There is no doubt that the water industry is in a very good position in relation to anaerobic digestion with it’s expertise, the resource from sewage sludge and the potential to make significant contributions to supplying base load energy supply.

Three articles:

1.   Decc has published its proposals for capacity market reform. It will launch earlier, with an extra auction in 2017/2018 for procuring additional capacity. Although the reforms are designed to be technology neutral, they are expected to encourage new large generation (including new gas plant). Decc is also consulting on support for Anaerobic Digestion and micro-Combined Heat and Power under the Feed-in Tariffs scheme. Whilst existing installations will not be affected by the proposed changes, any new AD installations from 1 January 2017 will be subject to new tariffs. The consultation closes on 7 July.

2.  Ofwat PN 08/15 Ofwat plans to open market for water and energy from waste

• Removing barriers to market for energy from wastewater solids could help reduce bills
• £1 billion of potential benefits through better allocation of water resources
• Call for companies to better understand priorities of customers
• Move to use of more legitimate consumer price index (CPI) in setting price controlsIn its initial proposals for how it will get a better deal for customers, the environment and wider society from 2020, it aims to build on its established approach to setting prices. This reflects the approach it took at its 2014 price controls, which put the onus on companies focusing on their customers and resulted in a five per cent real terms drop in bills combined with big service improvements. To read more click here
• Ofwat today announced that if the water sector in England and Wales is to meet future challenges and to deepen trust and confidence, the sector will need to change. 

3.  Human sewage could power over half a million UK homes – Veolia

Advances in Anaerobic Digestion and CHP are key to meeting electricity demand, as pressure on the National Grid mounts – Veolia. 

Sludge could be one answer to the UK’s energy crisis is sludge according to the UK’s leading resource management company, Veolia. More human waste should be being turned into energy for the National Grid, as an unprecedented “energy gap” looms in a decade’s time¹. Now more advanced technologies mean that biogas from all the available sewage could now deliver an estimated 1,697GWh – enough electricity to power over half a million homes. We produce over 11 billion litres of human sewage in the UK every day²; however, not all of this is being harnessed at the many Anaerobic Digestion (AD) facilities up and down the country. Meaning a lot of our waste is going to waste. On average 66% of sewage is currently being AD treated³ but with recent developments in technology, enabling us to extract even more gas from sewage, we can now fully realise its benefits. To read more click here.