The UK’s gas imports are set to increase to 70% of forecast gas demand by 2030 according to official analysis and forecasts published this week by the Financial Times. According to the FT’s calculations, the UK could face a situation whereby only a fifth of forecast gas demand will be met by domestic resources by 2040 – declining to just 15% by 2050.
The findings come as the UK continues to grapple with energy security concerns and fears of a potential supply crunch growing across Europe as a result of unprecedented global increases in energy prices. Just last week, the UK government controversially announced that the energy price cap will increase from April 2022 by a staggering 54% – placing hundreds of thousands of households under intense financial pressure.
Pressure has been mounting on the UK government to address energy price and security concerns, particularly in regard to North Sea drilling projects and the viability of both continuing to exploit the reserves and launch new projects to increase supply. So far, Ministers have resisted calls to end new drilling projects, but opposition MPs claim that this strategy goes against the promises made during COP26 and that alternative solutions must be identified. Indeed, the International Energy Agency stated that energy groups must end all new exploration projects from 2021 if global warming targets are to be upheld.
Despite Ministers defending drilling projects, COP26 Minster Alok Sharma has publicly rejected the idea that drilling into North Sea reserves will help to address energy price and security; instead stating that ‘what we need to be doing is more of what we have been doing, which is building forward on renewables.’
The government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy (published in October 2021) outlines the ambition to reduce dependence on gas in UK households to support ambitions to achieve Net Zero by 2050; however, the strategy acknowledges the substantial logistical challenges associated with switching such a large proportion of homes from gas central heating to more sustainable options such as heat pumps. The strategy therefore focuses on increasing the availability of renewable gas, for example through bioenergy and hydrogen projects, to ensure a more manageable transition to sustainable energy sources.
Within the Heat and Buildings Strategy, the UK government acknowledges the important role that Anaerobic Digestion (AD) projects will have to play in bolstering the renewable gas supply. The production of biogas and biomethane from AD operations is also hailed as beneficial due to the by-product (digestate) that can be used as a natural fertiliser to support the shift away from harmful chemical fertilisers, and due to the knock-on impact of reduced emissions from manure storage and waste disposal to landfill.
The Deal Farm Biogas plant, proposed for delivery near Bressingham in South Norfolk, will support the UK government in achieving its ambition to increase energy security through renewable biogas generation. Once fully operational, the Deal Farm Biogas facility will inject enough gas into the central gas grid network to provide more than 4,000 homes with 100% renewable gas.
James Lloyd, CEO at Biowatt UK, said:
“Without renewable biogas projects like Deal Farm Biogas being delivered across the UK, we as a nation will continue to depend on imported and non-renewable gas. In the context of climate change, it is no longer feasible for us to continue drilling the North Sea reserves – sustainable solutions must be identified and supported if we are to bolster our gas supply.”
Alan Leadbetter, Technical Development Director at Storengy UK Ltd, said:
“Strengthening the UK’s domestic gas supply is an urgent priority. Dependence on overseas gas supply results in continued increases in gas prices for consumers, and ongoing insecurity for the UK more broadly.
Investing in sustainable projects like the AD plant proposed for delivery at Deal Farm in South Norfolk will be crucial if the UK is to deliver on its climate change objectives and ensure the UK is not reliant on expensive and finite overseas resources.”
If the local villages around Deal Farm were in favour of being connected to the gas network, the operators behind the Deal Farm Biogas plans have stated that the local network operator, CADENT, could be approached to extend their network to bring this renewable gas into their homes. As the UK seeks to shift to a hybrid system of gas and hydrogen increasingly blended into the national supply, this will facilitate putting these South Norfolk villages onto the gas map and allow them to participate in the Green Future.
Fundamentally, renewable projects like Deal Farm Biogas are critical for supporting the UK to achieve Net Zero by 2050, as well as in strengthening domestic and more importantly, sustainable, gas production.
