To many, the use of anaerobic digestion to produce biogas is the future. It is organic, does not produce carbon emissions, is non-radioactive and can use fuel sourced in this country rather than relying on imports.
Sadly, instead of the sound of engineers fitting pressure relief valves on large anaerobic digestion tanks at Sewstern near Gunby in Lincolnshire, there is the sound of popping champagne corks as local campaigners celebrate the rejection of plans for a large new plant there.
The plans, by Ironstone, a subsidiary of Future Biogas, would have seen the new plant built on an otherwise unused site that would have processed 130,000 tonnes of crops into biomethane, which would then have been fed into the national gas grid. It could have produced enough energy to power around 130,000 homes each year.
Mr Green Energetically Fights Off Green Energy
However, this neat symmetry of numbers did not impress locals, with 350 objections lodged on the planning application portal and a petition against the facility attracting 1,200 signatures. This clearly had an impact, as South Kesteven Council rejected the plans this month.
The argument that won the day was based on the notion that the rural character of the area would be disturbed by the plant, with delighted campaigner Dr Janine Liladhar telling Lincolnshire Live she thought it was “the perfect decision”, though she feared a possible appeal by Ironstone.
Among the councillors campaigning hardest against the plan was Ben Green, who told the planning committee the scheme was “an attempt to force an industrial-scale anaerobic digestion plant into the heart of our cherished countryside”.
The word “force” might be somewhat harsh, but there is no doubt it was an industrial scale plant. But is that really such a bad thing to have in the middle of Lincolnshire?
Philipp Lukas, the CEO of Future Biogas, thought not. He told Lincolnshire Live the scale of the plant had to be large because of the high cost of connecting it to the gas network.
Emergency, What Emergency?
In addition, he observed, the council had declared a ’climate emergency’, with aims to reduce its own carbon emissions and those within the district, with stated aims including building a low carbon economy, making the district more self-sufficient in energy, supporting low-carbon businesses and encouraging green energy generation.
Mr Lukas mused: “In this context, it feels a little confusing to oppose a scheme that would directly help achieve these stated objectives.”
He noted that the plant would “be one of the first facilities in the UK actively capturing and removing atmospheric CO2, support local farmers [to] decarbonise and provide them with a stable and long term income source,” as well as directly replacing fossil fuel with a carbon-free alternative with no cost to the taxpayer and creating a dozen new local jobs.
Sympathy Or Cynicism?
This case may sound compelling, but it is one that fell on deaf ears. Or did it? Cllr Green said the main problem was that the proposal was in “fundamentally the wrong location”, with too many narrow lanes to deal with site traffic.
He added: “A scheme like this could work in a different location that’s more sympathetic to the community.”
This, of course, is the sort of comment that could be interpreted in two ways. A more positive view might be to suggest that there was no objection in principle to a biogas plant, but that a place with better infrastructure is needed. The alternative is to see this as classic nimbysim, the sort that says everything is a good idea as long as it is located elsewhere.
If it is the second, it may be there is not much that can be done about the attitudes of some, as there are people who might similarly object to any other commercial or residential development of whatever scale if it was in their Elysian neighbourhood. Others, however, might change their views if they knew more about how biogas is produced and its benefits.
Can Optimism Overcome Nimbysim?
Perhaps the issue raises more hackles in some parts of the country than others. The enraged response by a member of the county council to the government granting planning permission for a new solar farm (“slap in the face for Lincolnshire”) suggests support for green energy in that part of England is on condition they don’t have to host it.
The fact that Irish engineering firm Glanua has just bought out UK biogas firm Marches Biogas suggests there is plenty of confidence that the industry has a bright future. It may just be a question of finding more locations where the benefits are recognised and knee-jerk opposition is not the default response.
