Green Gas Certification Scheme

With the recent launch of two plants producing renewable gas at Didcot sewage works (5th October) and Adnams brewery (8th October), the biogas to grid (BtG) technology has been unequivocally proven.

Commenting on the Adnams project, CNG Services MD and Chair of the Renewable Energy Association’s Biogas Group, John Baldwin said:

“This is a really innovative project. It will be the first to turn food leftovers into renewable gas, and it will soon be running its delivery fleet on this clean fuel. The project will also produce fertiliser, which will be spread on farmland where the barley is grown for Adnams beer. This will replace mineral fertilisers, which have a heavy carbon footprint. It’s an exemplar of how to turn potential wastes into valuable commodities.”

However, both projects were set up prior to the introduction of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), hoped to take effect in April 2011. In light of this and the potential of biogas, the Renewable Energy Association (REA) have devised a scheme to reassure buyers and sellers that renewable gas injected into the grid is properly accounted for.

The Green Gas Certification Scheme (GGCS) will be a web-based system that tracks green gas from injection into the grid through to its use in homes or businesses. By tracking the gas on a contractual basis, rather than using physical flow, the GGCS will show that each unit of renewable gas injected into the grid will displace the need for a unit of fossil gas.

The founder participants include Centrica, E.on, National Grid, Thames Water, Bio Group Limited, Adnams and CNG Services Ltd. With the RHI intended to provide the financial incentive, the GGCS will provide a secure foundation for the industry by avoiding doublecounting or double-selling of renewable gas.