Mr. Percy Foster:

Public engagement at the very start is key to all development infrastructure. I know that when one of our members was developing a facility, the member had widespread public engagement at the start to explain what it was proposed to do and to allay any fears locals had. I remember him speaking at a local community event with farmers looking to develop a biogas plant. I was there to explain the science and the basics around AD. Many people had a misconception about AD being an incinerator or otherwise and of there being many negative impacts. They were not educated enough.

Overall, the public can understand a wind turbine. It is wind. Blades turn around. Biogas is a bit more complicated to understand. There is a lack of knowledge about what biogas is. There are other factors, such as feedstock security supply and making sure there are clean feedstocks available. The industry needs to be developed sustainably. Let us start off with a cohort of plants and learn from that, but also have a review mechanism in place, to look at that and develop it going forward.