• New report shows that although biomethane supply is expected to increase, its widescale use as a green fuel for home heating is not achievable 

• Even under most optimistic scenarios, biomethane could provide less than 18% of UK’s current gas demand 

• Priority should instead be given to hard-to-decarbonise applications, with strict sustainability standards enforced 

• Electrification remains the only way to decarbonise home heating at the required pace and scale  

30 September 2025 (London): Biomethane is not a viable option for replacing fossil fuels to heat UK homes at scale, a new report commissioned by The MCS Foundation has found.  

While gas companies have claimed that biomethane can heat “millions” of homes within a few years, energy experts Regen found that, even under the most optimistic scenarios, biomethane could provide no more than 18% of the UK’s current gas demand by 2050.  

Their analysis found that biomethane supply will be limited by the availability of ‘feedstocks’ including food waste, sewage and farm manure, competing uses for these, and whether they can meet strict sustainability rules, since some can create higher carbon emissions than fossil gas and crops grown for energy raise concerns about land use. 

The MCS Foundation, which commissioned the report, says that electrification, not attempts to decarbonise the gas grid via biomethane, is the only viable way to decarbonise home heating at scale.  

The report calls on the Government not to allow confusion about gas’s potential role in a future energy system to delay the shift to electrified heating. Instead, focus should be placed on targeting biomethane use at hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as high-temperature industrial processes and non-road transport. This would require the Government to develop a framework for prioritising the most effective and efficient uses of biomethane.  

Garry Felgate, chief executive of The MCS Foundation, said: “Biomethane has an important role to play in decarbonisation – but not in homes. If we are to meet our climate targets and ensure that every household has access to secure, affordable energy, there is simply no viable way that we can continue to heat homes using the gas grid, whether that is using fossil gas, hydrogen, or biomethane.” 

With no viable future for gas in home heating, The MCS Foundation is calling for the Government to develop a plan to decommission the gas grid by 2050, alongside a clear time-bound commitment to phase out fossil fuel boilers.  

“Failure to plan for the decommissioning of the gas grid will result in it becoming a stranded asset,” Garry Felgate continued. “Consumers and industry need certainty: biomethane will not replace fossil fuel gas in homes, electric heating such as heat pumps is the only viable way to decarbonise homes, and the gas grid will need to be decommissioned.” 

Tamsyn Lonsdale-Smith, an energy analyst at Regen who authored the report, said that biomethane would likely play an important role in our future energy system, but not for consumer use. 

“Credible biomethane supply estimates are way below what is needed to meet current levels of gas demand; even under the most optimistic scenario, the UK would have to cut its demand by over 80% for biomethane to replace fossil gas.” 

“Biomethane can be a green gas with minimal environmental and land use impacts – but only if produced from the right sources, in the right way and at an appropriate scale,” she said. 

“The Government is right to be focusing on scaling up biomethane production, but as sustainable supplies are likely to be limited, it is critical that its use is prioritised for only the highest value uses where carbon reductions are greatest.” 

– ends – 

Notes to editors 

• Read the report here: https://mcsfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2025-09-30-Making-the-most-of-biomethane.pdf  
• Regen’s review of recent industry biomethane supply projections revealed a wide range of estimates from 13 TWh to 120 TWh, highlighting the degree of uncertainty around future biomethane supply and the number of factors affecting production volumes. These studies included 1) The Green Gas Taskforce, 2025. Unlocking the Future of Biomethane. 2) ADBA, 2024. The Role of Green Gas in Net Zero 3) FES, 2025. Holistic Transition Scenario 4) DESNZ, 2023. Biomass Strategy 5) CCC, 2025. Seventh Carbon Budget. 
• The high biomethane supply estimate of 120 TWh would represent less than 18% of the UK’s current methane consumption (demand for fossil methane in the UK was 681 TWh in 2024, according to DUKES 2024). Even a high-end projection would imply that there will not be enough biomethane for it to be used as a ubiquitous fuel in heating, industry and power generation like fossil gas is today. 
• The report warns that recent policies to encourage greater biomethane production have had mixed results, with biogas volumes fluctuating and windfalls for producers during periods of high gas prices. The Green Gas Support Scheme requires biomethane to have a production carbon intensity lower than 86.4 kgCO2e/MWh, but research shows that some biomethane production does not meet this standard and can even have higher life-cycle emissions than fossil fuel gas. The report calls for any future Government support scheme for biomethane is only available to projects that meet strong sustainability criteria and low lifecycle emissions. 
• The report also calls on the Government to establish consistent carbon pricing across fuels and sectors to create a natural market for biomethane based on its value as a low carbon fuel, helping to guide its use into the sectors with greatest carbon reduction and value.