Greg Barker, Minister of State, DECC, declared Bioenergy ‘most important renewable energy resource’

The REAs Bioenergy Conference runs alongside EBEC. The Minister addressed Conference delegates and also toured the exhibition where the latest Bioenergy Technology was showcased, much of which is British designed and produced.

Greg Barker said .Bioenergy is the single most important renewable energy resource and went on to outline its role in meeting peak load and base load power.  He also mentioned no one technology is a single bullet (and listed various renewables) they need to be applied at household, community and large scale and bioenergy has a crucial role at every scale.

The Bioenergy sector is eagerly awaiting news on the RHI (Renewable Heat Incentive) as this is will form the incentive framework for the industry in the coming years. On the actual timing of details on the RHI the Minister said he hoped to get full details out of DECC within weeks, more likely days of the 20^th October Comprehensive Spending Review.

The Minister was careful to underline that they intend to focus on projects they know will deliver and that money will have to work harder and faster.

The Minister was very strong on recognising the huge difficulties that the Bioenergy sector is currently experiencing.  He is advocating energy TLC Transparency, Longevity and Certainty and taking care to embed this ethos in the culture of DECC.  Certainty of policy and income and transparency in how decisions are taken he clearly recognised as the cornerstone of industry confidence and this resonated well in the packed hall.  There will be less consultation, less media PR, less micro-initiatives and a much stronger focus on grounded delivery.  He said that not many politicians have realised just how profound the changes needed to our energy system are and he is well aware that decisions made right now will affect our 2020, 2030 and 2050 trajectory.

Greg underlined how far reaching their Energy Market Reforms will be and urged the sector to get involved in the process.

During his visit to EBEC the Minister toured the exhibition at EBEC and spoke to Chesterfield Biogas, Hoval and Clearfleau and also drove the VW Beetle which is powered by Methane Biogas gas.

Richard Price, Director of EBEC, said We were able to give the Minister first hand experience of emerging Bioenergy Technologies, many of which are British designed and built. The sector has a bright future in helping the UK meet its 2020 Carbon reduction targets.

The Minister visited Chesterfield BioGas Ltd who showed their Manuka Plus biogas to biomethane upgrading plant at the show. This unit is identical to the one commissioned this week at the Thames Water, Didcot water treatment site which is successfully injecting biomethane to the national gas grid on Tuesday 5^th October. This being the first such project in the UK. The Minister also spoke to Richard Gueterbock, Clearfleau providers of Wet Anaerobic Digestion plants. Richard explained to the Minister BV Dairy in Dorset is the first plant of its type in the UK at which the fossil fuel consumption in their factory will be reduced by at least 60%.

Richard Gueterbock, Director of Clearfleau, commented this plant was built with support from the WRAP ETF Programme and will hopefully be the first of a number of plants to be built on food processing sites in the next few years, helping to reduce the carbon footprint of food production.