Official Statistics

Bioenergy Crops in England and the UK: 2008-2023

Published 27 June 2024

Key messages

• In 2023, 133 thousand hectares of agricultural land in the UK were used to grow crops for bioenergy. This area represents 2.2% of the arable land in the UK.

• In 2023, 36% of land used for bioenergy was for biofuel (biodiesel and bioethanol) in the UK road transport market with the remainder mostly used for heat and power production.

• In 2023, 153 million litres of biofuel for the UK road transport market were produced from UK grown crops.

• In 2022, 6.7 million tonnes oil equivalent of plant biomass were used to produce electricity and heat in the UK.

1. Agricultural area for bioenergy crops

Figure 1 Agricultural area used for bioenergy crops 2017 – 2023 (thousand hectares)

Year	Wheat	Sugar beet	Maize	Short rotation coppice	Miscanthus	Total
2017	56	5	57	3	7	129
2018	22	7	57	3	7	96
2019	11	8	67	2	8	96
2020	30	7	75	2	8	122
2021	20	6	80	4	8	117
2022	43	8	68	3	8	131
2023	45	3	73	4	9	133

Source: Department for Transport RTFO data, UK Agricultural Departments June Survey/Census of Agriculture

Notes:

1. Maize, Short Rotation Coppice and Miscanthus areas are for England only.

In 2023, 133 thousand hectares (ha) of agricultural land was used for bioenergy crops in the UK comprising:

• 45 thousand ha of wheat and 2.6 thousand ha of sugar beet used for biofuels.
• 73 thousand ha of maize used for Anaerobic digestion.
• 8.8 thousand ha of miscanthus and 3.8 thousand ha of short rotation coppice used in biomass.

Arable area is defined as the area of arable crops, uncropped arable land and temporary grassland. In 2023 arable land used for bioenergy crops in the UK equated to 2.2% of the total arable area, similar to the 2.1% seen in 2022. 36% of land used for bioenergy in 2023 was for biofuel (biodiesel and bioethanol) crops for the UK road transport market, with the remainder used mostly for heat and power production.

2. Biofuels

2.1 UK grown crops used for production of biofuels for supply to the UK road transport market

Figure 2 summarises UK sourced biofuels reported under the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (i.e. the biofuels used in the UK that are made from UK feedstocks). Crops and by-products have been included to show differing proportions of feedstocks. Figures relating to biofuel used for road transport in 2023 (year runs start of January to end of December) are provisional based on data currently available; for more information on the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) see section 5.4 Data sources.

Figure 2 Volume of UK sourced biofuels supplied to the UK road transport market by crop type and waste/residue in 2023

Type	Million litres/kilograms
Biodiesel: Brown grease	0.7
Biodiesel: Crude glycerin	0.3
Biodiesel: Food waste	3.9
Biodiesel: Soapstock acid oil	1.1
Biodiesel: Sewage system FOG	0.1
Biodiesel: Tallow	6.7
Biodiesel: Used cooking oil	30
Bioethanol: Sugar beet	19
Bioethanol: Wheat	134
Biogas / Biomethane	10
Biomethanol	3.6
Biopropane	0.1
Pure vegetable oil	1.4
Off road biodiesel	1.2
Other	7.9

Source: Department of Transport RTFO data

Notes:

1. Biodiesel and bioethanol volumes are reported in litres and biogas volumes are reported in kilograms.

2. “Other” includes Aviation Turbine Fuel (Avtur) (renewable), Bio-Synthetic Natural Gas, Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and Hydrogen.

The total volume of UK sourced biofuels used in the UK in 2023 was 220.9 million litres / kilograms. This was a 37% decrease on the 2022 figure. In 2023 the volume of UK sourced biodiesel for UK road transport was at 43.1 million litres. For bioethanol the figure was 153.2 million litres.

2.2 Implied crop areas based on supply of biofuel to the road transport market

Table 1 and Figures 3 and 4 focus on the arable crops used as feedstocks and convert the biofuel volumes reported under the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) into equivalent UK crop areas. These crop areas are based only on biofuel from UK grown crops sold into the UK road fuel market, and therefore do not include UK grown crops which are processed into biofuels and then exported (and not re imported), those which go to markets other than road transport, or those that are exported to be processed into biofuels elsewhere.

Due to changes to the RTFO dataset, 2018 covers 15th April to 31st December 2018 and is not directly comparable to previous years which covered a time period from April to April. From 2019 onwards RTFO data is representative of full calendar years.

Conversion factors for litres to tonne of crop can be found in Section 5.2 Conversions.

Table 1 Total UK crop areas used for biofuels (biodiesel and bioethanol) supplied to the UK road transport market, 2018/19 - 2023

Year	Total volume of biofuels from UK grown crops (million litres)	Implied tonnage of crop (‘000 tonnes)	Implied area ‘000 ha	% of UK total arable area
2018/19	110	639	29	0.5%
2019	99	723	19	0.3%
2020	118	613	37	0.6%
2021	105	629	26	0.4%
2022	190	896	52	0.8%
2023	153	550	48	0.8%

Source: Department for Transport RTFO data, Agriculture in the UK

In 2023 48 thousand hectares of UK crops were used for biofuels supplied to the UK road transport market, which equates to 0.8% of the total arable area of the UK.

Figure 3 UK sugar beet area used for bioethanol supplied to the UK road transport market 2018 - 2023

Year	Implied area ‘000 ha	% of UK total sugar beet area
2018	6.8	5.9%
2019	8.1	7.5%
2020	7.2	6.4%
2021	5.8	6.1%
2022	8.2	9.0%
2023	2.4	2.4%

Source: Department for Transport RTFO data, Agriculture in the UK

Notes:

1. % values show implied sugar beet area used for bioethanol as a percentage of the total UK sugar beet area.

In 2023 2.4 thousand hectares of sugar beet were used in the production of bioethanol for the road transport market, a 71% decrease from 2022.

Figure 4 UK wheat area used for bioethanol supplied to the UK road transport market 2018 – 2023

Year	Implied area ‘000 ha	% of UK total wheat area
2018	21	1.3%
2019	10	0.6%
2020	29	2.1%
2021	20	1.1%
2022	43	2.4%
2023	45	2.6%

Source: Department for Transport RTFO data, Agriculture in the UK.

Notes:

1. % values show implied wheat area used for bioethanol as a percentage of the total UK wheat area.

In 2023 45 thousand hectares of wheat were used for bioethanol. This is a 4.5% increase in implied area from 2022 and 82% higher than the five-year average (2018 – 2022).

2.3 Biofuels from crops supplied to the UK for the road transport market 2023

In 2023, estimates indicate 76% of the crop-derived bioethanol for road transport originated from crops grown outside the UK. An estimated 24% originated from crops grown in the UK, which was mainly made up of bioethanol derived from UK grown wheat.
Figure 5 shows the top 6 countries supplying crop derived bioethanol to the UK, a full list of countries can be found in Table F in the accompanying dataset.

Figure 5 Top 6 countries supplying crop derived bioethanol to the UK 2023

Country	Million litres
United States	234
United Kingdom	153
Brazil	141
Ukraine	45
Poland	20
France	10
Total (all countries)	652

Source: Department for Transport RTFO data, Agriculture in the UK.

2.4 Comparison of biofuels to all fuels used for road transport

Table 2 compares the volume of biofuel used in UK road transport to the total of all fuels supplied for road transport. They also show the proportion of biofuels that are UK sourced.

Table 2 RTFO 2023 provisional figures for biofuel (million litres or Kg) from UK feedstocks

Fuel type (million litres or kg)	Volume UK sourced biofuels	Total volume biofuels supplied to UK	Total volume of road transport fossil fuels supplied to UK	UK sourced biofuels as a proportion of total biofuels supplied to UK	Biofuels as a proportion of total road transport fuels supplied to UK
Biodiesel	43	835	26,777	5.2%	3.1%
Bioethanol	153	928	15,388	16%	6.0%
Biomethane	10	98	[z]	10%	[z]
Biopropane	0.1	3.5	[z]	3.6%	[z]
Biomethanol	3.6	29	[z]	12%	[z]
Off road biodiesel	1.2	22	[z]	5.3%	[z]
Pure vegetable oil	1.4	2.8	[z]	51%	[z]
Other	7.9	338.8	[z]	2.3%	[z]
Total	221	2,257	44,288	9.8%	5.1%

Source: Department for Transport RTFO data, Agriculture in the UK.

Notes:

1. Biodiesel, bioethanol and pure vegetable oil volumes are reported in litres and biogas volumes are reported in kilograms.

2. “Other” includes Aviation Turbine Fuel (Avtur) (renewable), Bio-Synthetic Natural Gas, Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and Hydrogen.

3. [z] indicates where information is not applicable.

4. Total volume of biofuels supplied to UK includes volumes of biofuel from other feedstocks in addition to those listed here e.g. palm oil.

5. For volumes of fossil fuels supplied to the UK, diesel is presented alongside biodiesel, and petrol alongside bioethanol. The total volume of fossil fuels supplied to the UK also includes low sulphur gas oil and MTBE (fossil portion).

2.5 Renewable Energy Statistics (RESTATS) Questionnaire

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (and previously the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) conduct an annual survey of large-scale biofuel production (see Section 5.5 for more details). The survey aims to determine total UK production of biofuels and, from 2012, included questions on the quantity and origin of crops used in UK biofuel production. Because the survey covers all biofuel production (including that subsequently exported and for markets other than road transport) the data can help build a more complete picture of usage of UK crops for biofuel. Figures 6a and 6b compares total UK biofuel production to total biofuel supplied to the UK road transport market. Figures 7 and 8 give an estimate of the proportion of biodiesel and bioethanol supplied by end use. The survey is based on calendar years.

Figure 6a – 6b UK biofuel production and biofuel supply to UK road transport market, 2017 – 2022 (million litres)

Figure 6a Bioethanol

Year	Total bioethanol consumption: UK road transport market	Total UK production
2017	753	645
2018	761	516
2019	753	262
2020	651	326
2021	934	357
2022	1331	445

Figure 6b Biodiesel

Year	Total biodiesel consumption: UK road transport market	Total UK production
2017	697	524
2018	1139	535
2019	1597	573
2020	1652	421
2021	1338	545
2022	1733	537

Source: Digest of UK Energy Statistics.

At 537 million litres, UK production of biodiesel decreased by 1.5% between 2021 and 2022. This volume was around 75% of the estimated UK production capacity for biodiesel (715 million litres in 2022). Bioethanol production increased by 25% to 445 million litres in 2022, 50% of the estimated UK production capacity of 895 million litres.

Figure 7 Estimated UK biodiesel supply (from UK production) 2022

2022	UK road transport	Exported	Other	UK non-road transport	Total
%	27%	68%	4.6%	0%	100%

Source: Renewable Energy Statistics (RESTATS) Questionnaire

Notes:

1. Breakdown values may not sum to exactly 100% due to rounding.

Figure 8 Estimated UK bioethanol supply (from UK production) 2022

2022	UK road transport	Exported	UK non-road transport	Total
%	81%	18%	0%	100%

Source: Renewable Energy Statistics (RESTATS) Questionnaire

Notes:

1. Breakdown values may not sum to exactly 100% due to rounding.

In 2022, 100% of UK-produced bioethanol was derived from crop feedstocks, of which 59% was produced from UK grown crops. In 2022, 0% of UK-produced biodiesel was derived from crop feedstocks, with the main feedstocks being waste and used cooking oil.

In 2022, an estimated 27% of biodiesel produced in the UK was supplied to the UK road transport market, with 68% being exported. In contrast, an estimated 81% of the bioethanol supply was used in UK road transport in 2022.

3. Plant biomass: miscanthus, short rotation coppice and straw

Miscanthus and Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) are bioenergy crops grown primarily for use in the heat and electricity energy markets. They are burnt in power stations, combined heat and power units or heating systems.

3.1 Miscanthus areas

Table 3 Total area of miscanthus in England

Year	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Area (ha)	7,149	8,171	8,286	7,829	8,018	8,760
95% confidence interval	+/- 1,290	+/- 1,275	+/- 2046	+/- 430	+/- 519	+/- 1,494
Number of growers	767	731	708	651	645	647

Source: Defra June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture.

3.2 Miscanthus yields/production

Although research has been done on miscanthus yields, as yet no official estimates of achieved yields are available. Yields vary greatly depending on a number of factors such as planting method, species, site conditions, as well as the standard variations of region and annual weather conditions. The first year’s growth is not suitable to harvest; annual harvesting takes place from the second year and can continue for 15-20 years. Some industry experts estimate that current miscanthus yields average between 12-15 oven-dried tonnes (odt) per hectare (equating to 15-18 fresh tonnes per hectare) although other industry bodies suggest a lower figure of 10 odt per hectare.

Table 4 Miscanthus production based on upper and lower yield estimates (‘000 oven dried tonnes)

	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
NNFCC Lower estimate	69	71	74	71	82	83	[x]	[x]	[x]
NNFCC Upper estimate	104	106	110	107	123	124	[x]	[x]	[x]
John Nix Pocketbook Estimate	90	92	96	93	106	108	102	104	114

Source: Yields supplied by the National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) and John Nix Pocketbook.

Notes:

1. Estimates based on areas from the June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture and yields supplied by the National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) and John Nix Pocketbook.
2. [x] indicates where data is unavailable.

The estimated annual volumes of miscanthus produced in England should be treated as indicative estimates because of yield uncertainties and the assumption that the whole of the area planted is productive, which will not be the case for recently planted crops.
Miscanthus production in England in 2023 was 114 thousand oven dried tonnes, based on the John Nix Pocketbook yield.

3.3 Miscanthus usage

Usage data are collated by Ofgem as part of sustainability requirements under the Renewables Obligation. There are other outlets for using miscanthus including horse and livestock bedding, in small scale combined heat and power plants directly on farms for heating buildings and for domestic uses such as wood burners and open fires. Unfortunately, quantitative information on these end uses is not available. See Annex B for more details on the Ofgem Renewables Obligations dataset.

Approximately 43 thousand tonnes of miscanthus were used in UK power stations for electricity in 2022/23, which was 41% of all miscanthus produced in England in the calendar year 2022, based on assumptions of yields. The 2022/23 volume was a 4.0% decrease on the previous year and a 2.0% increase on the five-year average.

Figure 9: Miscanthus usage in UK power stations (‘000 tonnes)

Year	Miscanthus (bales)
2017/18	40
2018/19	49
2019/20	33
2020/21	44
2021/22	45
2022/23	43

Source: Ofgem Renewables dataset

Notes:

1. Tonnages are reported directly by the generating stations so it is not known whether these are fresh weight or oven dried equivalents.

2. Only categories where the proportion of miscanthus was greater than 90% are included. Miscanthus categories are bales, dust, pellets, blends (cereal and/or wood biproduct) and other/unknown. For the years shown in Figure 9, all miscanthus used in UK power stations was baled.

3.4 Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) - willow or poplar areas

Table 5 total area of short rotation coppice grown in England

	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
England total	2,826	2,233	2,032	3,635	3,317	3,800
95% confidence interval	+/- 1,045	+/- 1,019	+/- 227	+/- 492	+/- 429	+/- 2,175
Number of growers	305	271	306	295	275	232

Source: Defra June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture

Currently no data is available regarding UK-wide planting areas of SRC, however from 2008, official area estimates of SRC grown in England are available from the Defra June Survey of Agriculture. A regional breakdown for 2010, 2013, 2016: 2019, 2020: 2023 is available in the report dataset. The regional breakdown for 2020 was not collected. SRC (since 2009) represents less than 0.1% of the total arable area in England. The total area of SRC in 2023 was 3,800 ha, an increase of 15% from 2022.

3.5 Short rotation coppice yields/production

Much research has been done on SRC yields but as yet, no official estimates of achieved yields are available. SRC is harvested every 2-3 years and yields vary greatly according to the number of years since planting, site conditions, type of planting method, crop type (willow or poplar) as well as the standard variations of region, annual weather conditions etc.

Table 6 Short rotation coppice production based on upper and lower yield estimates (‘000 oven dried tonnes)

	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Lower estimate	23	23	24	23	18	16	[x]	[x]	[x]
Upper estimate	43	44	44	42	33	30	[x]	[x]	[x]
John Nix Pocketbook Estimate	23	23	24	23	18	16	29	27	30

Source: Yields supplied by the National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) and John Nix Pocketbook.

Notes:

1. Estimates based on areas from the June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture and yields supplied by the National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) and John Nix Pocketbook.
2. [x] indicates where data is unavailable.

The estimated annual volumes of SRC produced in England should be treated as indicative estimates because of yield uncertainties and the assumption that the whole of the area planted is productive, which will not be the case for recently planted crops. SRC production in England in 2023 was 30 thousand oven dried tonnes, based on the John Nix Pocketbook yield.

3.6 Short rotation coppice usage

An estimate of the volume of UK produced SRC Willow used in power stations is collated by Ofgem, as part of sustainability requirements under the Renewables Obligation. SRC is suited to a range of heat and power generation systems down to domestic level (not captured here).

Figure 10 Short Rotation Coppice usage in UK power stations (‘000 tonnes)

Year	SRC (wood chips)
2017/18	26
2018/19	28
2019/20	7.3
2020/21	2.1
2021/22	1.7
2022/23	0.1

Source: Ofgem Renewables dataset.

Notes:

1. Tonnages are reported directly by the generating stations so it is not known whether these are fresh weight or oven dried equivalents.

2. Only categories where the proportion of SRC was greater than 90% are included. SRC categories are granules, dust, pellets, other/unknown and wood chips. For the years shown in Figure 9, all short rotation coppice used in UK power stations was wood chips.

Approximately 125 tonnes of SRC were used in UK power stations for electricity in 2022/23, which was a 93% decrease on the volume used in the previous year.

3.7 Straw availability and usage

Unlike SRC and miscanthus, straw is not grown specifically as a bioenergy crop, and is instead a by-product of the cereals industry. It is used for animal bedding, as animal feed and, to a small extent, as an energy crop to be burnt for heating and electricity in power stations and combined heat and power units. The Defra June survey records UK cereal areas for wheat, barley and oats on a yearly basis. As straw is a by-product of these cereals, these areas give a good indication of hectares of straw produced.

Figure 11 Areas of selected UK cereals at June each year

From 2014 onwards, Defra’s Cereal and Oilseed Production Survey has collected data on straw yield, production and area for England only. Results for 2023 are shown in Table 7. From 2018 onwards, data has only been collected for production, with questions on yield and area removed from the survey. Historic yield and area data can be found in the dataset.

Table 7 Estimates of cereal and oilseed rape straw production in 2023, England

	Wheat	Barley	Oat	Oilseed rape
Production (‘000 tonnes)	2,864	1,531	167	41
% change from 2022	-12%	-12%	-19%	-32%

Source: Defra Cereal & Oilseed Production Survey

In 2023, straw production decreased across all cereals and oilseed rape, with reductions in both area baled and bedding sales. Most of the winter barley was harvested in good condition during mid-July, with lower proportions baled for wheat, spring barley and oats. Straw yields were similar to 2022, with quality variable depending on the time of harvest and whether it was able to be immediately baled. Winter barley straw was typically good quality, but wet weather delayed the wheat harvest causing straw quality to decline.

Figure 12 End use of cereal and oilseed rape straw England 2023

End usage % of straw production	Home use bedding/feed	Sold/exchanged for feed/bedding	Sold for other purposes	Sold for biomass	Home use for other purposes	Home use biomass	Total
2023	41%	35%	15%	7.9%	1.1%	0.6%	100%

Source: Defra Cereal and Oilseed Production Survey

Notes:

1. End usage includes a small number of holdings with rye straw tonnage.

Since 2014, Defra’s Cereal and Oilseed Production Survey has collected data on the end use of straw. Figure 12 shows the proportion of straw by end use for 2023.

Power station usage of straw

Figure 13 Straw usage in UK power stations (volume in ‘000 tonnes)

Biomass type and form	Cereal straw	Pellets or dust	Total
2017/18	735	1.9	737
2018/19	625	0	625
2019/20	888	0	888
2020/21	741	0	741
2021/22	749	0	749
2022/23	768	0	768

Source: Ofgem Renewables Obligation dataset

Notes:

1. Tonnages are reported directly by the generating stations so it is not known whether these are fresh weight or oven dried equivalents.

Data collated by Ofgem as part of sustainability requirements in the Renewables Obligation indicate that in 2022/23, 768 thousand tonnes of straw were used by power stations (these were all in England). This was a 2.6% increase on 2022/23.

For more details of the Ofgem Annual Sustainability dataset and report see section 5.4 Data sources.

Volumes of biomass used in the UK for energy

Data from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) publication show the volumes of plant biomass used in the UK for energy, with the figures representing the energy content of the fuel used. These figures cover all plant biomass, which includes, but is not restricted to, miscanthus, SRC and straw.

As plant biomass comprises a variety of materials, it is not possible to convert these DUKES values from tonnes of oil equivalent to volumes or raw materials in tonnes. Nevertheless, these data are useful for showing trends in plant biomass usage over time.

Figure 14 Volume of plant biomass used for electricity: 2000 to 2022

Source: Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES)

Notes:

1. Increases in capacity reflect conversions from previous coal-fired capacity to biomass.

In 2022 around 6.7 million tonnes of oil equivalent of plant biomass was used to produce electricity and heat in the UK, an 11% decrease on the 2021 figure. 24% of plant biomass (1.6 million tonnes oil equivalent) was used for generating heat in 2022. In 2022 the volume used to generate heat was the highest in the timeseries (starting in 2009). No biomass has been used in co-firing with fossil fuels since 2020.

4. Anaerobic digestion

Certain types of organic waste and purpose-grown crops can be used to produce bioenergy through the process of anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a natural process in which plant and animal materials are converted into useful products by micro-organisms in the absence of air. The process releases biogas, (mainly a mixture of around 60% methane and 40% carbon dioxide) which can be used directly to provide heat, power or transport fuel. Biogas can also be purified by removal of the carbon dioxide to produce biomethane, which can be fed directly into the public natural gas grid in the same way as natural gas, or used as a vehicle fuel. The types of materials suitable for AD include food waste, slurry and manure, crops and crop residues.

4.1 Energy produced from anaerobic digestion

Data from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) publication show the use of AD in the UK for energy, with the figures representing the energy content of the fuel used. These figures cover both electricity and heat produced from anaerobic digestion of crops and non-water waste feedstocks, in tonnes of oil equivalent (Figure 15). While this dataset does not separate energy contributions from crop and waste feedstocks, it can be used to indicate general trends the in use of anaerobic digestion.

Figure 15 Volume of energy produced from anaerobic digestion in the UK 2015 - 2022 (‘000 tonnes of oil equivalent)

Type	AD for electricity	AD for heat	Total
2015	487	119	606
2016	708	53	761
2017	863	62	925
2018	918	65	982
2019	947	68	1,016
2020	953	68	1,021
2021	816	77	893
2022	844	78	922

Source: Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES)

In 2022, total energy produced from anaerobic digestion was 922 thousand tonnes of oil equivalent, an increase of 3.2% compared to 2021. Energy production from AD grew rapidly between 2009 and 2016 as a result of rapidly expanding capacity for AD in the UK over this time. This was supported in part by schemes such as the Renewables Obligation (RO), which was a major support mechanism for large-scale renewables projects. Following RO closure to new generating capacity in March 2017 growth slowed, peaking in 2020 (1,021 thousand tonnes of oil equivalent).

Electricity produced by AD increased by 3.5% in 2022 (844 thousand tonnes of oil equivalent) compared to 2021. At 78 thousand tonnes of oil equivalent, heat produced by AD makes up approximately 8.4% of the total energy contribution in 2022, similar to the 8.6% proportion seen in 2021.

Much of the significant increase in energy produced from AD over recent years is attributed to several support mechanisms designed to provide financial incentives to bridge the cost gap between conventional and renewable energy sources such as AD. One such example is the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), which provides payments to encourage renewable heat production. Applications to this scheme are recorded in a monthly deployment dataset, along with the amount of energy produced. This data can be used to examine heat-energy produced by AD covered by this scheme in detail, including yearly production and proportions of heat produced from biogas and biomethane injected to the gas grid.

Figure 16 Heat produced from anaerobic digestion gases in the UK under the RHI scheme 2015 - 2023 (GWh)

Gas	Biomethane	Biogas	Total
2015	626	27	653
2016	1,453	134	1,587
2017	2,175	420	2,595
2018	2,324	890	3,213
2019	3,202	973	4,176
2020	3,690	1,254	4,943
2021	3,788	1,216	5,004
2022	4,233	1,041	5,274
2023	4,490	1,022	5,512

Source: RHI Deployment data

Notes:

1. Biomethane is equivalent heat generated by biomethane injected into the gas grid.

In 2023 the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme produced 15,219 GWh, an increase of 2.4% compared to 2022. Biogas sourced production was a total of 1,022 GWh (6.7% of the RHI production, a decrease of 1.8% compared to 2022. Biomethane sourced production was a total of 4,490 GWh (30% of RHI production), an increase of 6.1% compared to 2022.

4.2 Crops as feedstocks for AD

Anaerobic digestion uses both organic waste and crop feedstocks to produce biogas and biomethane. The annual [NNFCC Anaerobic Digestion Deployment in the United Kingdom report] (https://www.nnfcc.co.uk/publications/report-anaerobic-digestion-deployment-in-the-uk) records the annual usage of feedstocks in operational plants and estimates for proposed developments in the UK (figure 4.3). These figures include a breakdown into a number of farm and non-water waste feedstocks in tonnes per annum, including contributions from crops, and also from crop wastes; which includes both crop residues (such as straw) and waste crops (such as vegetable outgrades).

Figure 17 Use of feedstocks in operational AD plants by feedstock tonnage per annum, 2021 to 2023

Year	Manure/slurry	Crops	Food waste	Crop waste	Other waste	Total
2021	16%	28%	32%	4.0%	20%	100%
2022	17%	26%	30%	4.1%	22%	100%
2023	16%	25%	32%	4.2%	23%	100%

Source: NNFCC Anaerobic Digestion Deployment in the UK

In 2023 there were 615 operational plants, with a cumulative installed capacity of 571 MWe. Of these, 408 were farm fed (cumulative installed capacity 244 MWe) with the remainder being waste fed. A further 301 AD projects were under development in this time, with a proposed cumulative installed capacity of 210 MWe. Of these, 212 were farm fed (cumulative installed capacity 111 MWe) with the remainder being waste fed.

Of the feedstocks used in operational plants in 2023, 29% were crop derived (approximately 4.9 million tonnes). The majority of this (4.2 million tonnes, 25% of total feedstocks) was crops purpose grown for AD, while crop waste made up 0.7 million tonnes (4.2% of total). The remaining 71% of feedstocks tonnage was comprised of non-crop wastes. It is estimated that crop feedstocks for operational plants required a cropping area of 93,000 thousand hectares in the UK in 2023.

4.3 Types of crops used as feedstocks

Types of crops suitable for use as feedstocks include maize, grass and oilseeds. Official statistics on the amount and type of crops grown used for AD are currently limited to maize.

Figure 18 Maize area (thousand hectares) by intended usage, England

Year	Fodder maize	Grain maize	Maize for AD	Total
2015	132	7.9	34	173
2016	122	7.6	52	182
2017	118	7.8	57	183
2018	140	9.7	57	206
2019	136	9.1	67	211
2020	136	12	75	223
2021	115	15	80	209
2022	120	15	68	202
2023	132	14	73	218

Source: Defra June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture

Currently, no data is available for the UK-wide area of maize produced for AD, however, the June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture has asked farmers in England to specify the end purpose of their maize since 2014.

In June 2023 the area of maize being grown for AD was 73 thousand hectares. This is an increase of 7.0% compared to 2022 and equates to 30% of the total maize area in 2023 and 1.2% of the total arable area.

5. About these statistics

5.1 Glossary of terms

Definition of biodiesel and bioethanol (Source: Annexes A to J, page 1 of DUKES 2023)

In the UK biodiesel is defined for taxation purposes as diesel quality liquid fuel produced from biomass or waste vegetable and animal oils and fats, the ester content of which is not less than 96.5 per cent by weight and the sulphur content of which does not exceed 0.005 per cent by weight. ^{[footnote 1]} Biodiesel can be blended in low proportions with fossil diesel for use in diesel engines. Diesel fuel currently sold at retail outlets in the UK can contain up to 7 per cent biodiesel.

Bioethanol is a liquid fuel consisting of ethanol produced from biomass. Bioethanol can be blended with petrol at low proportions for use in petrol engines. Petrol currently sold in at retail outlets in the UK can contain up to 5% bioethanol. Since March 2013 a revised petrol standard (EN228) allows retailers to sell petrol containing up to 10% ethanol by volume (E10), if appropriately labelled . ^{[footnote 2]}

5.2 Conversions

• Tonnes of oil equivalent to gigajoules. 1 tonne of oil equivalent = 41.868 gigajoules

Source: DUKES Chapter 1 (Energy) paragraph 1.28

• Calorific values of fuels to convert gigajoules to tonnes are available at Annex A of DUKES

• Megajoules to litres

Bioethanol= 26.8 megajoules per litre,

Biodiesel= 37.2 megajoules per litre.

Source: DUKES A.1-1.3 (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dukes-calorific-values)

• Litres to tonnes

429 litres biodiesel = 1 tonne oilseed rape

101 litres bioethanol = 1 tonne sugar beet

367 litres bioethanol = 1 tonne wheat grain

317 litres of bioethanol = 1 tonne of barley

418 litres of bioethanol = I tonne of maize

Source: Department for Transport and The National Non-Food Crops Centre

5.3 Use of statistics

Annual estimates of crop areas of oilseed rape, sugar beet, wheat, maize, miscanthus, short rotation coppice and straw crops grown in the UK for use as bioenergy are used by government policy advisors, non-food crop promoters and processors.

5.4 Data sources

These statistics, which are from a range of sources, are a secondary analysis of data that have already been published. Although much of the source data are published as National Statistics, there are limitations to these statistics and these are described within each section.

The June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture

The June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture collects information from farmers on the area of crops grown in the UK at the 1st June each year. In general farmers are not asked about their intended end use for the crops. For crops such as oilseed rape, wheat and sugar beet, where there are multiple end uses, reference has been made to other existing data sources on usage in order to try and establish the crop production and area associated with crops grown for bioenergy by applying appropriate conversion factors to the data collected on biofuel production. From 2014 the June Survey asked farmers to indicate the intended end use of their maize to help determine the proportion intended for used as an anaerobic digestion feedstock.

Latest June Survey UK results

Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO)

The Department for Transport (and the Renewable Fuels Agency pre-2011) produce statistics on the volumes of biofuels supplied to the UK road market under the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO). Published reports include information on the volumes of fuel supplied to the UK road market:

• by fuel type (e.g. biodiesel, bioethanol);
• by feedstock (e.g. oilseed rape, used cooking oil, sugar beet);
• by country of origin (e.g. UK); and
• whether it meets sustainability standards and the lifecycle greenhouse gas savings of fuels.

Therefore it is possible to derive information on the volumes of UK grown crops and equivalent crop areas which have been used to supply biofuel to the UK road transport market.

The RTFO data include:

• Biofuels from UK grown and imported crops (these are presented separately in the tables)
• Biofuels supplied to the UK road transport sector
• Data from organisations that supply more than 450,000 litres of road transport fuel in a given year. These obligated companies supply more than 95% of the biofuels in the UK market.
• Data from suppliers of less than 450,000 litres a year where they have chosen to apply for Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates.

The RTFO data exclude:

• UK biofuel or biofuel feedstock production which may subsequently be exported.
• Producers of less than 450,000 litres of road transport fuel per year who do not claim Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates (RTFCs). However it is not expected that there are many small producers excluded from the RTFO statistics.

Renewable Energy Statistics (RESTATS) Questionnaire

From 2010, to estimate the volume of biofuels produced in the UK, an annual renewable energy survey has been carried out by the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ), formerly The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Neither HMRC nor RTFO figures can be used for this purpose since they include both UK produced fuels and imports. The survey is carried out by Ricardo Energy & Environment on behalf of DESNZ. The data include estimates for very small scale production (for personal use), though this makes a very small contribution to the totals.

The reports include UK production of biodiesel and bioethanol, the proportion supplied to the UK road market and the percent of biofuel from UK sources together with information on production capacity.

Further details are available on page 7 of the Liquid Biofuels survey methodology.

Data from the renewable energy survey also feeds into the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES), which is produced by the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero. The digest is a comprehensive source of energy information.

Cereal and Oilseed Rape Production Survey

The Cereal and Oilseed Rape Production Survey gathers data on production tonnages and moisture content for various cereal and oilseed crops. It also verifies data gathered from the June Survey of Agriculture on planted areas for these crops. These data are then used to calculate average yield estimates for each crop type. These were used in calculations of the areas of crops used for biofuel production. From 2014 questions on straw production and usage were asked; however in 2018 only questions on production were included with area and yield excluded. Latest results from the cereal and oilseed rape production survey.

Ofgem Renewable Obligation Annual Report - Biomass Sustainability Dataset

The concept of sustainability was introduced into the Renewables Obligation (RO) in April 2009 and required operators to submit information on the sustainability of their fuels to Ofgem. The report contains profiling information submitted by the operator regarding the sustainability characteristics of their fuel such as: type of biomass, form of biomass, country of origin and whether it conforms to any environmental quality assurance standards. Datasets for each year are available on the Ofgem renewable obligations collection page

RHI Deployment data

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero publish a monthly statistical series regarding deployment of the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme, introduced in November 2011, and the domestic RHI scheme introduced in April 2014. This dataset includes information regarding applications, installations and heat generated under the scheme. The reporting year for 2023 onwards is now March to March (previously was December to December)

NNFCC Anaerobic Digestion Deployment in the United Kingdom

This report is produced annually by the NNFCC and collects data for existing and planned anaerobic digestion facilities across the UK. The report contains information regarding feedstock, estimated cropping area and installed capacity for all anaerobic digestion plants contained in the NNFCC anaerobic digestion deployment database. The data contained in the 10th annual report (May 2022 – May 2023) was used in this publication.

5.5 Revisions

Data for 2021-2023 has been included for the first time in this release. Minor revisions have been made to the historic data to reflect improved data availability and/or data updates since earlier publications.

What you need to know about this release

Contact details

Responsible statistician: Andrew Fletcher
Email: andrew.fletcher@defra.gov.uk
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Public enquiries: 0845 601 3034

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1. Biofuels and other fuel substitutes (Excise Notice 179e) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ↩

2. Motor Fuel Composition and Content Regulations – extension of petrol protection grade requirement IA (publishing.service.gov.uk) ↩