Energy Production on Farms through Anaerobic Digestion

Project Status: Completed
Type of Project: Research Project
Principal Investigator: Professor Charles Banks, University of Southampton (Email)

Website
Publications, Data and Other Outputs
Policy and Practice Note

Objectives

The project will be examining the potential for development of anaerobic digestion (AD) on farms, and the contribution that this could make to rural development and diversification of agricultural practice by enhanced land use planning for bioenergy production.

The research addresses the policy issues through a detailed analysis of regulatory measures within the broader European Community and of those specific to the UK, to identify the drivers and obstacles that could stimulate or inhibit the development of on-farm digestion as part of a wider strategy for rural development and meeting the cross compliance criteria included in the reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy. It aims to: develop and verify rigorous models to analyse the economics, energetics and land use implications of diversification into on-farm energy production using energy crops, agricultural residues and wastes; assess the positive benefits and the potential drawbacks regarding environmental protection and the development of sustainable agricultural practice, through the development of environmental risk-based analysis methodologies; seek opinion from farmers on issues of diversification and renewable energy production using anaerobic digestion; and explore the potential benefits to the wider rural community that might result through the uptake of this technology as part of an integrated farming system.

The research will be undertaken by two research groups at the University of Southampton and one group at the University of Reading. The work involves the drawing together of information to produce reliable datasets for the purposes of modelling different scenarios for land usage, which can then be used to make economic evaluations and environmental risk assessments. Environmental risk assessment and cost benefit analysis approaches will be developed within a framework model that will allow their application to a wide variety of situations.

The project involves two industrial participants, offering a depth of experience in biogas technology and the operation of anaerobic digesters on farms. The project will also work with a number of selected farmers who have expressed interest in developing the concept of on-farm digestion.