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8 min ago 2 min read
The UK’s biomethane industry is calling for North Sea oil and gas revenues to fund renewable gas production, following government approval of the Jackdaw gas field.
The government approved extraction from the Jackdaw gas field, expected to increase UK gas production by 6% at its peak, and announced a £2bn ($2.7bn) New Energy Wealth Fund to channel oil and gas revenues into clean energy projects.
It comes after a 2025 ruling by a Scottish court temporarily blocked the field’s development.
The Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) called the approval a “good first step” in recognising the need for domestically produced gas, but said tax revenues from should be directed toward green gas funding.
It said the funds, including from the New Energy Wealth Fund, should deliver an “urgent uplift” to the UK’s Green Gas Support Scheme, which provides quarterly tariff payments for up to 15 years for new anaerobic digestion (AD) plants.
However, warned that the scheme’s budget is already “fully committed”, leaving further biomethane projects unable to progress under the existing funding arrangements.
It estimated annual biomethane production could exceed Jackdaw’s expected peak production of 25TWh by the early 2030s.
“Reinvesting a share of North Sea revenues in the Green Gas Support Scheme would let our industry rapidly increase domestic supply of renewable gas, year after year, long after Jackdaw has run dry,” said former UK energy secretary and ADBA Chair Chris Huhne.
Green Gas Taskforce Director, Charles McAllister, also said, “Unlocking biomethane’s massive potential would boost UK energy security, deliver 90 well-paid and skilled jobs in every constituency and provide stable revenue to British Farmers.”
The UK currently injects around 7TWh of biomethane into the gas network per year – a fraction of its 683TWh annual usage, which is met through a combination of domestic production, pipeline imports, and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Despite growth in Europe’s overall biomethane sector, the UK market has in comparison, according to a December 2025 study from consulting firm Sia.
Only 23% of available anaerobic digestion (AD) feedstock is currently used, while just 8% of biogas plants are upgraded to biomethane, the study found. This represents one of the lowest upgrading rates in Europe.
