Nicky Conway, Forum for the Future

1. SHOULD THERE BE AD ON EVERY
FARM?
#UKADBiogas @adbioresources
CHAIR: MICHAEL CHESSHIRE, EVERGREEN GAS
PANEL:
MATT HINDLE, ADBA
NICKY CONWAY, FORUM FOR THE FUTURE
DAVID KANER, ADVANCED ANAEROBICS
DR STEPHEN TEMPLE, JF TEMPLE & SON
ROGER ABBOTT, ENERGY NOW

4. Despite the pioneering efforts of some, the
considerable potential of farms and rural
communities to contribute to the energy system
remains largely untapped.
Farmers are finding ways to invest in renewables
despite the system, rather than because of it.
Our Starting Analysis

5. The Size of the Prize
Technology Capacity
(lower-end
scenario)
Capacity
(higher-end scenario)
Carbon savings
Solar PV (ground) 5.9 GW 14 GW 2,000,000 tCO2e/yr
Solar PV (rooftop) 1.4 GW 1.4 GW 500,000 tCO2e/yr
Farm-scale wind 2.5 GW 3.6 GW 2,500,000 tCO2e/yr
Anaerobic
digestion
0.1 GW 1 GW 850,000 tCO2e/yr
Total
(rounded to the
nearest 0.5GW)
10 GW 20 GW
% of total (94.1 GW
in 2013)
10.5% 21%
There is at least 10GW of untapped resource across UK farms

6. Tech Scenario assumption Total
capacity
Associated
generation
Carbon
Savings
Notes
AD
Dairy slurry
only
• If all the 7,242 Dairy
farms across the UK
with 100+ cows
deployed a 15kW AD
plant fed solely by
manure and cattle
slurry
0.1 GW 541 GWh/yr 232,827
tCO2/yr
(Plus, some
600,000
tCO2e/yr
in avoided
methane
emissions)
NB. Year-round housing (and thus
capture of slurry) not typical in the
UK
Assumes Annual
production=2,555t of manure per
farm (which equates to 18,503,310t
across 7,242 farms)
All slurries,
and
240,000 ha
of crop
• If 1,800 farms installed
500kW AD systems
0.9 GW 4,486
Gwh/yr
1,928,978
tCO2/yr
(Plus, some
1,600,000
tCO2e/yr
in avoided
methane
emissions)
Drawing from ADBA ‘high’ scenario
which assumes
• A 1% annual increase in livestock
numbers between 2014 and 2030,
building from a current ‘capturable’
availability of 68 million wet tonnes of
manure (and associated animal
bedding) per year
• 240,000 ha of land made available for
AD feedstock

7. How the debate is typically framed
Food vs Energy

8. But it’s a bit more complicated
than that…
(Bread vs Doughnuts vs Beer vs Pumpkins vs Pet Food) vs
Energy

9. Or is it possible to achieve…
Food and Fuel and Fibre and Plastics and Packaging and
Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity and Housing and
Recreation..?

10. Even in the ever-tricky world of biocrops, it’s possible to
find stories of energy production complementing –
rather than competing with – broader goals.
One farmer we spoke to was concerned that, on one of
his poorer quality fields, he only had a three crop
rotation. By squeezing in some low-quality maize
(grown as an anaerobic digestion feedstock) he was
able to switch to a four-crop rotation…

11. The ‘economic’ case
Given the precarious nature of many small-scale
farming businesses, an argument can also be made
that energy production can provide critical income for
farmers – helping ensure they remain viable
businesses, and thus enabling them to continue
providing us all with food.

12. We need to consider and reward the non-energy
benefits of farm-scale energy systems.
Farm-scale AD will likely remain a relatively small
contributor to the UK’s overall energy system, yet it
deserves support given its multiple non-energy
benefits (slurry treatment; reduced carbon
emissions; water pollution prevention; fertiliser
creation; etc).
Provided we value the co-benefits
of energy production

13. Our plan of action
Build a
powerful
and
effective
coalition
Unite around
a shared,
evidence
based vision
Deliver
work-
streams to
tackle key
barriers to
farm-based
energy
Enable
farmers to
learn from
their peers
and find the
best
solutions

14. www.forumforthefuture.org
Company No. 2959712
Charity No. 1040519
www.forumforthefuture.org
Company No. 2959712
Charity No. 1040519
Nicky Conway
Principal Sustainability Advisor
Email: n.conway@forumforthefuture.org
Tel: 07739200170

15. SHOULD THERE BE AD ON EVERY
FARM?
#UKADBiogas @adbioresources
CHAIR: MICHAEL CHESSHIRE, EVERGREEN GAS
PANEL:
MATT HINDLE, ADBA
NICKY CONWAY, FORUM FOR THE FUTURE
DAVID KANER, ADVANCED ANAEROBICS
DR STEPHEN TEMPLE, JF TEMPLE & SON
ROGER ABBOTT, ENERGY NOW