𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Champions of home-grown gas from farm waste and other agricultural sources say the cost of net zero could be slashed by £174billion – the equivalent of £250 for each household every year. Advocates for “green gas” say it can be delivered through existing home boilers, sparing families the costs of fitting heat pumps. They forecast the sector could support up to 57,000 skilled jobs by 2050, with nine in 10 of these would be outside London and the South East.

Labour is being urged to help build up the green gas sector “before it’s too late”. Supporters of the fuel source say nearly half of (45%) of UK housing stock is “hard to electrify” and argue that biomethane gas can be “fed straight into the gas network” so it “heats homes and provides hot water through existing boilers with no new equipment and no disruption”. They claim that over a four-year period the “avoided cost” is worth just over £2,000 for the typical household. Making the most of green gas, they insist, would “slash the total cost of Britain reaching net zero by £174billion”.

Charles McAllister, director of the Green Gas Taskforce, said: “The Government should back green gas. Biomethane, made from waste and other agricultural sources, is already flowing through our gas network and decarbonising the equivalent of one million homes with no changes required to customers’ heating appliances.”

Advocates for further development of the gas warn that reliance on imported energy leaves “families exposed every time international turmoil sends prices soaring”. They argue development of home-grown green has could “cut Britain’s reliance on imported gas by 61%” by 2050, with 85p staying in the UK economy for every £1 invested.

The industry is concerned opportunities are “slipping away” with a support scheme “oversubscribed” and expected to close in the coming years. There are complaints there is “no clear plan beyond 2028” and it is claimed a Government consultation on the sector’s future has been delayed for two years. It is further feared that without “urgent” action investment could stall or go abroad.

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “More people than ever before are applying for heat pumps under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, with July a record month for applications. Biomethane can help reduce our reliance on imported gas, which is why we are supporting its production through the Green Gas Support Scheme.”

Labour MP Josh Newbury said the jobs boost from the gas would be “huge”, adding: “These jobs pay well above the average wage, creating opportunity in areas that have been overlooked for too long.That is what green gas can help deliver, while strengthening our domestic energy security. I urge the Government to give the sector the certainty it needs to invest and grow.”