---

Energy Bill

As ever, I have enjoyed the debate, although I am not sure that I will engage in ““The Archers”” dimension of it too much, despite the fact that the definition of a traffic jam when I was young was outside broadcasters going to the village next to us to film Grace’s wedding for ““The Archers””. I have some historic link to the programme but I shall not complete my submission before the programme is over this evening, so I cannot adopt the novel suggestion of the noble Lord, Lord Redesdale, on how I should reply to the debate. I am also reeling from the shock of my noble friend Lord Whitty suggesting that departments harbour prejudices. Informed judgment, which may differ from the one that he follows is one thing, but the idea that departments harbour prejudices is deeply shocking, and I hope that I can prove to him that our position is not established on the basis of prejudice but a real concern about the implications for the renewables obligation of accepting this amendment. Let me start on points of disagreement before getting on to the more difficult issues. We accept what the noble Lord, Lord Redesdale, maintains as his major proposition that biogas is renewable when it is derived from plant and animal matter. It is therefore already eligible for reward under the renewables obligation. We are not in conflict at all on that part of the issue. I shall come to the difficulties that we have in a moment, but I emphasise that we have always recognised the importance of biogas and its versatility, which is why the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced earlier this year that £10 million would be made available for the construction of new commercial-scale anaerobic digestion plant. The Government are acting towards stimulating development. Electricity generated from biogas will be eligible for two ROCs per MWh under the proposed changes to the renewables obligation, and biogas can receive support under the renewable transport fuel obligation. It can also be used to generate heat, as noble Lords have indicated in this short debate, and therefore may be eligible to receive support under any future mechanism to support renewable heat, which will be the subject of later discussions in Committee. By removing the carbon dioxide and other impurities, biogas can be used to make biomethane, which could be injected directly into the gas network. It is theoretically possible to inject biomethane directly into the gas network in the UK provided that the biomethane can meet gas quality standards and the pressure requirements of the national grid. So far, so good. We recognise the advantages that biogas could bring across electricity, heat and transport, but there are difficulties with this amendment that I hope are based on rational judgment and not prejudices within the department. If accepted, the new clause would mean that biomethane gas was fed into the gas grid and then an equivalent amount of gas used by a specified consumer could be treated as renewable—even if it had been supplied from a gas-fired station—for the purposes of the renewables obligation if used to generate electricity, or the road transport fuel obligation if used as a transport fuel. Such a move would widen the definition of a renewable source of electricity but break the direct link with the award of ROCs for actual generation. That is a fundamental principle of the renewables obligation. Even if it is contended that this is a well-known prejudice of the department, I shall defend the principle against the amendment.