With Brazil recently announcing its Zero Methane Programme and the EU doubling its biomethane targets, Morton has reiterated the WBA’s call for European energy security to be enhanced by investing in ‘home-grown’ biomethane.
“This new wave of support for biomethane is not only the result of the world waking up to the role of methane in warming the planet but also of the ongoing energy crisis worsened by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine,” she stated.
The use of bio-carbon dioxide (bio-CO2) from anaerobic digestion (AD) could also help mitigate global crises regarding fertiliser and the CO2 supply chain, impacted by Russia-Ukraine war.
In March the Anaerobic Digestion and Biomethane Association (ADBA) responded to UK PM Boris Johnson’s plan for the country to phase out imports of Russian oil by the end of 2022.
Following the EU announcing that it will double its ambition for biomethane production to 354TWh (terawatt hours) by 2030, Morton stated that the UK should follow this example.
She added, “Biomethane from AD should be an integral part of the UK’s energy strategy.”
“Last year, the UK imported 24.6TWh of natural gas from Russia. With immediate government backing, this gas demand could be directly replaced with home-grown biomethane within the next four years.”
According to estimates, by 2030 the UK’s AD sector could deliver 55-76TWh of biomethane – more than two to three times the amount that the UK currently imports from Russia.