Gas derived from farm waste will never be an alternative to the widespread adoption of heat pumps, research shows, despite the claims of fossil fuel lobbyists.
Biomethane, which comes mainly from “digesting” manure, sewage and other organic waste, has been touted as a low-carbon substitute for fossil fuel gas, for use in home heating. Proponents say it would be less disruptive than ripping out the UK’s current gas infrastructure and installing heat pumps.
But research seen by the Guardian shows that while there may be a role for biomethane in some industries and on farms, it will not make a viable alternative for the vast majority of homes.
A study by the analyst company Regen, commissioned by the MCS Foundation charity, found that biomethane could account for only up to 18% of the UK’s current gas demand by 2050. That is because the available sources: manure, farm waste and sewage, cannot be scaled up to the extent needed without distorting the UK’s economy, or using unsustainable sources.
Faced with the limitations of biomethane, ministers would do better to rule out its widespread use in home heating and concentrate on heat pumps, MCS concluded.
Garry Felgate, the chief executive of the MCS Foundation, said: “Biomethane has an important role to play in decarbonisation – but not in homes. If we are to meet our climate targets and ensure that every household has access to secure, affordable energy, there is simply no viable way that we can continue to heat homes using the gas grid, whether that is using fossil gas, hydrogen, or biomethane.”
Gas companies have a strong vested interest in the future of biomethane because its widespread use would allow them to keep the current gas infrastructure of pipelines, distribution technology and home boilers in operation. If the UK shifts most homes to heat pumps, those networks will become redundant.
The same arguments are made by gas companies, and by some trade unions, in favour of hydrogen, which has also been touted as a low-carbon alternative to heat pumps, but which numerous studies have shown will not be economically viable at the scale required.
At the Labour party conference this week, delegates were bombarded by lobbyists claiming that biomethane could take the place of 6m gas boilers and delay the phase-out of gas boilers.
Felgate said ministers must require the decommissioning of the gas grid by 2050, and set a clear deadline for phasing out boilers.
“Failure to plan for the decommissioning of the gas grid will result in it becoming a stranded asset,” he said. “Consumers and industry need certainty: biomethane will not replace fossil fuel gas in homes, electric heating such as heat pumps is the only viable way to decarbonise homes.”
Tamsyn Lonsdale-Smith, the energy analyst at Regen who wrote the report, said there were uses for biomethane in industry, but that it was not suitable for widespread consumer use. “Biomethane can be a green gas with minimal environmental and land use impacts – but only if produced from the right sources, in the right way and at an appropriate scale,” she said. “The government is right to be focusing on scaling up biomethane production, but as sustainable supplies are likely to be limited, it is critical that its use is prioritised for only the highest value uses where carbon reductions are greatest.”
A government spokesperson said: “Biomethane can play an important role in reducing our reliance on imported gas, increasing our country’s energy security and helping to deliver net zero. We are looking at how we can further support the sector and plan to publish a consultation on biomethane early next year.”
