News & Insights: October 2026
Recent developments across the biogas and biomethane sectors highlight continued investment in renewable gas production, alongside planning challenges, local opposition and financial pressures. In the UK, plans for a new biomethane plant in Northwich have received unanimous council approval, while a proposed chicken-waste biogas facility in Lincolnshire has also been approved despite strong local opposition and concerns about odour. In Ireland, the Taoiseach has opened a new €32 million biomethane facility in Mitchelstown, strengthening the country’s developing renewable gas industry.
In the United States, BerQ RNG has acquired the Rialto Bioenergy Facility from Sevana Bioenergy, signalling further consolidation in the renewable natural gas market. Meanwhile, Danish biogas plant builder Lundsby has filed for bankruptcy following costly difficulties associated with a project in Finland, highlighting the financial risks facing technology providers in the sector. In Japan, Landia has supplied a new digester mixing system for a farm-based biogas plant, demonstrating continued international investment in improving anaerobic digestion infrastructure.
Event Analysis: Green Gas Day 2026
Green Gas Day 2026 at the National Motorcycle Museum on 8th October was, once again, an excellent event, with an impressive turnout and a great opportunity to catch up with people from across the sector. The day featured a varied programme of informative presentations and discussions and ample opportunities to network and share ideas. Alder BioInsights Director Lucy Hopwood and Managing Consultant David Vaughan both delivered informative talks, contributing to the conversations around the challenges and opportunities facing the industry.
A key takeaway from the event was that, although biomethane production still faces challenges, the outlook for significant expansion is very positive. The presentations, including that from Katie White OBE MP, highlighted that biomethane production is increasingly being recognised as more than just an energy platform and can offer wider benefits to the environment and agriculture giving it a major role in the UKs net zero ambitions.
Overall, Green Gas Day 2026 was a valuable opportunity to share different perspectives and discuss what comes next for the sector. With growing recognition of the wider benefits of biomethane, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about its future. Continued collaboration, investment and innovation will be key to turning this potential into real progress.
Upcoming Event Focus
On 28th October, Senior Consultant Dr Gail Shuttleworth will be heading to Udine, Italy to participate in a workshop hosted by ToBeReal “What role can agrifood biomass play in driving the transition towards a more circular bioeconomy?”
The event will explore this question through a hands-on session bringing stakeholders together to share experiences and consider opportunities for biomass valorisation. Organised by Fondazione Agrifood & Bioeconomy FVG, the workshop will feature insights from industry participants and host three interactive roundtable discussions to share perspectives and explore both the opportunities and challenges of unlocking agrifood biomass’s potential. The workshop will take place alongside the ToBeReaL Project annual meeting, bringing the project community together at the same time.
ToBeReaL is a five-year Horizon Europe project supporting bioeconomy initiatives of all sizes and composition across Europe with technical, business and financial, regulatory and legal, and social innovation expertise. It aims to help projects address barriers, build connections across value chains and develop their potential to scale, with particular attention to regions where the bioeconomy is less developed.
Alder BioInsights is a key partner in this EU-wide project, contributing our expertise in business services across the bioeconomy. Please contact us if you would like to find out if your project could benefit.
Alder BioInsights Biomethane GHG Calculator
Developed by the team behind the official Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) GHG Calculator for DESNZ, our Biomethane GHG Calculator provides a practical, transparent way to calculate, understand and report greenhouse gas emissions across multiple schemes.
Built on our extensive experience in GHG accounting, sustainability regulation and biomethane production, the calculator brings RHI, GGSS, ISCC and RTFO reporting requirements together in one tool.
Available under an annual licence, the calculator is regularly maintained and updated to reflect changes to methodologies, emission factors and reporting requirements, alongside user and auditor feedback.
The result is a current, supported and user-friendly tool for biomethane producers and their advisers.
