A Critical Juncture for Decarbonisation: Seizing the Biomethane Opportunity
Biomethane is already making an important contribution to energy system decarbonisation. The question is: how do we unlock its full potential? The technology is proven, the urgency is growing, and importantly, the industry is now organised and ready to make rapid progress. One of the key ways in which we are doing this is through the Green Gas Technical Forum.
Launched this year, the Forum is a FEN-led industry collaboration between gas networks and biomethane developers, replacing the former Entry Customer Forum. It was created as a direct output of the Green Gas Taskforce and is designed to bring the industry together to reduce costs, shorten connection timeframes, and unblock technical barriers to biomethane injection. At a time when decarbonisation is more urgent than ever, working together through the Forum gives us a renewed opportunity to move forward.
From Ambition to Impact: The Need for Industry Change
Biomethane is no longer a niche solution but a proven contributor to a green energy system, with over 130 biomethane sites connected to the GB gas grid providing more than 11 TWh of capacity. What has changed is the level of urgency and clarity of purpose.
Biomethane’s strategic role is now widely recognised. NESO’s latest Future Energy Scenarios show expanded biomethane potential. The gas networks have set out ambitious biomethane commitments in their RIIO-3 Business Plans, and Ofgem’s Draft Determinations echo this priority.
It is also the right solution at the right time. In a challenging fiscal environment, biomethane offers significant system-level cost advantages by using existing infrastructure and requiring no changes for end users. It is also highly deliverable: a mature technology, ready to scale, with no disruption to customers. Supporting a technology that is affordable, practical and deployable now is especially compelling.
The opportunity is clear. Biomethane can play a pivotal role in building a sustainable energy system. And with the Green Gas Technical Forum providing a collaborative space to tackle barriers head-on, we are at a turning point in how the industry works together to deliver this ambition.
A New Approach: The Green Gas Technical Forum
In June this year, we relaunched the Green Gas Technical Forum as a collaborative biomethane industry initiative. The Forum brings together biomethane producers, gas networks, technology suppliers, industry organisations, and wider stakeholders, focusing specifically on addressing practical technical challenges. This complements the strategic and policy work undertaken by the Green Gas Taskforce.
We have designed our approach around three core principles:
- Standardisation: ensuring consistent processes, documents, and specifications across networks.
- Simplification: streamlining those processes wherever possible.
- Acceleration: prioritising a small number of impactful issues we can tackle at pace.
By focusing on these principles, the Forum is creating a more consistent, transparent, and efficient approach to connections, ultimately enabling producers to scale more easily and delivering better outcomes for consumers.
Breaking Down Barriers: Priorities for Industry Growth
To unlock faster, cheaper connections and improve operations, we are working on five priority areas that address some of the most pressing technical barriers:
- Grid Entry Unit: Harmonising and optimising grid entry unit design specifications, drawing on lessons from European leaders such as France, to reduce costs for developers.
- Connection Process: Creating a consistent and streamlined process across networks to reduce complexity and accelerate connection timeframes.
- Capacity Increase: Developing a common approach to enabling capacity increases, including reverse compression and smart pressure control, to address regional constraints.
- Entry Reinforcement Cost Socialisation: Supporting proposals to socialise network reinforcement costs, making upgrades more affordable and accessible. Ofgem is considering this as part of RIIO-3 Final Determinations.
- Existing Output: Reviewing operational trends at existing sites to identify opportunities for increased injection and optimisation, enabling more renewable gas without major investment.
These priorities are more than just technical fixes, they are enablers for growth that will help bring costs down, reduce subsidy requirements, shorten delivery times, and ultimately create greater value for consumers.
Rethinking the How: Bold Ideas for a Sustainable Future
Achieving Net Zero is not just about having the right solutions but also about optimising how we implement them. The complexity and urgency of decarbonisation means that old approaches will not get us very far. Through the Green Gas Technical Forum, we are working collaboratively, with bold ambition and innovative thinking, to turn barriers into breakthroughs and build a sustainable future.
Join the Conversation
The question is not whether biomethane can scale, but whether we can work together effectively enough to realise its potential. With the Green Gas Technical Forum now in place alongside the Green Gas Taskforce, we are better equipped than ever to do exactly that. If you’re passionate about shaping the future of green gas, let’s connect and make it happen.