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Assessing the potential for the uptake of on-farm anaerobic digestion for energy production in England

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  • Tranter, R.B.
  • Swinbank, A.
  • Jones, P.J.
  • Banks, C.J.
  • Salter, A.M.

Abstract

We report on an assessment of the potential for energy production from on-farm anaerobic digestion (AD) in England based on findings from a survey of farmers where it was found that around 40% of 381 respondents might install AD on their farms. These 'possible adopters' tended to have large farms and might together utilise some 6560Â ha of land for feedstock production along with the wastes from some 12,000 beef and dairy cattle and 9000 pigs. When raised to the national level, such a level of AD activity would produce around 3.5Â GWh of electricity. This approximates to just 0.001% of national electricity generation. Further, there are considerable perceived barriers to the widespread adoption of AD on farms in England; these include the high capital costs of installing AD and doubts about the economic returns being high enough.

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  • Tranter, R.B. & Swinbank, A. & Jones, P.J. & Banks, C.J. & Salter, A.M., 2011. "Assessing the potential for the uptake of on-farm anaerobic digestion for energy production in England," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 2424-2430, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:39:y:2011:i:5:p:2424-2430
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    5. Jones, Philip & Salter, Andrew, 2013. "Modelling the economics of farm-based anaerobic digestion in a UK whole-farm context," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 215-225.
    6. Masayasu Asai & Takashi Hayashi & Mitasu Yamamoto, 2019. "Mental Model Analysis of Biogas Energy Perceptions and Policy Reveals Potential Constraints in a Japanese Farm Community," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-20, January.
    7. Ge, Jiaqi & Sutherland, Lee-Ann & Polhill, J. Gary & Matthews, Keith & Miller, Dave & Wardell-Johnson, Douglas, 2017. "Exploring factors affecting on-farm renewable energy adoption in Scotland using large-scale microdata," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 548-560.
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    9. Saadabadi, S. Ali & Thallam Thattai, Aditya & Fan, Liyuan & Lindeboom, Ralph E.F. & Spanjers, Henri & Aravind, P.V., 2019. "Solid Oxide Fuel Cells fuelled with biogas: Potential and constraints," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 194-214.
    10. Röder, Mirjam, 2016. "More than food or fuel. Stakeholder perceptions of anaerobic digestion and land use; a case study from the United Kingdom," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 73-81.
    11. Tao, Bing & Zhang, Yue & Heaven, Sonia & Banks, Charles J., 2020. "Predicting pH rise as a control measure for integration of CO2 biomethanisation with anaerobic digestion," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    12. Chowdhury, Jahedul Islam & Hu, Yukun & Haltas, Ismail & Balta-Ozkan, Nazmiye & Matthew, George Jr. & Varga, Liz, 2018. "Reducing industrial energy demand in the UK: A review of energy efficiency technologies and energy saving potential in selected sectors," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 1153-1178.
    13. Sutherland, Lee-Ann & Peter, Sarah & Zagata, Lukas, 2015. "Conceptualising multi-regime interactions: The role of the agriculture sector in renewable energy transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(8), pages 1543-1554.
    14. Abdo, Hafez & Ackrill, Rob, 2021. "On-farm anaerobic digestion: A disaggregated analysis of the policy challenges for greater uptake," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    15. María J. Ruiz-Fuensanta & María-Jesús Gutiérrez-Pedrero & Miguel-Ángel Tarancón, 2019. "The Role of Regional Determinants in the Deployment of Renewable Energy in Farms. The Case of Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-17, October.
    16. Barnes, A.P. & McMillan, J. & Sutherland, L.-A. & Hopkins, J. & Thomson, S.G., 2022. "Farmer intentional pathways for net zero carbon: Exploring the lock-in effects of forestry and renewables," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).

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