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Biogas conference to take a “Deep Dive into Scotland’s Net Zero Ambition”

Biogas conference to take a “Deep Dive into Scotland’s Net Zero Ambition”

  • Emma Harper MSP, Maurice Golden MSP, Sarah Boyack MSP and Chris Huhne to headline timely event for the Scottish biogas industry.
  • The ADBA Scottish Conference 2023 hosted by the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) will take place in Edinburgh on Tuesday 19th September.

It’s just been announced that Emma Harper MSP, Co-Convener, Cross-Party Group on Rural Affairs, SNP, will be speaking at the ADBA Scottish Conference on Tuesday 19th September alongside Maurice Golden MSP and Sarah Boyack MSP.

Maurice Golden MSP, Convener, Cross-Party Group on Circular Economy, The Scottish Parliament, and Sarah Boyack MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Transport and the Just Transition, Scottish Labour Party, will provide the opening and closing keynote addresses respectively at next week’s ADBA Scottish Conference 2023, which will be held on Tuesday at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh.

The conference, organised by the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA), will be chaired by former Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne, now chair of ADBA.

Entitled “Deep Dive into Scotland’s Net Zero Ambition”, the full-day event will explore the contribution anaerobic digestion (AD) and biogas can make towards achieving Scotland’s decarbonisation plans across the energy, transport, agriculture and food & drink sectors whilst supporting the development of a circular economy and zero food waste in Scotland. It will also discuss how to finance the scaling up of AD and biogas technology in the country.

“ADBA represents a sector which adds so much value to the global efforts to meet net zero targets”, said Maurice Golden MSP ahead of the event. “So much has already been achieved but there are bigger challenges ahead and further deployment of AD and biogas will be required. In addition to contributing to meeting our net zero targets, the sector provides a host of economic opportunities which must be realised.”

Alongside the keynote speakers, confirmed contributors include:

  • Iain Clunie, Director, Scotland Food & Drink Net Zero Programme, Food & Drink Federation Scotland
  • Richard Gueterbock, Director, Foodchains
  • Sandy Arbuthnott, Director – Ventures, Hiiroc
  • Dr. Christian Calvillo Munoz, Research Fellow, Centre for Energy Policy, University of Strathclyde
  • Andrew Smith, Executive Director, Greenbackers
  • Andy Cooper, Head of Energy Efficiency, Clarke Energy
  • Lucy Montgomery, Senior Consultant, NNFCC
  • Kristina Rabecaite, Founder & Director, Ppaya
  • Kate Hopper, Climate Policy Manager, NFUS
  • Euan Munro, Principal Process Engineer, SLR Consulting
  • Dr. Lynsey Dunbar, Senior Business Engagement Manager, Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC)

ADBA’s Policy and Market Analyst Wasundara Doradeniya will also present an overview of the Scottish AD and biogas market.

View the full programme

– ENDS –

For further information, contact:
Jocelyne Bia, Senior Communications Consultant
e: Jocelyne.bia@adbioresources.org; tel: 020 3176 0592

Notes to editors

  • The Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) is the trade association for the UK anaerobic digestion (AD) and biogas industry. ADBA’s vision is to see the full potential of the UK AD industry realised so it can help the UK achieve its emissions targets and other policy goals, creating a truly circular economy. www.adbioresources.org
  • About the AD industry
    • There are currently 723 AD plants operational in the UK (66 in Scotland)
    • The entire industry digests approximately 46 million tonnes of organic material each year – organic material that would otherwise emit greenhouse gas if left untreated in landfill.
    • An estimated 19.8 TWh of biogas is produced each year by the AD industry – this green gas is either used to generate electricity and heat via a combined heat and power (CHP) unit or upgraded to biomethane and injected directly into the national gas grid. This is enough to heat 1.6 million UK homes.
    • Scotland has an annual combined biogas capacity of 300MW, which generates 370GWh of renewable electricity and 1,440GWh of usable heat annually. These can power 127,600 homes, heat 120,000 homes and produce 280,000 tonnes of bioCO2..
    • The industry currently delivers 1% greenhouse gas savings in the UK every year.
    • An estimated 4,800 people are currently employed in the AD and biogas industry in the UK.
    • Fully deployed, by 2030, the UK AD and biogas industry expected to:
      • create 30,000 direct and 30,000 indirect jobs.
      • save the UK 27m t of CO2 equivalent = taking 1/3rd of all cars off the road, by 2030.
      • heat 4.5-6.4 million UK homes with the 8 billion m3 of biomethane generated.
    • Fully deployed, by 2030, the AD and biogas industry in Scotland could:
      • produce 14TWh energy/per year
      • provide renewable electricity to 4.8m homes
      • provide heat to 1.2m homes
      • fulfill 50% of domestic gas consumption
      • abate 7% of Scotland’s annual GHG emissions
  • How AD works
    Anaerobic digestion (AD) is the natural breakdown of organic matter when deprived of oxygen in a container called digester. The process produces biogas and a residue called digestate, which can be used as a biofertiliser. The graphic below shows the applications of biogas and digestate and circularity of the AD process.

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