The era of fossil fuels is over. The era of renewable energy is underway.

The UK government has recognised the importance of anaerobic digestion in the renewable energy sector and has implemented various support mechanisms and incentives to encourage its growth. These include feed-in tariffs, the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), Contracts for Difference (CfDs), and grants for research and development.

Overall, anaerobic digestion plays a significant role in the UK’s renewable energy sector by providing a sustainable and versatile source of energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting waste management, and supporting agricultural sustainability.

Greenacre Energy

Greenacre Energy brings together an experienced team from the renewable energy sector. Greenacre has a pipeline of sites across the UK at various stages of planning, with the ambition to make a significant contribution to the essential growth of Biogas production in the United Kingdom. Greenacre has secured institutional funding to develop its current and future anaerobic digestor sites and is investing in technologies that embrace second generation feedstocks for their green gas production.

Why Anaerobic Digestion?

  • Anaerobic digestion produces biogas, which is primarily composed of methane and carbon dioxide. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, capturing it through anaerobic digestion helps to reduce its emissions into the atmosphere. Biogas can be used as a renewable energy source for heat and electricity generation, as well as for transportation.

  • The biogas produced through anaerobic digestion can be used to generate heat, which is crucial for various applications including space heating, industrial processes and hot water production. The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme in the UK provides financial incentives to promote the use of renewable heat, including biogas, in both residential and commercial sectors.

  • Biogas can be used to generate electricity through combined heat and power (CHP) units or dedicated biogas power plants. These facilities utilise the combustion of biogas to produce electricity and capture the waste heat or various purposes, maximising the overall energy efficiency.

  • Biogas can be upgraded to biomethane, a purified form of methane, and injected into the natural gas grid. This biomethane can be utilised for heating, cooking, and even as fuel for vehicles. The injection of biomethane into the grid contributes to the decarbonisation of the gas network and provides a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.

  • Anaerobic digestion offers a sustainable solution for waste management, diverting organic waste from landfills and reducing methane emissions from decomposing waste. The process also produces digestate, which is a nutrient-rich fertiliser that can be used in agriculture, thereby closing the nutrient cycle and reducing the need for synthetic fertilisers.

  • Anaerobic digestion provides farmers with an additional revenue stream and helps diversify their income sources. Farmers can supply feedstock for the anaerobic digestion plants, utilise the digestate as fertiliser on their fields, and generate on-farm energy for their operations. This integration of anaerobic digestion in agriculture promotes sustainability and circular economy principles.