Brad Douville: Sharing the secret about biogas
Ahead of the World Biogas Summit taking place at the NEC Birmingham on 3rd-4th July, Brad Douville, President of Greenlane Biogas, reflects on the need to spread the word about the game-changing potential of biogas.
Sharing the secret about biogas
Everybody knows about renewable electricity. It comes from multiple sources including hydro, wind, solar and biomass. Energy delivered to residential, commercial and industrial application is via two main pathways: electrons (electricity grid) and molecules (gas grid). What is not well known or understood are two facts. First, that the gas grid is larger, measured by energy delivered, than the electricity grid. In the US, it is 1.25 times larger; in Canada, 2 times larger; in the UK, 4 times larger. Second, that the gas grid can be greened.
Those of us in the industry of course are aware of this, but on the outside, it is not well known. Ask a stranger on the street. No doubt they’ll have an understanding of wind turbines or solar panels, but you will get a blank look when it comes to biomethane.
Everybody also knows about diesel powered heavy goods vehicles. It is not well understood that of the alternatives to diesel, natural gas is the most popular. But while switching from diesel to natural gas is good, switching from diesel to biomethane is amazing. It provides a truly sustainable transport solution that is readily available today.
Greening the gas grid and heavy-duty vehicles with biomethane is truly a game changer. The role of biogas in a rapidly changing world has come of age, but we as an industry have some work to do to share the secret. As if producing sustainable energy wasn’t enough, the co-benefits of processing waste streams and delivering nutrients back to the land make it a no brainer.
Brad will be chairing the Game Changers – the Role of Biogas in a Rapidly Changing World session at the World Biogas Summit on 3rd July – 11.15-12.30. Joining him on the panel will be:
Giulia Catini, CNH Industrial Institutional Relations (Europe, Middle East and Africa, and the Asia Pacific Region) and Representative Office to the EU in Brussels
Daniele Pozzo, Product Evolution and Business Intelligence , FPT Industrial
Rafael Fernandez Martinez, Vice-Chair of the Distribution Committee, Eurogas
Andy Griffiths, Head of Value Chain Sustainability, Nestle
Megan Woodworth, Head of Resource Recovery, Loowatt
