David Warburton MP for Somerton and Frome joined around 150 farmers in the House of Commons recently at a Parliamentary event to raise awareness of on-farm anaerobic digestion (AD).
AD supports farmers by diversifying their income, treating wastes more sustainably, recycling nutrients and providing green energy. It extracts more value from farm wastes and break/cover crops than any alternative, and generates a flexible form of energy which can be used as electricity, heat, gas and vehicle fuel.
Hosted by the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA), the event at the House of Commons was attended by farmers and industry delegates from across the UK, including Richard Clothier, Managing Director of Wyke Farms near Bruton.
Also present was Christopher Maltin, an industry expert in the field of anaerobic digestion and CEO of Somerset-based Biomethane Limited. More than fifty Members of Parliament and Peers also joined the event.
David Warburton MP commented, “I’m a huge fan of AD, having just had my own car converted to run on biomethane gas. Taking advantage of this clean energy not only reduces our carbon imprint, it provides huge benefits for our farming industry by extracting maximum value from organic farm waste and creating cost-effective nutrient-rich fertiliser which helps increases yields and tackle certain pests and crop diseases. Expanding Somerset’s AD industry also of course creates more rural jobs and makes an enormous contribution to our growing rural economy.
“The conversion of my own vehicle from diesel to biomethane was carried out by Somerset-based Biomethane Limited and we believe it’s the first diesel-to-biomethane in the UK. I must admit it runs incredibly well and is extremely cost-effective – I’ve never looked back!”
Charlotte Morton, Chief Executive of ADBA added, “David Warburton MP’s support is hugely important to realise the potential of on-farm anaerobic digestion. A doubling of plant numbers to 172 over the last two years alone highlights the growing recognition amongst farmers of the benefit of integrating AD into their businesses, but new developers still face challenges.
“Farmers who took the plunge over the past few years are benefitting from the technology’s contribution towards improving farmer resilience, generating vital base load energy, improving food production through sustainable crop rotation and nutrient-rich biofertiliser, and decarbonising their farm, heat and transport networks. Many more farmers want to follow suit.
“In their recommendations for the fifth Carbon Budget, the Committee on Climate Change has also highlighted the contribution that is needed from on-farm AD if the UK is to meet its carbon targets.
“While the government has increased its support for the generation of indigenous biomethane gas, this incentive scheme is currently only viable for larger plants. We’re keen to push for this to be expanded, and we’re delighted to have the support of David Warburton.”