08.45-09.30

Registration and Networking

Welcome and Introduction 

• Speaker: Charlotte Morton, Chief Executive, Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association ADBA

 AD’s role in helping the UK meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement

Following the signing of the Paris Accord, all governments should be focused on meeting their climate change commitments. How significant is AD’s contribution? Given how much food waste and farming contribute to climate change emissions, can we extrapolate the UK’s estimated 4% contribution globally?

In the UK, the AD industry has developed solid foundations, with capacity to treat 2m tonnes of food waste, 75% of the country’s sewage sludge and over 200 plants on farms. Huge potential remains untapped, however, but with old support mechanisms reduced and the political climate uncertain, how can we keep growing to deliver it? As the UK’s place in the world changes, what could biogas contribute to a coherent energy and industrial strategy at home and abroad?

Speaker:

• Matthew Bell, Chief Executive, Committee on Climate Change

Opportunities for AD in a changing world

Chair

• Charlotte Morton, Chief Executive, Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA)

ADBA Strategy
 

Charlotte will outline ADBA’s strategy to support the growth of a global industry. 

Speaker:

• Charlotte Morton, Chief Executive of the Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA)

The global role – and opportunity - for the AD industry

Set to become a cheaper energy source than coal, AD should become one of the leading technologies for mitigating climate change, improving sanitation, ensuring energy and food security and reducing poverty and hunger

Speaker:

• David Newman, President, World Biogas Association

10.20 - 10.40    

Matching Nature’s performance: can biogas be cheaper than coal?

Nature shows us that a cow’s stomach is 20-30 times more efficient than a tank. Several other mammals are, too, and this is just one area where opportunities to hugely improve the performance of the industry exist. With focused, coordinated R&I, how much more can the industry’s performance be improved? We are well behind meeting our climate targets – can R&I help the World achieve the step change needed and at the same time deliver green energy that is cheaper than coal and at a scale bigger than nuclear? The international biogas market was worth more than $19.5 billion in 2015 and is forecast to exceed $32 billion by 2023. Could we in fact be looking at a global industry worth more than $1trn

Speakers:

• Chris Goodall, Owner, Carbon Commentary and Author of 'Ten Technologies to Save the Planet'

The role of green gas

Speaker:

• Rt Hon Caroline Flint, MP for Don Valley, former Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Labour

The Global Food Waste Challenge – how can food waste recycling and AD help reduce food waste?

Around a third of food grown on the planet is wasted. What are the drivers for change around the world? What role might food waste recycling and AD have in delivering this change? Which countries are currently taking action and where might the opportunities be for the AD industry?

Speaker:

• Dr Richard Swannell, Director of Sustainable Food Systems, Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) 

Morning Break and Exhibition

Where should green gas fit in the UK’s energy strategy?

What role should green gas play in our energy system? What does the integration of energy and industrial strategy in one government department mean for technologies like AD?

There is growing evidence of the strategic importance of renewable gas: a KPMG report on 2050 Energy Scenarios showed it has a key role to play in delivering efficient, cost-effective heating infrastructure. It uses existing assets such as the gas transmission and gas distribution grids and avoids costly and disruptive changes in household heating systems.

 The panel will discuss what we need to do to get green gas up the political agenda. With different drivers for biogas in farming, food production and water treatment, how can we create a policy framework that delivers everything anaerobic digestion can do?

Speakers: 

• Chair: Reed Landberg, Global renewable energy & environment team leader at Bloomberg News, Bloomberg

• Stuart Easterbrook, Replace and Extend Stakeholder Delivery Managerl, Gas Distribution, National Grid

• Chris Huhne, Former Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and Strategic Adviser, ADBA

• Richard Howard, Head of Environment and Energy, Policy Exchange

• Prof Paul Ekins, Professor of Energy and Environment Policy, Bartlett School Env, Energy & Resources

  Questions and comments from the floor

Lunch and Exhibition 

14.00 - 15.30      

What is the future for on-site and on-farm AD as energy incentives reduce?

Breakout session One : Option A

The vast majority of the UK’s 200 on farm anaerobic digestion plants have been built with support from the Feed-in Tariff. With that incentive heavily reduced and constrained, how can we build the next 200? The Committee on Climate Change says on farm AD is essential to meet our carbon budgets, recognising its role in driving down agricultural emissions – should the government now look to create drivers around carbon and farming, rather than electricity?

Further up the supply chain, on site AD is delivering huge benefits for the food and drink sector: cutting emissions, reducing waste bills, providing reliable energy and recycling nutrients. How resilient are these projects to falling and changing incentives? Supermarkets and food suppliers benefit from marketing lower carbon products – will they step in to support the supply chain in developing new AD infrastructure?

Speakers:

• Chair: James Miles-Hobbs, Director, JMH Farming & Renewables
• Thom Koller, Policy Officer,  Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA)
• Andy Bull, Associate Project Manager, Asiantaeth Ynni Severn Wye Energy Agency
• Ryland Cairns, Environment Manager, Muntons
• Dr. Alan Taylor, Associate Director, Aardvark 

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Questions and comments from the floor

14.00 - 15.30       

Will the Consistency Framework lead to more food waste collection in England?

Breakout session One : Option B

The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have led the way on food waste collection schemes, with over 80% of households receiving a service, compared to less than half of those in England. How are those schemes working in practice, and what lessons do they have for policy making elsewhere?

In Westminster, are the politics around food waste collections changing? Will WRAP’s Consistency Framework report result in more local authorities changing their collection system to include a separate food waste collection, or is a ban on food waste to landfill required? Or will such a ban result in more food waste going to waste in incinerators? What has the Food Waste Recycling Action Plan delivered since it was launched at UK AD & Biogas? For AD operators, are they seeing any impact of these two developments on the quantity of food waste coming out of the waste stream? What do they now see as the main challenges? What can we all do to address those challenges?

Speakers: 

• Chair: Prof. Margaret Bates, Professor Sustainable Wastes Management, University of Northampton and President of CIWM 
• Andrew Bird, Recycling Strategy and Commissioning Manager, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and chair of LARAC.
• Linda Crichton, Head of Resource Management, WRAP
• Sophie Degagny, Strategic Business Development Manager,  Olleco
• Iain Pickles, Local Authority Manager, Biogen
• Iain Gulland, Chief Executive,  Zero Waste Scotland

Afternoon Break and Exhibition 

16.00 - 17.30       

How is water sector deregulation changing organic waste markets?

Breakout Session Two: Option A

Ofwat’s Water 2020 offers a vision for greater deregulation of the water sector, including around the treatment of sewage sludge. Does this provide new opportunities for the wider organic waste sector, or have existing developments already realised most of them? Are there new opportunities for the supply chain as water companies invest in increasing efficiency and a new generation of sludge treatment assets? And what can the wider organic waste sector learn from research and innovation in sludge treatment?

Speakers: 

• Chair: Graham Southall, Owner, V2B Consulting Limited
• Ian Goddard, Group Business Development Director,  Ham Baker Adams
• Alexander Maddan, Chief Executive, Agrivert
• Alison Fergusson, Principal Engineer, Water 2020 programme, Ofwat
• Dr. Maxine Mayhew, Group Commercial Director, NWL

16.00 - 17.30       

Biomethane 2017-2021: how will the market develop?

Breakout Session Two: Option B

This practical session will explore the prospects and opportunities for biomethane for the grid and transport. It will be the industry’s chance to understand the implications of changes to RHI and RTFO support coming in April 2017, and what this means for new developments in the sector. The RHI consultation proposed support for 20 new plants per year; will government’s changes to scheme rules be able to deliver that?

For existing biomethane plants, the panel will also explore how the existing scheme rules are functioning, for example in demonstrating compliance with sustainability criteria. And for all sites, it’s a chance to discuss how the market for green gas is evolving.

Speakers: 

• Chair: Chris Huhne, Former Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and Strategic Adviser, ADBA
• Ollie More, Market Analyst, ADBA
• Ian Marshall, Green Gas Development Manager, WWU
• Tony Griffiths, UK Sales Director, Gas Alliance
• John Scott Kerr, Head of business development, Future Biogas
• Grant Ashton, CEO, GGT

Conference Close 

Evening Networking Drinks