Biomethane from cow dung could heat 10 million homes, save thousands of gas jobs and create tens of thousands more, GMB Union has said.
Anaerobic digestion of organic material - agricultural waste and food waste – already provides enough energy in the grid to heat more than 800,000 homes, with the number soon rising to 1.2 million.
Two villages, Nether and Over Stowey, have been exclusively heated by biomethane for the past ten years.
UK agriculture produces around 82 million tonnes of livestock manure and slurry each year but less that 1 per cent is used specifically for biomethane
Scaling up production, the UK could produce 50TWh of sustainable biomethane by 2030 and 120TWh by 2050 – creating at least 60,000 jobs in the process.
Andy Prendergast, GMB National Secretary, said:
“It may raise a wry smile, but cow dung really could be crucial to the UK’s clean energy future.
“It’s virtual identical to natural gas so can use existing infrastructure, it’s low carbon and – as any farmer will tell you – it's only too renewable.
“We could already heat 500 hospitals with the biomethane produce, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
“By 2050 it could provide a third of all the gas we need, creating tens of thousands of jobs in the process.
“It’s a no brainer – if Ministers adopt these proposals, they deserve a pat on the head.”
