consider the future of support for farm and waste-based AD. In addition, the lack of a ban on sending food waste to landfill is preventing a large proportion of England’s food waste from being recycled through AD, so this is another issue on which we will campaign throughout 2017 and beyond. But, as demonstrated by our snapshot of some of the projects coming on stream imminently, ours is an industry that keeps fighting. Plants of all types and sizes, and processing a variety of feedstocks, are continuing to be developed despite the political upheaval that has dominated recent headlines. The UK’s AD industry is still on an upward curve.
1 ARDBOE AGRI ENERGY
Location: South Milford Current stage of development: Commissioning Input: Food waste Output: 500 kWe, 1,200 kW thermal power (CHP and boiler), 800m3 gas to grid ADBA member involvement: Owner/operator Amur Energy www.amurenergy.co.uk
2 McCULLA
4 MONA
Location: Lisburn, NI Current stage of development: Commissioning Input: Cow slurry, chicken manure, grass silage, whey, potatoes Output: 499 kW ADBA member involvement: Manufacturer Weltec Biopower www.weltec-biopower.co.uk
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3 AMUR AD PLANT
Location: Cookstown, NI Current stage of development: Under construction/ground and basement works Input: Cow slurry and renewable materials (grass, fodder beet, rye, maize, etc) Output: 499 kW Projected completion date: Early summer 2017 ADBA member involvement: Manufacturer Weltec Biopower www.weltec-biopower.co.uk
AD & Bioresources News | spring 2017
Location: Anglesey Current stage of development: Under construction Output: 2,000 kWe Projected completion date: Summer 2017 Input: Dairy industry waste, glycerol, chicken manure, rye grass, whole crop rye, corn silage ADBA member involvement: Design and build contractor Agraferm Technologies www.agraferm.com
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5 LOWER REULE
(extension of an existing plant)
Location: Gnosall Current stage of development: Commissioning Input: Pig slurry, maize silage Output: 800 kW ADBA member involvement: Manufacturer Weltec Biopower www.weltec-biopower.co.uk
6 METHWOLD
Location: Norfolk Current stage of development: Commissioned late 2016 Output: 499 kWe CHP, 375 m³/h biomethane Input: 30,000 tpa of pig manure, including straw ADBA member involvement: Design and build contractor Agraferm Technologies www.agraferm.com
Plant Update 7 MEPAL
Location: Cambridgeshire Current stage of development: Under construction Output: 11,700 MWe CHP, 900 mÂł/h biomethane Input: Corn silage, sugar beets Projected completion date: Spring 2017 ADBA member involvement: Design and build contractor Agraferm Technologies www.agraferm.com
11 MARSH FARM BIOGAS
Location: Chesham Current stage of development: Commissioning Input: Slurry and renewable material Output: 499 kW ADBA member involvement: Manufacturer Weltec Biopower www.weltec-biopower.co.uk
15 SUSTAINABLE ENERGY GENERATION LTD
Location: South Petherton, Somerset Current stage of development: Under construction Input: Agricultural waste and crops Output: 1 MW Projected
completion date: August 2017 ADBA member involvement: Operator Greener for Life www.greenerforlife.com
8 COMET
12 CONDATE GAS LTD
16 GORST ENERGY LTD
9 BURY LANE FARM
13 NOMANSLAND BIOGAS LTD
17 WILLOWGLEN RENEWABLES LTD
Location: Bury St Edmunds Current stage of development: Commissioned late 2016 Output: 5,000 kWe Input: Pressed sugar beet pulp ADBA member involvement: Design and build contractor Agraferm Technologies www.agraferm.com
Location: Cambridgeshire Current stage of development: Under construction Input: Maize, whole crop rye and triticale silage Output: 165 kW Projected completion date: June 2017 ADBA member involvement: Design, build, commission and finance AD4Energy www.ad4energy.com
10 FEVERSHAM ANAEROBIC DIGESTION PLANT Location: Bedfordshire Current stage of development: Under construction Input: Whole crop rye silage Output: 165 kW Projected completion date: April 2017 ADBA member involvement: Design, build, commission and finance AD4Energy www.ad4energy.com
Location: South Molton, North Devon Current stage of development: Operational Input: Agricultural waste and crops Output: 1.3 MW Projected completion date: May 2017 ADBA member involvement: Operator Greener for Life www.greenerforlife.com
Location: Exeter, Devon Current stage of development: Operational Input: Agricultural waste and crops Output: 1.5 MW Projected completion date: June 2017 ADBA member involvement: Operator Greener for Life www.greenerforlife.com
Location: Tiverton, Devon Current stage of development: Operational Input: Agricultural waste and crops Output: 500 kW ADBA member involvement: Operator Greener for Life www.greenerforlife.com
Location: East Devon Current stage of development: Operational Input: Agricultural waste and crops Output: 1 MW Projected completion date: May 2017 ADBA member involvement: Operator Greener for Life www.greenerforlife.com
14 SOUTHWESTERN SUSTAINABILITY LTD
18 GREEN PUFFIN LTD
Location: Tiverton Current stage of development: Under construction Input: Agricultural waste and crops Output: 500 kW Projected completion date: June 2017 ADBA member involvement: Operator Greener for Life www.greenerforlife.com
www.adbioresources.org adbioresources.org
Location: Crewkerne, Somerset Current stage of development: Under construction Input: Agricultural waste Output: 360 kW Projected completion date: December 2017 ADBA member involvement: Operator Greener for Life www.greenerforlife.com
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Members’ News & Views
Small but perfectly formed
er
Although many on-farm AD plants are around 500 kW or larger, in many circumstances smaller units memb can be both efficient and profitable. As our reporter Richard Crowhurst found out, the 165 kWe facility developed by AD4Energy at Barr Farm, near Spalding in Lincolnshire, allows arable farmer Jonathan Turner to sell clean electricity to nearby poultry meat producer Moy Park, as well as claim FIT and RHI payments for drying the digestate (an activity which is no longer supported following recent changes to the RHI). While the plant at Barr Farm was The AD4Energy designed to handle a proportion of plant at Barr Farm poultry manure from the adjacent 400,000 bird broiler unit, the decision was taken to stick to energy crop feedstock for the first couple of years to make commissioning and plant management easier. Consequently, 220 hectares of maize have been grown on the farm this season, although whole crop rye is also being considered as an option for the future. Around eight tonnes of the crop is placed into the Trioliet feeder each morning, which keeps the twin digesters operating for the rest of the day. Feedstock is macerated and mixed with liquid digestate by a Vogelsang unit before it passes into one of the two rectangular, semi-submerged concrete tanks. The first part of each tank consists of a membrane-covered chamber separated from the rest of the tank by a retaining wall with a weir system. This allows digestate to pass across while heavier particles such as grit fall to the bottom. It is anticipated that each trap will need cleaning every five or six years, a simple operation which is carried out by removing the cover to access the tank. Because of the twin tank system, the unit can continue to operate while one tank is being cleaned or serviced. When using maize feedstock, the typical retention time is between 35 and 40 days, although Georgina Hyde of AD4Energy said that some farmers leave the crop for longer. “Some farmers will keep the digestate in the tank for up to 50 days,” she explained. “We’ve also changed the design of the tank to a circular unit since the Barr Farm ones were installed, due to changes in Feed-in Tariffs and qualifying feedstocks. However, we’ve stuck with the concrete design as they can be partially submerged, making them more acceptable to some planners.”
visit
There are no moving parts in Eight tonnes of maize per the tanks. Mixing day are fed to is carried out the digesters by injecting gas through a series of pipes which run along the top of the tank. These work in sequence to mix material in the digester and ensure that it has a homogenous consistency in order to maximise gas production. The gas is collected in a circular gas holder before being used as fuel in the Tedom CHP engine, which can be monitored remotely by the farmer and even operated from a distance by the supplier; shentongroup. An additional boiler uses a small amount of gas to maintain the digester temperature at around 37-38°C. One of the other notable features of the installation at Barr Farm is the digestate dryer and emissions cleaning unit, both supplied by Dorset Green Machines. Digested material from the plant is macerated and passed through the dryer to produce a very dry digestate, which is much easier to store, transport and spread. The Environment Agency insisted on the addition of the ‘air washing’ cleaning unit, which removes any additional particulate and gas emissions from the exhaust gases from the dryer.
A representative from shentongroup in the control room at the 165 kWe plant
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“We expect the plant to pay back the capital costs after around five to seven years,” explains Georgina. “A unit like this would typically cost around £1m, but in this case there were other costs associated with the construction of the clamps and lagoon. The funding came from NatWest. We received pre-accreditation from Ofgem in 2014 and the plant was commissioned by the end of February 2016.” www.ad4energy.com www.vogelsang.info www.dorset.nu/en
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Members’ News & Views High levels of ammonia make poultry manure traditionally difficult to digest in an AD plant
Finnish plant first to use new nitrogen recovery technology An AD plant in Finland has become the first to employ a novel nitrogen and phosphorus recovery technology. An 80m3 fermenter from Ductor is being used at the demonstration plant in Tuorla, which has the capacity to treat 1,400 tpa of poultry manure, producing 266,000m3 of biogas. Ductor’s proprietary nitrogen-control technology harnesses the power of underused biowaste, such as poultry manure, which is notoriously difficult to treat in an AD plant due to high levels of nitrogen. The technology developed and patented by Ductor eliminates the nitrogen dilemma by turning so-called ‘problem waste’ into profitable, recyclable material. The technology removes 60 per cent of nitrogen by adding one fermentation step, prior to biogas fermentation, and a nitrogen stripping unit. www.ductor.com
Harper Adams study suggests AD could be solution for fallen stock disposal Harper Adams University has conducted research into how to reduce the number of resilient pathogens in porcine carcass material (PCM). The research has shown that sterilising and then disposing of the pig carcasses through anaerobic digestion could generate considerable quantities of biogas for heat or electricity, as well as reducing the cost of fallen stock collection and movement of vehicles between farms. The research is important due to EU legislation that was introduced after the BSE epidemic in cattle, which prohibits farmers from burying fallen stock on farms. Robert Wilkinson, Principal Lecturer and Researcher, said: “The results of this project confirm that PCM can be effectively digested by AD, with high levels of biogas and [methane] production and carcass reduction. However, further research is required to test the stability of the protocol over a longer period of time and to evaluate the residue produced as a potential fertiliser or soil improver.” www.harper-adams.ac.uk Disposing of pig carcasess through AD could generate large quantities of biogas
Edina wins contract to upgrade Southern Water CHP plant Edina Group has won the contract to replace the existing CHP plant at Southern Water’s Goddards Green wastewater treatment plant with a new, high-efficiency MWM-manufactured TCG 2016 V16 800kWe CHP engine. Southern Water is upgrading a number of its CHP plants, including: Gravesend, Kent; Goddards Green, Sussex; Millbrook, Hampshire; Fullerton, in Andover, Hampshire; and Budds Farm in Havant, Hampshire. It is anticipated that the new CHP plants will increase electricity generation by 17 per cent. Tony Fenton, Joint Managing Director, Edina Group, comments: “As the sole UK and Ireland distributor for market-leading MWM engines, we are delighted to be awarded the contract at Goddards Green. Our vast knowledge of biogas CHP and working relationship with many water providers makes Edina the perfect choice to deliver Southern Water’s environmental objectives.” www.edina.eu
Edina has a strong working relationship with a number of water companies
Partnership deal for Air Liquide and Puregas Biogas upgrading Air Liquide and Puregas Solutions specialists Air have commissioned their first joint Liquide and membrane upgrading unit Puregas Solutions have signed an agreement to access their respective biogas upgrading technologies. The duo has commissioned its first joint membrane upgrading unit in Rybjerg, northern Denmark, with a capacity of 900m3 per hour of biogas from agricultural waste. The biomethane upgraded with this technology can be used as fuel for vehicles (bio-NGV). Through Air Liquide’s subsidiary, FordonsGas, the group owns a biomethane liquefier and a network of 48 natural biogas refuelling stations for bio-NGVs covering south-western Sweden. The collaboration with Puregas Solutions also allows Air Liquide to continue its biogas development in the Nordic countries. www.airliquide.com www.puregas-solutions.com See Technology Focus: Biogas upgrading, p18
www.adbioresources.org adbioresources.org
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Members’ News & Views Largest biogas plant in Wales opens for business Agivert has opened Wales’ largest biogas plant, which will process around 48,000 tonnes of organic waste each year. The plant in Bridgend will generate 3 MW of electricity that will be supplied back to the grid to power nearly 6,000 homes. The facility has been built on a former run-down brownfield site that served as an aerodrome in World L-R: Alexander Maddan, Chief Executive of Agrivert, and War 2. As well as creating Carwyn Jones AM, First Minister of Wales biogas, the digestate produced will be used on 3,000 acres of local farmland to replace fossil fuel derived fertilisers. Agrivert Chief Executive, Alexander Maddan, said: “The new plant will offer much needed reliable capacity to local markets and we are pleased that large volumes of waste are already coming in from local sources. Local plants such as this reduce the cost of waste collection and treatment and should provide an incentive for many businesses to recycle food waste.” www.agrivert.co.uk
Geotech expands its hire fleet Gas analyser manufacturer Geotech is increasing its hire fleet due to continued successful growth in its rental business. Whether replacing an instrument that is being serviced or project-based hire, customers can choose from the latest products including the portable landfill and biogas analysers, GA5000 and BIOGAS 5000. All Geotech products available for hire adhere to the highest industry certifications, have been serviced to ISO17025 standards and appropriate applications are ATEX certified. Geotech Operations Director, Dean Kavanagh, said: “We pride ourselves on our response time with the latest instruments available at very short notice, whether it be to cover a service return, a weekly consulting requirement or a short-medium term project where budget constraints can prevent an analyser purchase outright. Our flexible options mean that whatever your hire need, we have a solution available.” Geotech offers on-site demonstrations, field trials and product training, as well as post-sale servicing of equipment and ongoing technical support. www.geotechuk.com
Customers can now hire the latest gas analysers
German award success for PlanET
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concrete@naylor.co.uk www.naylor.co.uk
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Employees at PlanET Biogas Group are celebrating after triumphing in one of the most reputable German agricultural innovation awards. The group was given the ‘DLV novelties award 2017’ by German agricultural publishing company DLV, which recognises outstanding technical developments in 10 categories. PlanET’s gas management system was honoured due to its practical impact on demand-oriented biogas production and added value for plant operators. The two main functional components are the PlanET eco® flexgas, a control unit for flexible pressure compensation PlanET’s gas management system between several gas storage units, and received the DLV novelties award ® the PlanET eco gasakku, an external gas storage unit. Both state-of the-art developments are necessary if an AD plant operator intends to produce biogas on demand. “We are glad that the DLV jury has paid tribute to medium-size enterprises which continuously invest in R&D and provide high-tech solutions for AD plant operators,” said Managing Director of PlanET Biogas, Jörg Meyer zu Strohe. www.planetbiogas.com
www.adbioresources.org adbioresources.org
Members’ News & Views System Mix is cream of the crop System Mix has supplied mixing equipment for a number of projects undertaken by Clearfleau in the UK over recent years. The latest of these has seen the installation of a Vaughan Rotamix Dual Zone Mixing System as part of a new plant at First Milk’s Aspatria creamery in the Lake District. The creamery in rural Cumbria produces award winning cheddar The Vaughan pump from System Mix cheese under the Lake is an integral part of the AD plant at District brand and is First Milk’s Aspatria creamery Europe’s first dairy processing site to feed biomethane generated entirely from cheese process residues to the gas grid. Early in 2015, Clearfleau was contracted to upgrade an existing anaerobic treatment plant at the Aspatria site, prior to starting work on the new AD plant, which is operated by Lake District Biogas. Andy Parr, Director of System Mix, explains: “The Vaughan pump prevents reaccumulation of fibrous and fatty material in the digester and this means that material continues to pass through the nozzles. This in turn ensures that the digestate is adequately conditioned and actually benefits all post-digestion equipment.” www.pumpmix.co.uk www.clearfleau.com
New life for old colliery A new AcrEnergy AD plant has been launched in Nottinghamshire, marking the first steps to redevelop an old colliery site into an employment park. The plant at the old Welbeck Colliery runs on agricultural waste and break crops from the thousands of acres of surrounding farmland. The biogas produced provides local energy generation and is fed into the national grid. www.acrenergy.com
www.xergi.com www.adbioresources.org adbioresources.org
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Members’ News & Views Give your engine the attention it deserves The gas engine is the component that’s key to earning revenue on most AD sites, yet it often receives the least attention when planning a project. So, how fit for purpose is your engine? It may be running now, but how easy is it to start? How efficient is it? And what steps, if any, are you taking to prolong its effectiveness? James Thompson, Director of Gen-C, explains... er
memb
voice
If a car was to run at 1500 RPM (the speed at which a gas engine runs), we could assume that it’s comfortably doing 50mph. If it ran for 92 per cent of the 8,760 hours in a year (this is the minimum expectation of many service contracts) it would travel 402,960 miles. This gives an idea of the workload expected from a typical AD plant gas engine, yet I see little evidence when speaking with plant owners and operators of any planned component upgrade to ensure its continued effective running. While they may subscribe to service contracts, these usually focus on core engine components – oil changes, filters, cylinder heads, etc – and not the ancillary components that govern a gas engine’s true effectiveness. In fact, the two most influential elements for consideration in biogas engine operations are ignition control and fuel mixing.
Ignition systems
In an eight-cylinder engine, an ignition controller has to send an electrical charge out to the sparkplugs 100 times per second, whilst bolted to a vibrating engine frame, in an environment often containing corrosive gases which can attack circuit boards. Rather than waiting for these delicate components to fail and subsequently losing days, or even weeks, of Feed-in Tariff payments while sourcing a replacement, it makes more sense to plan an upgrade to coincide with a 40,000-hour engine service, for example. This way, you can take advantage of the latest technology, which will have more energy, greater flexibility and spark control, and more overall reliability. After all, if your ignition controller is more than five years old, it will almost certainly have a capacitive discharge system which is prehistoric in comparison to the output stage technology of the systems available today.
Fuel mixers
Unfortunately, I have encountered numerous fuel mixers that are clearly more suited to natural gas applications, but have found their way onto biogas sites as a cut price, off the shelf solution, shoe-horned into a CHP with little thought given to the individual site’s requirements. A big giveaway is where the gas dose is controlled. Often, we see it at the end of the gas train, over a metre away from where it actually gets mixed with air before entering the engine. This yields a system which is slow to react and often very difficult to start. Rather than accepting that the engine is difficult to start up, or in extreme cases resorting to squirting ‘easy start’ into the air cleaner, a simpler and more effective solution would be to schedule an upgrade and modernise this key function of effective engine management. Easier starting, smoother running, and lower gas use are typical benefits.
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Long term gains
There can be a culture of ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ within the AD industry, but look at it another way – would you fly on an airline with this mentality? Waiting for a problem to happen can more than double the cost to rectify it, when you factor in express deliveries, overtime, the time taken to source the parts and the subsequent lost revenue. Taking time now to access your engine set-up and plan a structured and considered upgrade will certainly pay dividends in the long term. We were involved in a full engine upgrade last year that resulted in the same output but used 8m3 per hour less gas. That’s a saving of over 70,000m3 of gas per year, as well as the increased availability and export value as a result. Proof, if it were needed, that getting the right engine can seriously improve the success of your plant. www.gen-c.co.uk Gen-C is a privately owned gas engine company that distributes Sandfirden gas engines, parts, systems and Motortech gas engine upgrades for critical power applications. Its product range covers all aspects of gas engines from sparkplugs to full ignition systems, upgrades and CHP solutions.
www.adbioresources.org adbioresources.org
Government & Agency News National Grid wins £5m Ofgem funding for gas bill study
Waste in Westminster Our PR & Parliamentary Affairs Executive, Chris Noyce, reports on the latest waste news from Parliament
National Grid Gas Distribution, working with DNV GL, has been awarded £4.8m of funding under Ofgem’s Network Innovation Competition. The money will be used for a three-year pilot study to update the way gas bills are calculated, to take into account more of the green, lower carbon alternatives to natural gas likely to be powering homes and businesses in the future. The initiative aims to cut out the use of propane – which is currently being added to biomethane for gas billing reasons – which should open the door to more green gas entering Britain’s gas pipeline network and cement its essential role in meeting the UK’s carbon reduction targets for 2030 and 2050. “Ofgem’s decision to award National Grid £4.8m for this programme reflects how serious the UK’s gas grids are about delivering low carbon heat, as well as delivering a sustainable gas future which works for consumers as well,” says David Parkin, Director of Network Strategy at National Grid Gas Distribution. See biomethane feature, p8 www.nationalgrid.com www.ofgem.gov.uk
Good things come to those who separate waste Making more inedible food waste available as feedstock continues to be a key challenge for the UK AD industry. With recycling rates going down and food waste levels going up, ADBA has continued to push government to roll out separate food waste collections across England to emulate the examples of the devolved administrations in reversing these worrying trends.
EA’s Definition of Waste Panel to remain closed The Environment Agency (EA) temporarily suspended the Definition of Waste Panel last autumn, as it was unable to continue resourcing this free-to-use service. The EA has since revealed that this closure will continue until further notice: The Definition of Waste Panel is closed until further notice whilst its role and purpose is reviewed in the context of our waste regulation strategy. Guidance on determining the waste status of your material can be found here: http://bit.ly/2l4k9oG Members with queries about the legal definition of waste are advised to discuss them with local EA officers, who should be able to provide advice. www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee’s inquiry into the economic, social and environmental impact of food waste in England is ongoing, and has taken written and oral evidence from a range of key stakeholders, including our Chief Executive, Charlotte Morton. Charlotte set out to the Committee the key role that AD can play in reducing food waste and recycling inedible food waste, and called on Defra to proactively enforce the waste hierarchy. Convincing the government to invest in rolling out separate food waste collections across England will not be easy given its budgetary constraints, but the environmental imperatives and economic benefits of reducing food waste mean that such collections are a necessity. Charlotte and I also held a very successful meeting in December with Kerry McCarthy MP, who sits on the EFRA and Environmental Audit Committees and shares our desire to tackle the issue of food waste. Kerry was happy for us to suggest some written Parliamentary questions around Defra’s enforcement of the waste hierarchy, metrics for success for WRAP’s Framework for Consistency in Household Waste Collections, and the costs and benefits of separate food waste collections, which she then submitted to Environment Minister, Andrea Leadsom. We thank Kerry for her support. Elsewhere, parliamentary activity continues to be dominated by Brexit, and the nature of the UK’s new relationship with the European Union will have significant implications for areas such as farming, energy and transport. Meanwhile, the government’s Industrial Strategy, Bioeconomy Strategy and Emissions Reduction Plan offers huge opportunities for AD to play a key role in moving to a low carbon economy.
www.adbioresources.org adbioresources.org
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Policy EA publishes updated permits for digestate At the beginning of the year, the Environment Agency (EA) published several updated Standard Rules permits that cover the storage and spreading of digestate. The permits that have been updated are: • SR2010 No.4 Mobile Plant for Landspreading • SR2010 No.5 Mobile Plant for Reclamation, Restoration or Improvement of Land • SR2010 No.6 Mobile Plant for Landspreading of Sewage Sludge • SR2010 No.17 Storage of Digestate from Anaerobic Digestion Plants Only the amended rule sets are now available for new applications. For existing permits, there is a three-month transition period from the date of publication of the updated Standard Rules. The permits are all available to download from the EA’s website – www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency If you have any queries or experience any issues with the updated permits, please contact our Environment and Regulations Manager: jessica.allan@adbioresources.org
ADBA welcomes RHI announcement and calls for new biogas policy In mid-December, BEIS finally published its much anticipated response to its consultation on the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The release of the intentions for the scheme going forward has brought a degree of certainty to the AD industry, with many projects on hold awaiting this crucial decision. Biomethane and biogas have been real success stories of the RHI, and the continuation of this scheme will allow the UK AD industry to build upon its success to date. We were pleased to see that the new ministers in BEIS remain committed to decarbonising heat in the UK and continuing to support the UK’s burgeoning green gas industry. The resetting of tariff levels should support higher levels of deployment in 2017, although we believe that the restrictions on feedstock for new plants are not justified and could have unintended consequences. The introduction of tariff guarantees is extremely welcome and we will continue to work with government and with our members to ensure the UK AD industry keeps growing and reaches its full potential – for example, by calling for urgent action on food waste collections in England.
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BEIS also finally released its response to the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) consultation in February. The response will bring in slightly higher tariffs for AD than those proposed in the consultation, whilst sustainability criteria and crop restrictions will also be introduced. The FIT is now likely to be closed to new applications sometime next year. Although it is positive to have certainty over the future of the FIT, and of course the slightly higher tariffs, we are now calling on BEIS to consider the future of support for farm and waste-based AD as the end of the FIT nears, given that government cannot meet its emissions reduction targets without biogas. Ofgem’s FIT deployment queue shows that the government response to the FIT consultation has not led to a rush to apply to the scheme, so new support for AD needs to be developed as soon as possible, in order to be in place by the time the FIT is closed. To discuss the RHI or FIT, contact thom.koller@adbioresources.org
www.adbioresources.org adbioresources.org
Policy Calculate food waste collection savings with new WRAP tools WRAP has developed the following tools to help local authorities and AD operators easily calculate the savings they can make by separately collecting food waste and recycling it through AD: • The Food Waste Ready Reckoner. Local authorities can calculate the likely yield that a separate weekly food waste collection service can be expected to achieve in their area. • The Kerbside Analysis Tool. Local authorities can calculate any initial upfront costs and resulting benefits from having different types of recycling collections. • The Cost Benefit Analysis Tool. Local authorities and food waste AD operators can work together to calculate how the costs and benefits of separately collecting food waste to be treated through AD can be distributed and allocated between the two parties. Indicative costs are provided for three different contractual mechanisms. We are continuing to work with WRAP and other organisations on the Food Waste Recycling Action Plan to improve the capture, supply and quality of household and commercial food waste in England. We are also continuing to push government to roll out separate food waste collections across England, following the success of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in reducing food waste levels. To download the tools, go to www.wrap.org.uk
Renewables Obligation closure and grace periods The Renewables Obligation (RO), one of the main support mechanisms for renewable electricity projects in the UK, is closing to new applicants on 31 March 2017. Last year, Ofgem ran a short consultation on commissioning standards under the RO and industry practices, and this was followed up with draft guidance. Ofgem called for comments on the draft guidance, suggestions of what could be made clearer, and omissions that should be addressed. We worked with developers and the wider industry to prepare a response. In the section of the guidance on meeting the ‘grid or radar delay grace period’, Ofgem set out the types of evidence that would be required if a grid connection is delayed and a plant cannot be commissioned by 31 March 2017. This is useful for ensuring that all commissioning standards and procedures have been adhered to and that, if delays do occur, grace period requirements can be satisfied. When commenting on the draft guidance, our response highlighted that in exceptional cases distribution network operators (DNOs) may prove unwilling to provide a letter or email explicitly, or even implicitly, confirming grid works were planned and scheduled to take place on or before 31 March 2017. The draft guidance did not provide any instruction as to how the grid delay grace period would accommodate instances where the developer and the DNO are in a dispute. If you have any questions on commissioning under the RO please contact our Policy Officer, thom.koller@adbioresources.org
Biogas and the Industrial Strategy ADBA has welcomed the publication of the government’s Green Paper, ‘Building Our Industrial Strategy’. Throughout the spring we will be working closely with members to develop our response, setting out how AD can play a central role. In the Paper, the government sets out 10 pillars that it sees as important for driving forward its Industrial Strategy across the entire economy, several of which are of direct relevance to the AD industry. Bioscience and biotechnology are specifically mentioned as one of the focus areas of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, which will create a new funding stream for R&D in technologies where the UK has the potential to take an industrial lead. The Paper’s focus on investing in science, research and innovation, which is key to unlocking the full potential of the biogas industry worldwide, was particularly encouraging. We estimate that a government investment of £50m over 5-7 years in a Centre for Anaerobic Biotechnology and Bioresources Research would provide the initiative to deliver a step change in the rate of development of anaerobic biotechnology, putting the UK at the heart of a £1 trillion global industry. In our response, we will look at opportunities and key challenges around the Industrial Strategy and propose a ‘sector deal’, in which we will set out key proposals on how government support can boost the productivity of the AD industry and the wider bioeconomy sector. We look forward to putting forward a strong case, to ensure that the bioeconomy is central to the UK’s Industrial Strategy moving forward. The consultation runs until 17 April 2017.
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R&I Update Why we need a Centre for Anaerobic Biotechnology & Bioresources Research What if there was a way to generate energy more cheaply than coal, and more of it than nuclear? And at the same time, mitigate the effects of climate change, improve energy and food security; even improve sanitation? All sounds too good to be true? We are working with a number of academic partners in the UK who believe that, through targeted and coordinated investment in research and innovation, anaerobic digestion could deliver all of the above and more. Together, the partners have developed a proposal to establish a Centre for Anaerobic Biotechnology and Bioresources (CABB) Research. The proposed virtual centre, a centre of global excellence, will deliver a step change in the rate of development and performance of AD. Often perceived solely as a waste treatment technology, the aim of the Centre is to transform AD into a low cost, multi-functional biotechnology. The Centre would facilitate a coordinated and cost effective approach to taking ideas and concepts and would move them through technology readiness levels to demonstration and final implementation much faster. The total budget sought for the research centre is ÂŁ50m over 5-7 years for interdisciplinary research. It is believed this will provide better value and outcomes than a competitive grant environment.
For information and advice on our R&I activities, contact our PR & Parliamentary Affairs Executive, Chris Noyce T +44 (0)203 176 5441 E chris.noyce@adbioresources.org AD has the potential to support four of the five UK Government global challenges: secure and resilient food systems supported by sustainable agriculture; sustainable health and well-being; clean water and sanitation; and renewable energy and materials. This makes AD unique, delivering exceptional value for money. Later this month, we are holding our annual Research and Innovation Forum. This year, the forum will be held in London and will bring together academics and industry experts from all over the world. Tom Curtis, Professor of Environmental Engineering from Newcastle University, will be discussing the proposal for the Centre at the forum on 28 March – we hope you can join us.
Get involved To find out more or to register for the ADBA R&I Forum 2017, go to: adbioresources.org/adba-ri-forum-2017 See full event preview on p39
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enquiries@greencrop.co.uk www.greencrop.co.uk
R&I Special How biomethanation of hydrogen could make AD more affordable By Dr Alba Serna-Maza, Research Fellow within the Engineering and Environment Department at the University of Southampton Researchers led by the University of Southampton are investigating ways to improve the methane content of biogas by combining anaerobic digestion with hydrogen produced through electrolysis from renewable sources such as wind turbines and solar panels. Such a system would convert any electricity over-production from these technologies into gas, which could be used in a number of ways, including injection into the gas grid or for use as a vehicle fuel. This combination of renewable driven, electrolytic hydrogen production and anaerobic digestion can produce biomethane at greater than 95 per cent purity.
Biomethanation of hydrogen could make small scale on-farm AD more affordable
The primary metabolic pathway that converts hydrogen and carbon dioxide to methane is known as hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. In addition to increasing the methane yield by 40 per cent and maximising the conversion of the available carbon in the waste biomass, hydrogen injection also has the potential to reduce the methane slippage characteristic of existing physicochemical biogas upgrading technologies. A range of process configurations is possible, with carbon supplied from external or internal sources. In all cases, the gas-liquid mass transfer of hydrogen, the biomass growth and present microorganism population have been identified as the limiting factors. This multi-faceted research challenge can be solved with a combination of engineering and microbiological understanding of the system. As part of the research team led by Professor Charles Banks, our target is to develop the system for use where there is a large potential to integrate it into existing infrastructure and maximise the use of process heat and other by-products. The technology could even be used at a smaller scale on farms, where there is an abundant supply of waste biomass and a lack of suitable biogas upgrading plant. It has the potential to significantly improve the economics of the AD process. This research partnership was brokered through the AD Network and is funded by an Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst grant from the Biological and Biosciences Research Council. Combining AD with hydrogen produced through electrolysis from wind turbines could increase the methane content of biogas
info@aprovis.com
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Industry Focus: R&I
How can R&I help the AD industry reach its full potential?
T
he international AD economy has the potential to be worth £1 trillion and, thanks to our world class expertise, the UK is poised be a major player. We have the potential to export knowledge and equipment worth £5bn every year, creating nearly 60,000 jobs in the process. Furthermore, estimates have shown that with investment in new areas of research, biogas could produce up to 60 per cent of current coal power generation and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 18-20 per cent.
to unlocking AD’s potential. “We know that a cow’s stomach is able to complete this rate-limiting step 30 times faster than we can in our digesters,” says Mike. “Improving the speed of this step alone would transform the AD process and the economics of the industry. All of the exciting possibilities that are being discussed could then become really achievable, because the increase in speed will make the technology so much more affordable.”
This is why the newly proposed Centre for Anaerobic Biotechnology and Bioresources (CABB) Research – led by the Universities of Oxford, Southampton, Reading, Newcastle, Imperial College and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, and supported by ADBA – is so important. If we can harness the potential of research and innovation (R&I) to deliver improvements in process efficiency, a greater ability to treat new feedstocks, and make novel uses of the outputs, the UK AD industry could be many times bigger than it is today.
Getting to the heart of this conundrum has been slow to date because of the way in which research traditionally happens. Research funding is typically allocated on a project-based approach: chipping away at a problem or an idea,
Working together – strategic research goals
Matching nature – improving reaction efficiencies
According to Dr Mike Mason, Chairman of Tropical Power (pictured left), the Centre is essential to take the industry to the next level: “We need the Centre because, at the moment, we have the germ of a technology that hasn’t really advanced since the 1800s – it has the potential to be so much more. It’s chronically undervalued, and is considered expensive and niche when it really needn’t be.” At the heart of the proposal is a desire to overcome a technical conundrum. The rate-limiting step in anaerobic digestion – the step that slows everything down – is the first one; hydrolysis. A considerable amount of time and money is spent by developers, operators and researchers in improving the speed of this step with expensive pre-treatment technologies, because it holds the key 36
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Increasing the speed of the first stage of the AD process – hydrolysis – is the key to bringing down costs
www.adbioresources.org adbioresources.org
Industry Focus: R&I The Centre aims to bring together competitive and novel research groups and interests
slowly increasing our knowledge about how this bit of the process works or what happens when we remove this piece of the puzzle. Gradually, these small building blocks of knowledge are pieced together to make up a much bigger picture. In some instances, this works well, but it can make it difficult to deliver long term strategic research goals. “The AD research to date has been tactical and narrow, with people tending to focus on their own research group. This isn’t anyone’s fault; it’s perfectly understandable and simply the nature of how all research is funded. However, it causes problems in fields like AD that need lots of expertise to be brought together for it to work,” argues Mike. “To solve big, complex problems for society we need to embrace a strategic goal and rethink our attitudes to how we can work together to solve them. We need to bring competitive and novel research groups and interests together – working at the edges of the problem in an unfocused way, without thinking across disciplines, is just going to take too long.” As well as providing a strategic focal point, the proposed Centre will also provide gravitas, says Professor David Stuckey of Imperial College (pictured left): “It’s really important for the sector to be taken seriously, and with a substantial amount of money comes real belief that problems can be solved and work can be done. AD’s technical challenges aren’t insurmountable, but they do need addressing. And to answer or solve them we need to bring together academics from different fields and backgrounds. This goal of drawing people together is achieved naturally when there is money on the table. Not only that, but access to this kind of funding allows for larger scale feasibility studies and brings both clout and credibility.” Professor Stuckey also believes that the Centre can help to bridge the gap from primary research to real world innovation. “In my experience, technology transfer only really seems to happen for ideas which have ‘champions’. Without these champions, the energy needed to get ideas from one place to another is too great, so another of the Centre’s roles will be to act as a conduit for commercialisation.”
Delivering more than just energy
It’s also important that the Centre helps to dispel the myth that AD is merely a renewable energy generator. In fact, AD has the potential to support four of the five UK Government global challenges: secure and resilient food systems supported by sustainable agriculture; sustainable health and well-being; clean water and sanitation; and renewable energy and materials. It also supports at least five of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that the countries of the
United Nations have agreed must be achieved by 2030. This makes AD unique, delivering exceptional value for money. According to Dr Mason, we’ve barely scratched the surface of what could be achieved: “There is so much more land in the world than that which is currently used for commercial agriculture. We absolutely can and should be using this land, and then finding more plants that are suited to growing there – or that are better at converting the energy from sunshine into fixed carbon in biomass – and feeding them into anaerobic digesters. This is absolutely as important as working out what to do with the end product, whether that be methane or higher value products.” In fact, Dr Mason believes that we need to start thinking much, much bigger when it comes to what AD could deliver: “AD isn’t the start and end of the process; there are huge opportunities when we think holistically. This is why the technology requires fluency across a number of fields. So far it has been governed by a fairly narrow number of researchers focusing on a particular aspect of the process. It seems to be that people only think about their part of the chain, but AD has the potential to produce products or be a part of solutions that work on multiple levels. AD isn’t just about energy or electricity, it could do all kinds of other things, both here in the UK and across the world.” Professor Stuckey agrees that it’s time we started thinking beyond the conventional ideas of what AD can deliver: “The biorefinery idea, for example, is a relatively new concept for AD. It centres around the principle that, while methane is a convenient end-product from an energy perspective, it is actually low value – instead, we could be producing any number of higher value chemicals and compounds. The AD process actually produces many compounds, including hydrogen, methane, water, ammonium, phosphorus, some heavy metals and long chain fatty acids. Right now, the direction of biorefinery is unclear but over the next 10 years it will solidify. If we think strategically about what we want from the biomass resource we put into a digester, we could be much more efficient and generate greater value from it by producing food more efficiently than current agricultural models, or by focusing on long chain hydrocarbons and producing bioplastics, for example.” “Consider that modern industrial agriculture is actually pretty cumbersome and inefficient; it is intensive, requiring lots of costly inputs – fertiliser, water, expensive crops, pesticides – to deliver an increasingly low rate of return on that ‘investment’,” continues Professor Stuckey. “Meat and animals are a very expensive form of protein; with new tools we could make single cell proteins –
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Industry Focus: R&I something like Quorn – which are nutritious and inexpensive, all as part of an existing AD technology pipeline.”
A centre of global excellence – the vision
It is hoped that the proposed virtual Centre will deliver a step change in the rate of development and performance of AD, helping to transform it from something often perceived as solely a waste treatment or energy generation technology into a low cost, multi-functional biotechnology.
exactly what happens in a cow’s stomach may be extremely difficult to achieve, even if we can achieve a 25 per cent increase we will still have made a huge improvement, to the point where it completely changes the economics.” What’s clear is that there are some very exciting times ahead for the UK AD industry. We may have over 540 plants in operation, but it seems this is just the beginning. www.tropicalpower.com www.imperial.ac.uk
“Our biggest issue is the slow rate of the first step of the AD process (hydrolysis),” concludes Dr Mason. “Until we fix this, nothing else matters because we can’t do AD cheaply enough. Is it easy to solve? No. But is it possible? Absolutely yes. The thing to remember is that while matching A cow’s stomach is 30 times quicker at hydrolysing than a digester
Professor Stuckey and Dr Mason will be speaking at ADBA’s R&I Forum 2017 (28-29 March, London). For the full programme and to book your place go to adbioresources.org or see opposite.
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www.huber.co.uk
AD & Bioresources News | spring 2017
rotamat@huber.co.uk www.adbioresources.org adbioresources.org
ADBA R&I Forum 2017 Preview
From the big picture to the smallest microbe Now in its seventh year, the ADBA R&I Forum is well-established as the only dedicated research and innovation event focusing solely on the AD and biogas industry. This year’s forum, taking place at The Building Centre in London on 28-29 March 2017, will look at an AD industry that is now worth more than £500m in the UK, but potentially £1 trillion globally, and which has large sums of funding available for research. But how to best use those funds? Understanding where to focus the AD R&I community’s efforts will be a key part of this year’s event, which will once again bring together the most innovative experts from the AD industry, academia and the public sector in the UK and across the globe. The forum will feature a discussion on the latest developments in AD research and innovation, with a particular focus on the creation of a world class AD research hub to deliver a step change in research outputs (see p34 for more details). Specifically designed to inform delegates of the latest research and innovation in the sector, this session will encourage attendees to learn and share solutions to improve and optimise the AD process and its applications across the industry.
The R&I Forum also includes a workshop from Stepping Up, giving attendees the opportunity to feed in to a new land use tool currently being developed for government to help assess technologies like AD. In particular, the project is investigating any unintended consequences across the water, energy or food sectors. We will also discuss how, outside of Europe, new research has highlighted the potential for AD to become a leading source of energy globally. It also has the potential to prevent deaths from poor sanitation, water pollution and air pollution in developing countries. The panel will discuss what the research priorities are to support AD in the global challenge to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Meanwhile, in the UK the current political landscape has brought new questions to the research community, including: what will happen to grant funding? Will there be more funding opportunities, regardless of what happens with the UK/EU relationship? Our speaker from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) will also update us on the latest situation regarding research funding and how this might develop under different scenarios. In an environment of restricted incentives, it has never been more important to apply the insights R&I provides to ensure our industry is performing at its optimum level. To solve the big picture, we need the help of the smallest microbes.
Register today To register your attendance for the ADBA R&I Forum 2017 (28-29 March, The Building Centre, London) and to see the full programme, go to adbioresources.org
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Operator & Working Groups Busy times ahead for Water Sector Group The proportion of sewage treated through AD has hit record levels – it’s now at 84 per cent and still rising. And the sewage treatment sector has continued to innovate, with nine gas-to-grid plants in operation at the time of writing. Ofwat has also published its proposals on increasing competition in the management of sewage sludge – is co-digestion of sewage and other feedstocks on the horizon?
Transport Group discusses potential new market for biomethane The first wave of AD growth was in the electricity sector. Then came gas-to-grid for heat. Will the next wave be in fuelling buses, lorries and tractors? That was the focus for discussion at the most recent meeting of our Transport Working Group, held in January.
With these developments in mind, we want to reinvigorate our Water Sector Working Group with a discussion on the forthcoming opportunities available. As we sit on Ofwat’s Water 2020 Sludge Technical Group, we will also seek to take any questions from that back to industry. To find out more or to be involved in our Water Sector Working Group, contact ollie.more@adbioresources.org
Most members were generally supportive of the intentions behind the Department for Transport’s Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) consultation, which has now closed. However, there was broad consensus that the lack of certainty over the price that Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates can be sold for is still a huge impediment. As the RTFO is relatively new to many in our sector, ADBA has a job to do in educating the industry to ensure it is aware of the opportunity. The incentive is there, but income may not be as consistent as under the FIT or RHI. For more information, contact thom.koller@adbioresources.org
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Regions Packed agenda at ADBA’s inaugural Scotland Conference ADBA’s first Scottish National Conference took place in Glasgow on 15 February. Well over one hundred delegates attended, with the event featuring speakers from Scottish Government, the farming community, universities, water companies, AD operators and developers, equipment suppliers and manufacturers, regulators and funders. Maurice Golden MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, gave the keynote speech, focusing on Scotland’s circular economy strategy and the contribution that AD and bioresources can make to the bioeconomy. Maurice, who led the Circular Economy Programme for Zero Waste Scotland prior to being elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2016, commended the Scottish Government on its 2016 ‘Making Things Last’ report but said that more work needed to be done to reap the full benefits of a circular economy strategy. This was followed by Vincent Igoe, Olleco’s Managing Director (Scotland), who discussed the importance of food waste feedstocks and the impact of Scotland’s ambitious waste regulations. Interesting presentations and lively discussion created a real buzz throughout the day. In the session on strategy, opportunities and the political landscape, speakers discussed how Scotland can ensure it will be ready for the ban on
sending biodegradable waste to landfill in 2021 and what the future of AD is in Scotland. After the lunch exhibition, the session on small scale and on-site AD included presentations on micro AD, planning issues key to achieving sustainability, and the importance of on-site energy use in reducing costs and ensuring profitability. The final panel of the day focused on digestate quality. Panellists agreed that the Scottish AD industry has risen to the challenge of reducing contaminants to meet the Quality Meat Scotland standard, where eight per cent of the plastic levels of England and Wales’ PAS 110 is demanded. This is a great example of the progress that can be made when regulators and government work closely with the AD industry.
sean.stevenson@nrm.uk.com
duncan.rose@nrm.uk.com
www.nrm.uk.com
info@tramspread.co.uk
www.tramspread.co.uk
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Upcoming Events
28-29 Mar 2017
ADBA Research & Innovation Forum 2017 The Building Centre, London
ADBA Finance Forum 11 apr 2017
19 apr 2017
(members only) Osborne Clarke offices, London
(members only)
This event will tackle the most important regulatory issues facing the AD industry today. AD operators, consultants and developers will be kept abreast of the latest changes to regulations and compliance structures by regulators such as the EA, HSE, Animal Plant Health Agency, SEPA and Natural Resources Wales. Delegates can also feed their views back to regulators, engage with issues important to the continued development of the AD industry, and network with fellow operators to share best practice. adbioresources.org See p43 for full preview.
ADBA Regulatory Forum (members only) Clarke Willmott offices, Bristol
5-6 Jul 2017
UK AD & Biogas/World Biogas Expo 2017 NEC Birmingham
5 Jul 2017
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ADBA’s Finance Forum has met twice a year since 2010 to discuss the barriers and opportunities for funders of AD plants. Representatives from a range of different finance sectors will discuss recent developments; ADBA’s Strategic Adviser, Chris Huhne, and our policy team will reveal the latest updates relevant to the industry; and participants will discuss what’s happening in the sector, including the challenges and opportunities in financing the AD industry. adbioresources.org
This free to attend, member-only event gives you the chance to discuss the latest industry developments with our policy team, and hear directly from government departments such as BEIS and DfT, as well as regulators including Ofgem. adbioresources.org See p46 for full preview.
ADBA Spring Members’ Meeting Ashurst LLP offices, London EC2
23 may 2017
Our seventh Research & Innovation Forum will bring together the AD industry, academia and the public sector to learn and discuss the latest developments in AD research and innovation, and discover how R&I can help deliver the global potential of AD. adbioresources.org See p39 for full preview.
AD & Biogas Industry Awards 2017 The Vox Conference Centre, Birmingham
Now featuring the World Biogas Expo 2017, UK AD & Biogas returns to showcase the latest AD technology and services from exhibitors from across the globe, all under one roof. This free event includes a two-day exhibition, two-day conference, seminar sessions, one-to-one advice clinics and R&I Hub. adbioresources.org See p22 for full preview.
Our annual black-tie industry awards ceremony will once again reward AD innovation and achievement from the past 12 months and simultaneously raise the profile and highlight the benefits of AD, both in the UK and globally. Including a drinks reception, three-course dinner with wine and entertainment, this event is also an excellent networking opportunity. adbioresources.org See p21 for full preview.
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Membership Matters
Keeping you informed – Spring Regulatory Forum Keep up to date with the latest regulatory changes by attending our Spring Regulatory Forum. Taking place on 23 May and hosted by law firm Clarke Willmott at their Bristol offices, the event is for ADBA members only and is free to attend. Our Regulatory Forum offers attendees the opportunity to stay on top of vital developments that will affect their business, discuss any issues with the regulators and industry experts, and hear case studies on the themes of regulation, planning and operational best practice. Here’s a taste of what will be on the programme: • An update from the Environment Agency on permitting requirements, compliance and their national project investigating the quality of environmental management systems at AD plants; • A presentation from Carl Gurney, renewable energy specialist from Jelf Insurance Brokers, about the current state of the insurance market and its appetite for the AD sector; • A group discussion on ADBA’s Best Practice Scheme, as we near the launch of the pilot certification scheme in July. If you’re interested in this project, this event will be a great opportunity to hear more from ADBA and other stakeholders, and contribute your views.
To view the full programme and book your place go to adbioresources.org. If you have any queries about the programme, please contact jessica.allan@adbioresources.org
Could you be a winner?
We are delighted to invite entries for the sixth AD & Biogas Industry Awards. This event will recognise innovation and achievement across all sectors of the anaerobic digestion (AD) and biogas industries both in the UK and globally.
View the categories and make your entry at adbioresources.org/events/awards www.adbioresources.org adbioresources.org
Enquire about sponsorship by contacting: Tori Abiola T: (+44) 0203 176 4414 E: tori.abiola@adbioresources.org spring 2017 | AD & Bioresources News
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Membership Matters Catching up with old friends and new The primary event since my last column was the ADBA National Conference in December. The conference provides key updates and insight on the industry and it was fantastic to be part of another sold out event this year. I always look forward to catching up with our existing members at the conference, as well as meeting face to face with new members who have recently joined.
Our Membership Development Manager, Alex Monks, reports on the frontline issues affecting ADBA members. To invite Alex to visit your business or to find out how to make the most of your membership, contact: T +44 (0)203 176 5418 E alex.monks@adbioresources.org
My site visits have been held back over the last three months by an ankle operation, but I have just returned from the Biogaz Europe show in Rennes, France. It’s always useful to see how our neighbours across the Channel are doing things and find out about any recent innovations that might not have yet made it to the UK. It’s nice to see a friendly face when abroad and I enjoyed meeting up with UK members Thyson and Orbital Gas Systems, who were exhibiting at the show. We have welcomed many new members in the first quarter of the 2016/17 membership year and I look forward to welcoming many more in the coming months. If you’re not currently a member and are considering joining, please do get in touch for a chat to find out the many benefits your company could receive from being part of ADBA.
Welcome new ADBA members!
Welcome Chris Chris Noyce, PR & Parliamentary Affairs Executive “My background is in energy research and journalism, and I have a keen interest in the politics of sustainability that I hope will hold me in good stead. I’m very much looking forward to working with ADBA members to improve positive coverage of AD in the press and encourage politicians to support what is such an important industry.”
4DAD Services Andidrain Biotech Laboratory Services Blisworth Hill Cavimax Cobra Hydro UK Corporate Money Matters DMT Environmental DONG Energy Fengrain Fliegl UK Griffiths & Armour J E Stent & Sons Lallemand Nova Q Orege UK Parker Hannifin Portagester Systems Ltd Safe Training Systems Wales & West Utilities Wolf System YARA
Welcome Desiree Desiree De Cecchis, Conference Producer “My role will allow me to help the AD community understand the opportunities and challenges of this exciting sector by bringing the right topics and speakers to our events.”
Welcome Jack
Top 5 Reasons to Join ADBA: 1. Access top market research 2. Get support from the ADBA Policy Team 3. Receive regular updates on policy & regulatory news 4. Get noticed through member-only promotional opportunities 5. Network at AD-specific member-only events
Jack Scott, Senior Marketing Manager “I feel very passionately about renewable resources and stemming the effects of climate change, so I’m happy to be in a position to really make a difference. I’m looking forward to getting stuck into the challenges ahead.”
Welcome Christopher Christopher Tapp, Marketing Manager “I’m looking forward to promoting our events and magazine, making sure our members and potential members are fully updated on the latest industry trends and what the Association can offer.”
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Join Now If you are interested in finding out more about ADBA membership, please contact Alex Monks +44 (0)203 176 5418 alex.monks@adbioresources.org
www.adbioresources.org adbioresources.org
Membership Matters
Safety First
By Dr Zaffer Khan, CEng FIChemE, professional process safety engineer, Director of Rowan House Ltd and a member of our Training, Safety and Environment Working Group T +44 (0)1242 633805 E zaffer@rowanhouse.co.uk www.rowanhouse.co.uk
Is your plant compliant with CDM 2015 Regulations? Changes to the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) came into effect on 6 April 2015. They set out the requirements to ensure that construction projects are suitably managed to safeguard the health and safety of all who might be affected by the work, including members of the public. These regulations apply to everyone involved in construction work, including the client, principal designer, principal contractor, contractors and workers. The role of most AD plant operators/owners during any construction project is that of client. The client is defined as ‘any person for whom a project is carried out’. Under CDM 2015 they are responsible for: • Informing the HSE of any notifiable construction projects; • Appointing a principal contractor in writing before any construction work begins; • Appointing a principal designer as early as possible in the design process; • Ensuring that a construction phase plan is prepared by the principal contractor – the construction phase plan outlines the health and safety arrangements, site rules and specific measures concerning any work involving the particular risks listed in Schedule 3 of CDM 2015; • Ensuring a health and safety file is prepared and kept up to date by the principal designer – this file should contain information necessary for future construction, maintenance, refurbishment or demolition of the plant and must be retained by the client/end-user and updated as required. CDM 2015 applies to any construction project, whether it is notifiable or not, and places a heavier responsibility on the client, making them accountable
for the impact of their decisions, their approach to each construction project’s health and safety management, and the way in which they ensure that the principal designer and principal contractor comply with their own duties. Common areas of difficulty for the client include the appointment of an appropriate principal designer and contractor for any project where there is more than one contractor involved. The client must ensure that whoever is appointed can demonstrate appropriate skills, knowledge, experience and organisational capability to manage the pre-construction and construction phases of the project. In practical terms, it is not uncommon for the client to appoint an independent, third-party organisation to undertake or assist them with discharging their duties. For day to day operation, difficulties may arise as to whether CDM 2015 needs to apply to any maintenance work that is required on site, as under CDM 2015 the definition of ‘construction work’ includes a reference to ‘maintenance’. The HSE advises that if the task looks like construction work, requiring construction skills and the use of construction materials, it will amount to construction work. General maintenance of fixed plant which mainly involves mechanical adjustments, replacing parts or lubrication is unlikely to qualify as construction work and therefore will not trigger the CDM 2015 obligations. It is important to ensure that any construction work, including maintenance work, is reviewed to determine whether CDM 2015 applies, as any breach of duty will probably rest with the client. The consequences of not complying with the CDM 2015 Regulations are serious and could result in criminal liability. As part the Best Practice Scheme, ADBA is publishing a short guidance note on the CDM Regulations – visit adbioresources.org for more information.
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Membership Matters Congratulations Jess
TEAM
We are delighted to report that our Environment and Regulation Manager, Jess Allan, has recently been accepted as a full member of the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management. Congratulations Jess on becoming a Chartered Waste Manager!
BREXIT AND TRUMP TO TOP THE BILL AT MEMBERS’ MEETING Following a tumultuous year in global politics, our Spring Members’ Meeting will consider the potential impact of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump for the UK’s AD industry, alongside a range of changes to policy and best practice. The meeting will take place at the offices of Ashurst LLP in London on 19 April and is free to attend for ADBA members. Topics on the agenda include: • A changed world. What might be the effects of Brexit on UK energy, agriculture, transport and waste policy? How might the actions of a largely climate-sceptic US administration affect the AD industry globally? • Transport. What effect will the Department for Transport’s changes to the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation have on the role of biomethane as a low cost, low carbon fuel? • FIT and RHI. How will changes to Feed-in Tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive affect those looking to commission and build new AD plants? • Market update. Which areas of AD are seeing the most growth, and how can we provide more support to parts of the industry that most need it? • Best Practice Scheme. An update from our Environment and Regulation Manager, Jess Allan, on how this pioneering scheme can help raise standards across the industry. • Plant accreditation. How Green Gas Trading is providing a credible process for certifying biomethane. • Public affairs. How can the AD industry most effectively lobby for government support over the coming year? This event is free to attend for ADBA members, and includes a networking lunch and drinks reception. Spaces are limited so register your attendance today by contacting gayle.brandonkirby@adbioresources.org adbioresources.org
“The Autumn Members’ Meeting was particularly useful in providing a good understanding of the important policy issues that really matter to the AD industry.”
Chief Executive, Charlotte Morton T +44 (0)203 176 0503 E charlotte.morton@adbioresources.org PA to Chief Executive/Database Assistant, Priya Gathani T +44 (0)203 567 1041 E priya.gathani@adbioresources.org Strategic Adviser, Chris Huhne E chris.huhne@adbioresources.org Head of Policy, Ollie More T +44 (0)203 567 0751 E ollie.more@adbioresources.org Policy Officer, Thom Koller T +44 (0)203 176 0592 E thom.koller@adbioresources.org Environment and Regulation Manager, Jess Allan T +44 (0)203 735 8380 E jessica.allan@adbioresources.org PR & Parliamentary Affairs Executive, Chris Noyce T +44 (0)203 176 5441 E chris.noyce@adbioresources.org Head of Sales, Tori Abiola T +44 (0)203 176 4414 E tori.abiola@adbioresources.org Membership Development Manager, Alex Monks T +44 (0)203 176 5418 E alex.monks@adbioresources.org Head of Events & Marketing, Gayle Brandon Kirby T +44 (0)203 176 5440 E gayle.brandonkirby@adbioresources.org Events Admin & Production Assistant, Cheryl Murdoch T +44 (0)203 735 8118 E cheryl.murdoch@adbioresources.org Senior Marketing Manager, Jack Scott T +44 (0)203 735 8117 E jack.scott@adbioresources.org Marketing Manager, Christopher Tapp T +44 (0)203 176 5417 E christopher.tapp@adbioresources.org Marketing Manager, Steven Wade T +44 (0)203 176 5417 E steven.wade@adbioresources.org Event Producer, Desiree De Cecchis T +44 (0)203 176 4415 E desiree.dececchis@adbioresources.org Market Research Analyst, Sarika Jain E sarika.jain@adbioresources.org Accountant, Amy Pritchard T +44 (0)203 176 6962 E amy.pritchard@adbioresources.org Accounts Assistant, Anthony Olasoji T +44 (0)203 176 0503 E anthony.olasoji@adbioresources.org AD Finance, Bruce Nelson, Director of Compass Renewables T +44 (0)1732 464495 E bruce@compassbusinessfinance.co.uk AD & Bioresources News Managing Editor, Kirsty Sharpe T +44 (0)1920 821873 E kirsty.sharpe@adbioresources.org AD & Bioresources News Editor, Kate O’Reilly T +44 (0)7894 039609 E kate.oreilly@adbioresources.org
Willie Heller, Organic Waste Logistics
“I found the biomethane updates very useful. It was encouraging to hear that the future is looking positive as far as biomethane for transport is concerned.” Steven Scott, Puregas Solutions
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“I particularly enjoyed the updates on food waste collection. There seems to be some real pressure on local authorities to reconsider their thoughts on separate food waste collections, which can only be a good thing for the AD industry.” Tony Pickess, Gemidan Ecogi
www.adbioresources.org adbioresources.org
Exhibitor Profiles
The UK AD & Biogas and World Biogas Expo 2017 will be taking place on the 5-6 of July in Birmingham. The most senior and truly global gathering of its kind is the perfect place to share your expertise with over 4,000 industry leaders. We are delighted to announce that the World Biogas Association (WBA) has agreed to partner with the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) to showcase the global biogas industry at ADBA’s leading AD and biogas trade show, which last year was attended by participants from over 50 countries. Located in the same hall as UK AD & Biogas, the World Biogas Expo 2017 will have its own dedicated space, international pavilions and conference area and will showcase what’s happening around the world. UK AD & Biogas 2017 will retain its focus on the UK market. All areas are accessible for all attendees. Exhibitors throughout the combined event will be showcasing all the products and services needed across all sectors, including agriculture, sewage treatment, waste management, transport, heat and power, and for the first time separate food waste collection infrastructure, landfill gas and biomethane vehicles. Can you afford to miss out on the networking opportunities, thought leadership, best practice advice and business generated at the annual global meeting point for a £1 trillion industry?
For more information and to register, please visit adbioresources.org/biogastradeshow For sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, please contact Tori Abiola on +44 (0)203 176 4414 or tori.abiola@adbioresources.org
4,000+
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Industry
“A fantastic opportunity for us to promote our business in a growing UK market that has interest and attendance from all over the globe.” Andrew Simms, Marketing Executive, Morris Lubricants
adbioresources.org ANAEROBIC DIGESTION AND BIORESOURCES ASSOCIATION LTD. Canterbury Court, Kennington Park, 1-3 Brixton Road, London SW9 6DE T: (+44) 020 3176 0503 F: (+44) 0844 292 0875 E: enquiries@adbioresources.org Follow us| on @adbioresources www.adbioresources.org adbioresources.orgW: www.adbioresources.org spring 2017 AD &Twitter: Bioresources News 47
info@edina.eu www.edina.eu
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