The CentreForum think tank has published a report entitled 'Hit the gas', which argues for greater support for anaerobic digestion.http://www.centreforum.org/index.php/mainpublications/370-hit-the-gas
It's interesting that this study - which is funded by the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA) - makes little reference to the potential costs of developing such a huge increase in AD. They are keen for more government support, but AD already receives double ROCs which is quite a substantial subsidy to make them viable.
The report notes that AD is a risky and difficult to finance process, particularly for waste feedstocks where pre-treatment will often be required. Intuitively, there seems less scope for driving efficiencies out of the process (I could of course be wrong) and they will always tend to be small-scale and localised, which seems to conflict with the needs of a financially constrained world.
AD will continue to be pushed as the government has committed to it. This report does raise some interesting questions. It notes that if an AD plant is located too far from its feedstock then the transport emissions can outweigh the carbon benefits of using AD. I wonder what assumptions the Committee on Climate Change made about transport distances when it recently recommended again that the government look into expanding opportunities for food waste AD.
No comments:
Post a Comment