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PRESS STATEMENT: Anaerobic digestion industry response to Feed-In Tariff consultation

Responding to the government's new Feed-In Tariff (FIT) consultation, Charlotte Morton, Chief Executive of the Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA), said:

With the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) confirmed to close in just nine months’ time, this was an opportunity for the government to prove that it is committed to providing the investment that is absolutely critical to supporting small-scale renewables, which make a vital contribution to decarbonising and meeting increased demand for electricity in the UK. Unfortunately, this is an opportunity that has been well and truly missed.

 

As well as providing renewable baseload power, anaerobic digestion (AD) combined heat and power (CHP) under the FIT has been vital in helping to decarbonise the farming sector. With the government no longer providing direct for support for the generation of renewable electricity, on-farm AD will struggle to deliver its numerous non-energy benefits, which include reducing emissions from wastes, improving air quality and resource management, and restoring soils through the production of nutrient-rich biofertiliser. This also puts at severe risk the more than 300 AD CHP plants currently in the planning pipeline.

 

It’s therefore vital that the government rethinks its baffling decision to have no new low-carbon electricity levies until 2025, which risks creating a valley of death that small-scale technologies such as AD could easily fall into.

 

With the Renewables Obligation closing in 2017, the FIT now confirmed to close imminently, small-scale AD excluded from Contracts for Difference, and still no decision on long-term support for generation of renewable heat, we implore the government to engage with the AD industry in developing a guaranteed route to market and a robust glidepath to reduced costs. This is essential for allowing the AD industry to support the government’s policy goals across energy, waste, farming, and transport, as well as meeting its Carbon Budgets.

 

ENDS

Notes for editors

Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association: www.adbioresources.org
 

ADBA is the trade association for the anaerobic digestion (AD) industry in the UK and companies and organisations working on novel technologies and processes that compliment the anaerobic digestion process and products. With our members we promote the economic and environmental benefits of AD in the UK.

We represent organisations from many sectors including: AD operators, AD developers, AD equipment providers, water companies, farmers, food & drink retailers, waste companies, universities and more.

 

Contact details

Chris Noyce, PR & Parliamentary Affairs Executive, ADBA

T: 020 3176 5441      E: chris.noyce@adbioresources.org

Website: www.adbioresources.org

Twitter: @adbioresources

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