Biomethane ‘not viable’ for heating UK homes

30 September 2025

Biomethane will not be able to replace fossil fuels for heating homes at scale in the UK, according to a new report commissioned by The MCS Foundation.

The study, carried out by energy consultancy Regen, found that even under the most optimistic conditions biomethane could only supply up to 18% of the UK’s current gas demand by 2050. This contrasts with claims from parts of the gas industry that the fuel could heat millions of homes within a few years.

Researchers said the limits stem from the availability of so-called feedstocks such as food waste, sewage and farm manure, which have competing uses and must also meet strict sustainability requirements. Some feedstocks can result in higher emissions than fossil gas, while growing crops for energy use raises concerns about land use.

The report concluded that electrification is the only viable way to decarbonise domestic heating at scale. It urged the government to avoid delaying the shift to electrified heating because of uncertainty about gas’s potential role. Instead, it recommended targeting biomethane towards harder-to-decarbonise sectors such as high-temperature industrial processes and non-road transport, supported by a government framework for prioritising its use.

Garry Felgate, chief executive of The MCS Foundation, says that while biomethane has a part to play in decarbonisation, “not in homes”. He added that to meet climate targets and secure affordable energy, the UK must phase out fossil fuel boilers and plan to decommission the gas grid by 2050.

“Failure to plan for the decommissioning of the gas grid will result in it becoming a stranded asset. 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, says 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.”

Read the report here: https://mcsfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2025-09-30-Making-the-most-of-biomethane.pdf