Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 15TH - 21ST DECEMBER 2017 | 27 Customers Bannar-Martin, senior commercial developer at Orsted. "And this has definitely been bene- ficial because we are now starting to see that interest translating into actual sales, though mainly at the smaller scales." In response, Orsted is set to open the Renescience plant in Northwich, Cheshire, next year. The world's first bio plant of its kind, it will convert mixed black bin waste into recyclable material streams and biogas. Far from feeling held back by the threat of lack of demand or prohibitive pricing, Bannar-Martin says "ultimately, the biggest barrier [to market growth] will be the limited volume of viable feedstock". Green Energy When it launched its product in 2016, Green Energy was the first UK company to supply 100 per cent green gas. Since then, chief executive Doug Stewart says the market has matured. As to the prohibitive pricing of green gas, he says it's a myth: "The cheapest tariffs are all totally unsustainable. SVT or no SVT, our gas is cheaper than British Gas and our electricity is cheaper than all of the big six – green gas is no more expensive than brown gas." The problem, he says, "is that consumers are so used to being told they're being over- charged that they can't see the wood for the trees. It's an education issue, and a question of rhetoric." As to what the networks can do to sup- port the green gas industry, he says: "As long as there are an acceptable number of routes into the grid at attainable prices, then there's no issue with the network. They could per- haps be encouraging the industry more by keeping a watchful eye on what's happening and where, and supporting the certification scheme." The GGCS, he says, is a success in his book: "It's doing a good job – it's doing what it was designed to do. Consumers see it as what it is – a means for auditing the indus- try, and that can only be a good thing." How the GGCS works Established in 2011, the Green Gas Cer- tification Scheme issues Renewable Gas Guarantees of Origin (RGGOs) for units of biomethane injected into the gas grid, and securely tracks them through to gas con- sumers who are provided with a Green Gas Certificate that can be used as evidence of their biomethane use. The scheme was established by the REA Biogas Group and is run by the Renewable Energy Association via its subsidiary Renewable Energy Assurance Limited (REAL). A producer generates biogas from anaer- obic digestion, upgrades it to biomethane and injects it into the gas grid. The producer registers the injection on the GGCS system, which automatically assigns each unit (kWh) injected with a RGGO, effectively tagging each unit in much the same way as a Renew- able Electricity Guarantee of Origin (REGO) tags a unit of renewable power in the elec- tricity grid. The underlying principle is "one unit in, one unit out", ensuring there can be no dou- ble counting. This enables the producer to sell guaranteed green gas to users who are keen to be able to show their gas has come from a renewable source. This helps them measure performance against a sustain- ability plan, or demonstrate compliance with government requirements. RENEWABLE GAS POTENTIAL 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 TWh/yr 2015 2020 2030 2040 2050 Low Medium High Low Medium High Low Medium High Low Medium High Low Medium High Source: Cadent Source: Cadent No-waste Waste

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