Great Britain’s limited supplies of biomethane should be directed towards uses that are most difficult to decarbonise in other ways, according to a new report from Regen and MCS Foundation.
The literature review of future forecasts suggests that 13-120 TWh of biomethane could be produced in GB by 2050 – a fraction of the current demand for fossil gas of almost 700TWh.
‘Making the most of biomethane’ provides policymakers with a review of the evidence base to guide decisions on how biomethane production should be supported and where it can deliver the most benefit for the economy and energy system.
Regen said the government should:
• Develop a clear, long-term strategy for biomethane that defines its role in the energy system, assesses sustainable feedstock availability, and sets out realistic production capacity pathways, and feed the results into infrastructure planning.
• Look at alternative revenue support for biomethane, aligned with support for competing fuels such as hydrogen and help guide its use into the sectors with greatest carbon reduction and value.
• Establish consistent carbon pricing across fuels and sectors to create a natural market for biomethane based on its value as a low-carbon fuel
• Provide clear messaging about the use and benefits of biomethane without delaying the transition to low-carbon fuels or electrification.
• Develop a long-term plan for gas network cost recovery, asset depreciation and gas distribution network decommissioning. Given that the volume of available biomethane will not be sufficient to replace fossil gas, the government must consider the impact this will have on the future gas grid, including plans for a coordinated gas grid decommissioning and fair cost allocation to existing and future consumers.
A spokesperson for the Green Gas Taskforce said “While this 120TWh of production today is equivalent to roughly 20% of gas demand, many forecasts, including those by the UK’s National Energy System Operator (NESO), expect this to be well over half of future gas supply. As set out in the Regen report, this will be driven by circumstances where higher degrees of electrification reduce our need for fossil gas over time, but this should not be done at any cost. Biomethane is a renewable, reliable and ready alternative for a number of end uses, and particularly those which are prohibitively expensive to electrify. Biomethane already heats and decarbonises around 1 million homes today, more than twice as many as heat pumps.”
It added that the gas grid would be needed “to move significant volumes of renewable gas” and said the UK should move the conversation “away from divisive rhetoric around decommissioning energy infrastructure and towards a vision for the future where green molecules and green electrons are working together to deliver the lowest-cost route to meeting climate targets. This would capitalise on customers’ investment in gas networks to date, an asset that has significant value and supports thousands of jobs both directly and in the supply chain.”
In a linkedIn post, John Baldwinm managing director at CNG Services, said “100 TWh/annum is likely to be feasible in 2050 and that offers the ability to help decarbonise sectors that are harder and more expensive without biomethane (such as low load factor back up generation.”