ADBA urges BEIS Secretary of State to implement RHI legislation

Following the reappointment at the beginning of the week of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy ADBA has written to Greg Clark MP.

We called for the urgent implementation of the RHI legislation as per the December 2016 government response to the RHI consultation. We informed the Secretary of State that the delay of implementation has caused uncertainty throughout the industry, that no projects are able to move forward without knowing when the new scheme will take effect.

To make the strongest case possible for the huge amount of investment, economic growth, jobs, and renewable energy depending on the implementation, ADBA was joined in the letter by the Renewable Energy Association, Ground Source Heat Pump Association, British Electrotechnical and Allied Manufacturers Association, Heat Pump Association and the Association for Decentralised Energy. Together, we identified heat as one of the most challenging areas to decarbonise and that the RHI is a key part to meeting this.

On biomethane and biogas we informed the Secretary of State:

Urgent implementation of the RHI legislation is crucial for biomethane and biogas, and for the continual growth of the anaerobic digestion (AD) industry. AD is the simple, natural breakdown of agricultural and food wastes, slurries and residues to release methane. This green gas can be used to fuel a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) engine to generate electricity and heat or, if the gas is upgraded to biomethane, injected into the gas grid. Biogas and biomethane are of strategic value to the UK: AD plants produce energy throughout the UK including in rural and coastal communities and, because supplies are constant and reliable, AD reduces imports and improves UK balance of payments – making it of strategic value to the UK.

Biomethane development is a clear success story for the RHI and the scheme remains vital to continued investment in green gas. Biomethane produced from AD helps achieve Carbon Budgets by replacing natural gas in our heating supplies. Replacing the grid’s fossil gas with renewable biomethane means consumers do not need to change technology or behaviour. With more than 500 plants in operation biogas and biomethane already have the capacity to power over one million households.

We encourage the new government to promptly re-lay the already-drafted legislation before Parliament. Due to the delay, there is more than £100m of investment across 15 biomethane-to-grid projects across the UK currently on hold. We look to government to take action before the delays lead to projects being abandoned and redundancies.

We will continue to petition BEIS on the importance and will relay any updates to members as soon as we have news. We hope to have further news at UK AD & Biogas and World Biogas Expo 2017 – be sure to register, you can do so for free here.

Please contact the policy team if you have any question about the RHI implementation delay. I can be reached via email at thom.koller@adbioresources.org or by phone on 020 3176 0592.