Pumpkins binned across Britain could produce enough renewable green gas to heat over a thousand homes, new statistics have revealed.
The 16 million pumpkins expected to be thrown away this Halloween could generate around 12.3 GWh of energy when converted to the green gas biomethane – enough energy to heat around 1,300 homes for a whole year.
Home-grown and renewable, biomethane is produced from farm residues, food leftovers and other organic waste. With the right backing, green gas could be transformational in cleaning up Britain’s energy system.
Research shows that green gas could help slash the cost of Net Zero by £174 billion, or £250 per household each year. It can be fed straight to homes and businesses, avoiding a costly requirement to replace heating systems and install heat pumps.
The sector could also generate scores of rural jobs, supporting as many as 57,000 skilled roles by 2050, with nine in 10 based outside London and the South East. The home-grown gas would reduce the UK’s reliance on imported gas by 61%, boosting energy security.
Britain throws away an estimated 10.7 million tons of food worth £17 billion every year; a vast untapped resource that could be transformed into home-grown green gas. Diverting more of this waste into biomethane production would turn a costly environmental problem into clean energy.
Industry leaders are calling on the government to unlock the potential of green gas through a series of policy changes, including extending the Green Gas Support Scheme and recognizing biomethane within the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS).
James Earl, CEO of Future Energy Networks, the representative body for the UK’s gas networks, said: “If millions of discarded pumpkins could be turned into enough green gas to heat 1,300 homes, imagine what could be achieved by making better use of all of the food and farm waste Britain produces every year.
“Green gas gives us a way to turn that waste into home-grown energy, while making use of the world class gas infrastructure that’s already serving millions of homes and businesses. By embracing the potential of green gas, we can cut emissions, strengthen energy security and keep costs down as we decarbonize our energy system.”
Charles McAllister, Director of the Green Gas Taskforce, a campaign group representing the largest biomethane generators, shippers and traders in GB, all of the GB gas networks and key sector groups, said: “Biomethane is a reliable, renewable and ready to go energy source. The more feedstock we use from food waste and farms to produce green gas, the less gas we need to import into the country from around the world. Green gas can be used in homes, factories, power stations without any change needed to customer equipment and maximizing its potential could deliver 90 well paid and skilled jobs in every constituency across the country.”