Achievements

ADBA is working hard to create and develop a mature anaerobic digestion industry in the UK within the next decade. We have already achieved a number of major lobbying successes in the last three years, to advance the AD industry greatly.

ADBA has

• Persuaded the government to commit to supporting a ‘huge increase in energy from waste through anaerobic digestion,’ which led to the AD Strategy and Action Plan to deliver that increase, and been appointed the leader on all 11 AD industry actions in the plan, giving ADBA members the greatest influence on the UK’s future AD industry
• Created working groups, to discuss key issues, feed into government and help to deliver actons for the AD Strategy and Action Plan
• Created operator groups to support our operator members as the industry grows, helping them deal with regulators and other issues
• Published the Practical Guide to AD to provide the first complete introductory reference tool for those developing and operating anaerobic digestion facilities in the UK
• Set up a Finance Forum to help remove barriers to funding AD projects by bringing together representatives from the main banks and venture capital community, and produced a guide to financial schemes available to the AD industry. We’ve also developed and published a Due Diligence template with WRAP to help to simplify the funding process
• Helped gain a higher tariff for the Renewable Heat Incentive which was set initially at 6.5p; 2p higher than the original proposed tariff level in the consultation document
• Worked with other stakeholders to produce a strong case to the government on the place of purpose grown crops in AD.
• Helped to achieve a specific exemption for AD from the government’s plans to prevent Venture Capital trusts – one of few sources of finance for the industry – from investing in businesses which claim renewable energy incentives
• Persuaded government to drop plans to make the Renewables Obligation unavailable to projects below 5 MW from April 2013
• Grown to represent the largest number of companies involved in the AD and biogas industry, with members from a wide range of sectors and industries, including farming, local and national government, food and drink, water, transport, AD, biogas, construction, academia, waste management, finance, engineering and many more
• Organised the first AD industry specific trade show in the UK showcasing AD technology, services and innovation alongside high level political discussion, and doubled its size in just one year, as well as
• Organised twice-yearly research and development forums to bring industry and academia closer together and develop a 10-year R&D strategy for the AD industry
• Supported the publication of an independent thinktank report into AD and how it could better be supported by government
• Worked with partners to develop the Gas Vehicle Hub to support the development of gas vehicles as a market for biomethane
• Worked with the Energy Networks Association to set up a biomethane roundtable to address remaining regulatory issues for injecting biomethane into the grid
• Helped achieve greater recognition for the potential of AD from government, the Committee on Climate Change and other bodies
• Worked closely with a member company to put pressure on Ofgem over their interpretation of a grid connection agreement for plants using Independent Connection Providers and applying for FIT pre-accreditation, resulting in a change of policy benefiting many other developers