AD is more than just an energy solution – Morton

ADBA PRESS RELEASE

The debate on the Energy Bill, published on 29 November, risks isolating the energy debate from wider sustainability issues, according to the Chief Executive of the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA).

Pointing to the announcement from DCLG on the Weekly Collection Support Scheme last week, Charlotte Morton said that joining waste policy to the government’s Energy Bill will be critical to the future supply and sustainability of energy, and recovering the highest possible value from our waste. More widely, she has suggested that the UK could be driven to perverse outcomes in areas such as bioenergy and the future of gas unless policy around land use and strategic priorities for resources are resolved.

The industry trade body, the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA) is holding the fourth annual ADBA National Conference, 12 December, One Great George Street, Westminster, to discuss how the difficult political and financial climates are affecting the development of the anaerobic digestion (AD) and biogas industry. In that context the main debate, chaired by the BBC’s Julian O’Halloran, will consider how government can deliver policy across farming, land use, waste, energy and economic growth which has positive outcomes for the AD industry and the economy more widely.

Charlotte Morton, ADBA, chief executive, said:

AD and its products can deliver on so many levels, in so many different sectors, but government needs to join up policy much more effectively to deliver this potential.

 

With that strategic vision, our industry can help deliver economic growth, in the form of 35,000 jobs, and energy security through generating £2-3bn worth of green gas, capable of fast and relatively cheap scale up it can bridge the gap as our existing energy sources are taken offline.

 

Despite the focus on the Energy Bill, it is not just about energy: farmers are currently under pressure to reduce their carbon footprint and produce more using fewer resources. AD is central to the development of climate smart farming through mitigating emissions from slurries and waste stores, reducing energy consumption, supporting break and cover crop rotations, and reducing the use pesticides and fertilisers.

 

In other sectors business leaders are rightly evangelising about the need to move to a more circular economy where we make the most of the resources we produce. AD is part of that story, but government needs to draw together policy and research about issues such as land use to ensure sustainability and coherence in food, energy and fibre production.

 

As the debates at the ADBA National Conference 2012 will show, AD itself can help to keep the lights on, make best use of our waste resources, and support our farmers at the same time as meeting climate change targets. ADBA is working to communicate the multifaceted benefits of AD at a time when the world really needs to get to grips with how it makes best use of its limited resources, whether they be economic, waste, energy or land.

Join the AD industry in questioning policy makers and industry leaders at the ADBA National Conference 2012 sponsored by Tamar Energy, where speakers and delegates will discuss the value of AD to UK job creation, food and energy security, air quality, and meeting climate change targets; and consider how the industry can provide all of this despite the difficult financial and political climate that the industry is facing.

Visit our events page for more details. If you are a member of the press and would like to attend please contact Rosaline Hulse T: +44 (0) 203 176 5441,

For the latest updates in the run up to and on the day of the conference please follow @adbiogas, if you are tweeting about the event please use #ADBANatCon.