Title: Prospects for on-farm anaerobic digestion as a renewable energy technology in the UK: learning from early adopters

Authors: Martin Tidy; Xiaojun Wang; Mark Hall

Addresses: Department of Management, University of Bristol, 8 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1TN, UK ' Department of Management, University of Bristol, 8 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1TN, UK ' Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK

Abstract: Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a renewable energy technology that could make a significant contribution to climate change mitigation. Despite early recognition of its potential role within a diverse low-carbon energy mix in the UK, the on-farm AD sector has stubbornly refused to grow beyond the 'early adopter' stage at a time when some other European countries, notably Germany, recorded a huge expansion in uptake. This research investigates the experiences of early adopters in South West England, and examines the factors in making on-farm AD a viable renewable energy enterprise. The findings, drawn from six case studies, indicate that land, labour and capital resource-related requirements, along with significant regulatory and financial barriers, are together a huge hurdle to clear before a would-be on-farm AD plant operator can be confident that a viable business enterprise will result from investment.

Keywords: renewable energy; climate change; technology adoption; on-farm anaerobic digestion; early adopters; case studies; business performance; low-carbon energy mix; UK; United Kingdom; land resources; labour resources; regulatory barriers; capital resources; financial barriers.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBPSCM.2015.071601

International Journal of Business Performance and Supply Chain Modelling, 2015 Vol.7 No.3, pp.256 - 277

Received: 31 Oct 2013
Accepted: 08 May 2014
Published online: 04 Sep 2015 *

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