Hampshire Farming Conference
The Challenge of
Smaller Scale On-farm
Anaerobic Digestion
RASE Background
 Charity - established 1838 to promote innovation
 Science - for the advancement of UK agriculture
 Technology - promoting development/adoption
 Stoneleigh - serving industry at NAC since 1963
Presentation
toRoyal Show
 ShowcaseA- technical
events post
‘Company
Name’ exchange
 Partnerships
- promoting knowledge
 Sustainability - agriculture in the low-carbon era
01/01/09
Increasing focus
on rural sustainability
09/02/11
Practice With Science
Protecting the Science Base
 Recent reports: Soils, Water,
GHG Emissions, Applied
Research & Farm-scale AD
 Seminars on novel technology
applications (emissions & soil)
A Presentation to
‘Company Name’
 Raising applied science profile
across industry & rural sector
 Working with DEFRA, EA,
NE, AHBD, BBSRC & REA
01/01/09
Anaerobic Digestion
Biogas generation in oxygen free conditions:
 Diverse feedstocks - but variable biogas potential
 Misrepresented as a waste management system
 Danger of over-regulation or policy straight-jacket
 Scale matters - technology must be appropriate
 Incentives - energy generation & surplus heat use
A Presentation to
Evolving technology:
‘Company
Name’
 Municipal: landfill diversion
 On-farm: slurry/crops
 Industrial: waste/co-products
01/01/09
Anaerobic Digestion & the Foodchain
Entire industry under pressure to:
 Manage waste more effectively
 Cut carbon and water footprint
 Cut fossil fuel energy costs
What about smaller farms?
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Economies of scale
Unsuitable technologies
Insufficient information
Capital Requirements
Farm-scale AD solutions:
 New Feed in Tariffs
 Modular solutions
 Finance packages
Case Study - Farmhouse Cheese makers
The challenge of whey disposal
 Decline in demand from pig sector
 Energy Costs on the increase
 Diffuse pollution concerns
 Costs of off site disposal
 Customer perception
Energy from Waste
 On-site energy
 Carbon reduction
 Revenue source
 Pollution control
RASE REPORT
• Lost Opportunities
 Misguided Gov’t Policy
 Focus on Merchant AD
 Grow for Gas Model
• RASE AD Report
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Farm-scale systems
Appropriate design
Pollution prevention
Technology development
Access to information
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Endorsement of mini AD systems
Controls on land application
De-regulate low risk plants
Better incentives for mini-plants
A Presentation to
‘Company
Name’
• Policy
Changes
01/01/09
18/05/11
AD - Farming Benefits:
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More effective slurry handling
Management of diffuse pollution
Enhanced nutrient availability
Reduced fertilizer purchase
Energy for other operations
Revenue generation
Other Feedstocks:
A Presentation
to wastes
 Crop/silage
 Maize & grass (ethics)
‘Company Name’
 Local food waste
 Processing co-products
 Bio-fuel wastes
01/01/09
18/05/11
On Farm AD - issues:
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AD does not have to be large-scale
Feedstock – to supplement biogas
Energy – need to optimise its use
Technology – easy to install/operate
Drivers – manure/slurry management
Bureaucracy – excessive controls
Finance – payback/risk averse banks
Report Follow
A Presentation
to up:
 Input to DEFRA Strategy Document
‘Company
Name’
 Industry
interest 14,000 website hits
 More events to inform and advise
 Competition to promote design of
cheaper modular on-farm AD plants
 Develop technology for UK market
01/01/09
18/05/11
Stimulating Farm Scale Digestion:
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Overcome resistance to small scale AD
Development of modular technology
Use of food waste (hub & pod system)
Access to funding (lease finance/ Green Bank)
Planning – greater tolerance for local plants
Regulation – light touch for low risk small units
New small scale FIT band for under 100 kW
Greater flexibility for FIT rules (bands)
Access to better information/advice
Political Will (planning & other barriers)
A Presentation to
‘Company Name’
Wider opportunities for mini AD
 Local community projects
 Organic food producers
 Micro brewers and dairies
01/01/09
18/05/11
Energy or Slurry Handling?
 CO2 Emissions from 100m tonnes of slurry
 Methane (CH4)  25x worse than CO2
 Risks of diffuse pollution of water courses
 Experience of the on-farm AD pioneers
Other issues like collection of biogas from farms
A Presentation to
‘Company Name’
01/01/09
09/02/11
The Food & Energy Challenge
“Over the next 50 years, the world’s farmers and
ranchers will be called upon to produce more food than
has been produced in the past 10,000 years combined,
and to do so in environmentally sustainable ways”.
Jacques Diouf, FAO Director General, 2007
“I can feed my cows things I
cannot feed to my digester”
& “if there is any doubt [on
interpretation], the answer
[from the authorities] is NO’.
Comments from on-farm AD
practitioners, RASE 2010
A Presentation to
‘Company Name’
01/01/09
AD: The Key Issues:
 Slurry & available feedstocks
 Biogas potential of cow slurry
 Year round feedstock supply
 Regulation, policy & planning
 Design of on-farm technology
A Presentation to
Small-scale
‘Company
Name’farm AD now on
 Cost & return on investment
Government Agenda
Conference at Stoneleigh on
01/01/09
22nd and 23rd June
09/02/11
AD improves slurry management &
supplies on-farm renewable energy
Need to make it happen?
Vision” to develop Stoneleigh as a
platform for rural sustainability.