REA member Malaby Biogas and Bath University has published research on emissions savings for the AD system at Bore Hill Farm. It not only sets out the GHG savings but also identifies the benefits of switching to production of biomethane fuel in the future. This provides a robust baseline for the climate mitigation benefits of anaerobic digestion. Malaby Biogas is proud to be able to show that the industry and the company is a leader in delivering climate action. Malaby Biogas hopes to develop model templates to account for GHG emissions across many configurations of AD plants.

This study takes the Bore Hill Farm Biodigester (BHFB) facility as a case study to explore the sources of emissions associated with AD. With access to extensive operational data, it provides robust analysis of the onsite activities. The work is based upon Lowe’s (2020) Final Year Project report with extra refinements and expansion. The study found Operation of BHFB causes emissions of almost 2000 tCO2e but causes the avoidance 4100 tCO2e elsewhere. Its effect is thus a net GHG benefit of around 2100 tCO2e. This is equal to a net saving of over 300 gCO2e per kWh of electricity exported. Switching from electricity to biomethane production presents more than double GHG benefit. A switch increases the total benefit to over 4360 tCO2e.