Train likens the current situation for biomethane developers looking to connect to the gas grid to that of wind developers a decade ago when the industry was still emerging from its infancy.
To secure a connection, “you had to be a bit of an expert on the industry because the industry had grown up putting Sizewells and Longannets and big power stations on the network and therefore the organisations that were developing could be geared up to truly understand the industry.”
The new and smaller wind developers did not have, nor want to obtain, these same capabilities and so: “We went through a whole process of standardising connections and the network organisations getting to better understand the customers that want to connect”.
With the help of the Association of Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA) and the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association, the ENA is now hoping to the do the same for biomethane.
“We are at the point where standardisation will really help that delivery of more and more biomethane connections,” says Train.
“We can bring all the different parts of the supply chain together and we can look at the issues and challenges and objectives from each other’s perspectives and come up with a set of standardised procedures that networks can operate to and deliver… but that also allows the developers to understand what they need to do.”
He says the current connections process for biomethane is cumbersome, slow and varies between networks, putting off many potential producers: “I know of people that have found the process technically challenging and have been reluctant to employ technical experts in order to deliver and have felt it’s too much, so I do think it will enable new people to come forward and give them confidence that they can get a connection for their projects.”
“We’ve got 3TWh flowing but those plants have the capacity of about 8.5TWh so there’s capacity in existing plants that can be unlocked but also a lot of new feedstock”, adds programme leader Thom Koller. “We’re thinking that can grow to about 50-55TWh from anaerobic digestions and then more again from other green gas sources.
“There’s no barriers in respect to feedstock for short-term growth with anaerobic digestion. It’s a proven technology, we know there’s plenty of waste and residues to be made use of, so whereas there are some hurdles to overcome for other green gases, biomethane is something we can move forward with now”.
He says the first of the forums on Monday (12 October) was well attended from across the industry, with a lot of “rich ideas” being proposed: “One of the suggestions that was put forward as a potential activity for the forum to look at going forward was whether we can come to a shared industry view – networks and would-be producers – on the appropriate definition of commissioning.”
He says this would help with the process of obtaining accreditation under the Renewable Heat Incentive, giving developers more certainty over the outcome.
As well as establishing and maintaining a standard methodology for connections, the forum is also aiming to develop an action plan for identifying and removing further barriers.
“We are planning to hold meetings once a month until the end of this year so we can some traction and shared positions on priority work,” he explains. “And then next year, it’s really up to the forum. The ENA as secretariat of the group are happy to hold meetings as often as they need to take place to keep on driving this work and make sure the industry is moving forward together.
“There’s no planned end to the work.”