Environmental analysis news: Biogas made available to UK homes

A sustainable energy firm in the UK is set to offer biogas as an alternative fuel to British households.

Power company Ecotricity has announced that it can now supply biogas using a combination of green and brown sources, with the intention of increasing the percentage generated from green fuel as its customer base grows.

The organisation will take compostable waste that would usually go straight to landfill and use it to produce biogas.

According to Ecotricity, approximately 18 million tonnes of food is wasted by British households annually, which could be used to produce enough biogas to supply more than 700,000 homes.

Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity, commented: "By choosing green gas, customers can help unhook Britain from its addiction to foreign gas supplies, make a positive long-term change to the world we live in and could also keep thousands of tonnes of waste out of landfill."

Earlier this year, fears were raised over the security of the UK's gas supply after a dispute between Russian company Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz threatened to disrupt supplies.

Posted by Joseph Hutton