ADBA National Conference 2016 Review
Act local, think global The global focus continued into the Conference’s subsequent presentations, not least the speech made by David Newman, who had recently been unveiled as the President of the newly-formed World Biogas Association. David talked about the opportunities for AD – and for UK firms – to address concerns in various parts of the world. “In Brazil, for example, 99 per cent of all waste is dumped,” he stated. “Two thirds of this is biogenic, which presents a great opportunity for AD companies. There’s also the opportunity for sewage/ wastewater AD in developing countries, where sanitation is an issue.” David added that the international AD sector has the potential to be worth £1 trillion.
But there is still work to be done to increase the efficiency of AD technology, as Angie Bywater told delegates in her presentation. To this end, the Universities of Oxford, Southampton, Reading, Newcastle, Imperial College and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew – supported by ADBA – have set out a proposal for a Centre for Anaerobic Biotechnology and Bioresources Research. Angie and Charlotte Morton told the Conference that the aim of the Centre is: “To coordinate research…to get results much faster than is happening currently. There’s £1.5bn of funding available. We have an opportunity to take things from deep science to implementation.” For more details on this proposal, see our article on p36.
16 AD & BIORESOURCES NEWS | SPRING 2017
WRAP’s Richard Swannell then outlined the global food waste challenge and the need for change, telling delegates: “Business as usual is no longer possible.” As well as helping to reduce food waste volumes, Richard explained that food waste recycling will bring cost savings to businesses and highlighted the importance of measurement and vertical integration. “One of the AD industry’s advantages is digestate,” he added, “which can be used to help grow new crops.”
The importance of green gas Richard was followed by former Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Caroline Flint MP, who set out her four-point plan for the UK to realise the potential for green gas. “Green gas should be an integral part of the government's long term energy strategy,” she urged. The four key policy proposals she suggested are: helping local communities to see waste as an opportunity; making long term investment decisions; national and local coordination on food waste collections, and green gas infrastructure; and backing biogas for use in transport. Explaining the advantages of green gas in heating, and the success of Vulcan Renewables’ biomethane plant in her constituency, Ms Flint added: “Replacing natural gas from Qatar with green gas from Doncaster – who could object to that?”
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