Welcome to the latest issue of AD & Bioresources News: Defending incentives and Biomethane

As you know, AD’s incentives have been very much under attack in the last few weeks so my section on page 4 looks at what we must do together to defend them. The surprise £11 million cut from the removal of Levy Exemption Certificates (LECs) in the summer budget, followed by the surprise early consultation proposing the removal of pre-accreditation from the Feed-in Tariff, on the back of existing uncertainty surrounding biomethane and biogas heat support under the Renewable Heat Incentive from April 2016 risk impacting our excellent industry just at a time when it is maturing here in the UK and poised to take advantage of a burgeoning global market.

For an industry that is making significant contributions to many critical targets – such as recycling, greenhouse gas, renewable heat and transport, as well as to improving the UK’s energy and food security, creating jobs and growing the British economy – this makes no sense. We can only assume that those making these decisions have not appreciated their impact, and the exceptional value for money AD delivers.

We must, therefore, all work together to ensure that every MP and minister understands the huge return which the UK receives for investing in our industry. Please contact your MP and ask to meet ASAP. The decisions that will shape the industry over the next five years are about politics as well as evidence – and few things are more politically powerful than local jobs. You can download a template letter on http://staging.adbioresources.org/docs/yourvoice.docx, or contact Derek.Sivyer@adbioresources.org for assistance. Please also help build our case. You know more than anyone what the industry can do. Your case studies, your modelling and your evidence are crucial to our future. Contact Matt.Hindle@adbioresources.org if you are able to help with any of these.

This issue’s feature (p8-13) asks why the UK is still lagging behind countries such as Italy, Sweden and even Pakistan when it comes to making the switch to biomethane as a vehicle fuel. With greenhouse gas emissions from transport rising, reducing emissions from our roads by switching to green gas makes considerable sense. While fuel and vehicles are available, and the refuelling companies are making great strides in developing the infrastructure, more support is needed from government to facilitate the green gas revolution. See our Foreword (p3) from John Bickerton, Chief Engineer at Reading Buses, for a first-hand experience of the difficulties and rewards of running a biomethane fleet.

Also inside this issue:

• ADBA News (p4-6)
• Technology Focus: Additives, enzymes and process optimisation (p15-17)
• UK AD & Biogas Industry Awards 2015 Review (p18-19)
• UK AD & Biogas 2015 Review and Exhibitor Highlights (p20-23)
• Advice Clinic: Regulatory advice (p24-25)
• Policy (p30-32)
• Operator &  Working Groups (p33)
• Upcoming Events (p35)
• Meet Jay Abai, our new Head of Membership and Jess Allan, our new Environment and Regulation Manager (p36)
• National Conference 2015 Preview (p38)

I hope you find this issue enjoyable and informative. If you haven’t contributed before and would like to, turn to page 3 to see how you can be involved in our upcoming features. As always, if you have any views, comments or suggestions – or would like us to visit your site – please get in touch by email: marketing@adbioresources.org or phone: +44 (0)203 176 0590.

Charlotte Morton

Chief Executive

Click here to read issue 28 of AD & Bioresources News