Green gas vital to UK energy independence

Geopolitical complexities are often connected to issues of energy security, and according to a new statement from the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA), developments in the Middle-East could be bad news for the UK.

Several Gulf countries have recently cut their ties with Qatar, accusing it of destabilising the region by supporting Islamist groups. The ADBA statement points out that the majority of the UK’s LNG is imported from Qatar. LNG accounts for a quarter of all imported gas, or 14% of total gas consumed in the country.

Further complicating the UK’s gas security is Brexit, with 45% of the country’s natural gas piped from Norway and the Netherlands.

Just 39% of the UK’s natural gas needs are met with locally produced supplies. Declining North Sea reserves will see this amount decrease even further, according to ADBA.

For these reasons, ADBA makes clear that it believes government support of green gas generation and anaerobic digestion is vital.

“It is therefore of paramount importance, more than ever, to invest in expanding domestic production. Investment in green gas, such as biomethane, can provide the double benefit of reducing our import reliance and reducing our carbon emissions. It therefore makes sense both from an environmental and an economic point of view,” ADBA writes in its statement.

“We are calling for the value of AD to be recognised by the new government. With the right investment and support from the government, biogas from AD has the potential to power 30% of the UK’s total domestic demand, and in doing so, abate over 4% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions.”