British gas supplies set for farm renewable boost

By Nigel Hunt

STONELEIGH, England (Reuters) - Gas made from agricultural crops and by-products such as cow slurry will play a key role in meeting Britain's energy needs over the next few years, the head of a new trade body said on Wednesday.

Lord Redesdale, chief executive of the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association, which was launched on Wednesday, said he expects 1,000 plants to be built over the next five to 10 years at a cost of about 5 billion pounds ($8.23 billion).

He told reporters at the launch that the digesters, once they had all been built, would provide about 20 percent of Britain's domestic gas needs with a value of about 1.7 billion pounds a year based on current prices.

"If you are looking at the one renewable that can actually meet the real needs the country has for energy and the needs we have under climate change, this is the big one," Redesdale said.

Anaerobic digesters (ADs) use microorganisms to break down biodegradable material and produce biogas which is suitable for energy production.

Redesdale, a former energy spokesman for Britain's opposition Liberal Democrat party, said the new digesters would be largely financed by the private sector with about one billion pounds of funding expected to be secured by Christmas.

There are currently only about 10 ADs in Britain which use agricultural inputs although several hundred are operated by water utilities to process sewage sludges.

Redesdale said 75 percent of the new units would use agricultural inputs while the remaining 25 percent would be built by local authorities to help meet recycling targets.

Most AD units use the biogas to generate electricity.

Redesdale said, however, the future lay in helping meet gas demand as Britain becomes increasingly dependent on imports from Russia where disputes with neighboring Ukraine and a lack of investment threatened the security of supplies.

"This (biogas) is going to be vital to Britain's energy needs. There is a real possibility in winter of there not being enough gas to feed all the boilers," he said.

Local authorities are expected to feed green waste into ADs.

"Local authorities will not be able to meet their recycling target without AD," he said.

ADs are already common in Germany where they have been aided by strong support from the government.

They also received support in Britain through the government's Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) scheme.

(Editing by Peter Blackburn)