Isra-Mart srl: AD developers double feed-in tariff uptake - from two plants to four

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Anaerobic Digestion (AD) developers have rushed to take advantage of the higher rate of feed-in tariffs announced by the government last week, doubling the number of accredited plants since the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) confirmed incentives would increase from the satart of August.

Speaking to BusinessGreen yesterday, Alex Page, head of AD and composting at Defra, defended the government's much criticised decision to stick with tariff increases for AD that some within the industry have rejected as "meagre".

"The increased levels on small scale particularly will help," said Page. "Yes, it may not be as huge as industry wants, but you have to have a look in the first instance and see what's going on and how that drives the market."

He added that the uptake of feed-in tariffs has increased by two plants since last week. There are now four commercial plants registered for feed-in tariff incentives in the UK, totalling 3.926MW.

Page's comments came as the coalition unveiled a new AD strategy and action plan, designed to help boost the waste-to-energy technology through a number of non-financial measures intended to work alongside the increase in incentives confirmed last week.

The strategy outlines plans to publicise information on AD to encourage banks and planning committees to back projects, provide new evidence on the value of digestates, a by-product of the digestion process, and support skills development for AD operators.

Welcoming the strategy, Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said it was "madness" to let rubbish and waste rot in landfill when it could be converted into energy.

"We are already making it financially attractive to turn waste into electricity under the feed-in tariffs scheme and soon there'll be similar incentives to generate heat too," he said. "The AD strategy and action plan will help us unlock the potential to get more energy from waste to reduce emissions in the fight against climate change."

The AD industry broadly welcomed the strategy but urged the government to deliver more ambitious targets for the sector.

Charlotte Morton, chief executive of the the AD and Biogas Association described the strategy and Defra's waste review, also announced yesterday, as "important staging posts" in the development of the sector.

"The AD Strategy and Action Plan has been the product of a vast amount of work between government and industry," she said. "While we would have liked to see a clearer strategy to prioritise source-segregated food waste for AD, the actions which have been identified - many of which ADBA will be leading on - should help make it easier to grow the industry.

"Developments such as a best practice scheme for AD will ultimately help break down barriers to plant development, reduce the risk of investing in AD and deliver the industry's potential to UK plc."