70 days left to save Biomass Connect

The Biomass Connect project concludes on 31^st March 2026. That’s less than 70 days or just under 10 weeks.

At the time of writing there is no funding secured to keep this valuable project going.

In this blog I want to draw attention to the world class resource that is the network of eight Biomass Connect Demonstrator hub sites across the UK.

• Five in England
• Two in Scotland and
• One each in Wales and Northern Ireland.

The layout of the Biomass Connect demonstrator hub site at NIAB Headley Hall near Leeds.

These were all planted in 2023 and have 11 different types of biomass crops. That’s a unique first – nowhere else in the world can you see these crops side by side. Over 250,000 plants have been established. So far, lots of important data has been acquired from these sites but the information produced is literally the tip of the iceberg. These Biomass Connect demonstrator hub sites should be around for the next generation:

• Helping farmers make the right choices for their land, climate, soils and markets
• Providing a rich resource to underpin scientific exploration that goes well beyond bioenergy
• Enabling consultants, like me to help transfer the knowledge.

The amount of funding required is not vast. We are talking a few £million to keep this tremendous resource going. That’s peanuts in the grand scheme of things.

Let’s be clear, this is not a botched insulation scheme that has cost UK tax payers £billions or a scandalous PPE contract that has rewarded a few unscrupulous individuals whilst robbing the public purse.

Keeping the Biomass Connect sites going is an absolutely imperative public investment that is needed for us as a nation to lead in the fight against climate change.

If funding is not secured, the resource and all the crucial information to help our Net Zero future will be lost.

What might happen come April 1st?

• At best some sites might remain but a Biomass Disconnect would mean a consistent management approach across sites will be lost.
• More likely is that some might stay in the ground for a few years but without funding, essential activities such as weed control and mowing won’t happen. That also erodes the potential value of the information outputs. These sites were planted to showcase productivity, not as an exercise in rewilding! Also, without funding essential data collection and analysis is impossible. Moreover, if one or a couple of sites remain, how can we be sure if a result is true or a site-specific anomaly?
• The worse-case scenario is that these sites are deemed to not pay their way by the host organisation and are removed. That would be a catastrophe.

We’ve done the hard work – getting the platform established. What an amazing job in such a short time frame. A significant chunk of the £5 million project budget was spent on getting these plots established and maintained. That needs to be seen as an investment – like paying off a mortgage. From this point we should be reaping the benefits, not ripping them out.

Failing to follow up now would be awful, wasteful and humiliating. Here are a few sporting analogies for you:

It would be like

• Scoring an own goal in the World Cup Final
• Missing a one foot putt to win the Open
• Fumbling the ball on the one yard line in the Super Bowl
• Missing a black ball on its spot to score a 147.

You get the message.

Over the course of the project I have kept an unofficial video diary when I visited the different Biomass Connect Demonstrator Hubs. As the days tick down to March 31^st I am going to release a couple of these video shorts each day. I hope it will become clear just what a truly amazing, world class resource these sites provide.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that sense prevails. I really hope that the sun is not going to set on Biomass Connect.