Biomethane produced at Cambridgeshire facility has been directly connected to the Gas National Transmission System for first time
Renewable gas produced from cattle manure and straw at a farm in Cambridgeshire has been directly injected into the gas grid to help householders heat their homes and cook meals, in what National Grid claims is a UK first.
The Murrow Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Plant in Cambridgeshire operated by Biocow Ltd breaks down cow manure and straw in sealed tanks to produce biomethane – also known as biogas – that delivers significant carbon emissions savings compared to fossil fuel natural gas.
National Grid confirmed yesterday that a pipeline from the Murrow facility was directly connected to the Gas National Transmission System late last month, successfully enabling flows of up to 15,000 standard cubic meters per hour of the biogas into the grid. The facility is now set to provide enough biogas to meet the annual gas needs of 10 average UK households.
Ian Radley, head of gas systems operations at National Grid, said that technologies supporting the use of hydrogen and biomethane would “play a critical role in the journey to Britain achieving net zero”.
“We’ve collaborated closely with Biocow on this innovative project to ensure we met their needs and ultimately successfully connected their site to the National Transmission System; supporting the transition to a low carbon economy and paving the way for similar projects in the future,” he said.
Chris Waters, managing director of Biocow, also hailed the Murrow biogas grid pipeline as “a very important first step” in the firm’s efforts to “continue pioneering new and innovative ways to inject green gas into the grid”.
“We look forward to continued collaboration with National Grid in the future as we continue to develop our site at Murrow,” he added.
The gas industry has publicly backed the UK’s net zero emissions goal and has launched a series of research projects and trials in recent months to explore how the existing gas network could be repurposed to use biogas and green hydrogen at scale.
Source : Businessgreen.com