Scottish AD sector grows by nearly 70% in a year

The anaerobic digestion (AD) industry of Scotland has grown by almost 70% over the last year, new figures show.

According to the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA), the country has now 27 operational AD project, which marks an increase of 69% from the situation year on.

Another 43 plants have been approved for construction and ADBA estimates that during the next two year the sector may grow by another 200%.

Stephanie Clark, policy manager at Scottish Renewables, says the ADBA figures show that AD is being taken extremely seriously by Scottish businesses.

‘Increasingly, waste has value. The AD process recognises that, and turns things we don’t want, like food waste and farmyard slurry, into something we desperately need – clean, affordable electricity,’ Clark says.

Charlotte Morton, CEO of ADBA, says: ‘With a commitment from government to support the technology to scale – a commitment which currently does not exist – AD can deliver baseload energy that is cheaper than new nuclear by the time Hinkley Point C is built, and that can help decarbonise UK heat, farming, and transport.’

The amount of food going to waste in Scotland has decreased by 8% since 2009, and less than half of Scottish household waste was hauled to landfills in 2014.