Client: The Green Gas Taskforce
Date: September 2025
Project Team: Lorenza Carta, Consultant, David Vaughan, Managing Consultant & Lucy Hopwood, Director and Principal Consultant
Project External Link: GGT-Unlocking-the-Potential-of-Biomethane.pdf
Background: Biomethane is expected to play a critical role in the UK’s net zero energy transition, supporting decarbonisation across heat, transport and industry while improving energy security. However, uncertainty around sustainable feedstock availability has often been cited as a key constraint on the sector’s long-term growth. To address this, the Green Gas Taskforce (GGT) sought an independent, evidence-led assessment of the UK’s feedstock potential for biomethane production and the wider implications for energy, agriculture and policy.
Objective: Alder BioInsights was commissioned to assess the availability of sustainable domestic feedstocks for biomethane generation and to quantify the long-term role biomethane could play in the UK energy system. The study aimed to inform policymakers and stakeholders, challenge prevailing assumptions around feedstock constraints, and provide a strategic evidence base to support future gas and bioenergy policy development.
Our Approach: Alder undertook a two-stage analysis combining data-driven feedstock assessment with strategic policy and market insight. The first stage evaluated the availability of a wide range of agricultural products, wastes and residues across the UK, drawing on Alder’s internal feedstock database, public statistics and recent literature to quantify biomethane potential at national and regional level.
The second stage built on these findings through deeper analysis of competing feedstock uses, carbon impacts and system-wide benefits. This included high-level carbon modelling, consideration of emerging green gas pathways such as e-methane, spatial analysis of feedstock distribution and grid connectivity, and assessment of interactions with agriculture, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and wider bioenergy markets. The work culminated in a strategic roadmap for biomethane growth aligned with UK energy and carbon targets.
Outcomes and benefits: The study demonstrated that feedstock availability is not a limiting factor for biomethane growth in the UK, identifying sufficient sustainable domestic feedstock to produce up to 120 TWh of biomethane by 2050. The findings highlight biomethane’s potential to deliver accelerated decarbonisation, reduced agricultural emissions, improved soil and water quality, and enhanced farm productivity and resilience.
The final outputs are being used to inform future policy for biomethane production and support cross-government decision-making at the intersection of energy, agriculture and climate policy.