Cadent, the UK’s largest gas distribution network, has confirmed that the total volume of biomethane injected into its pipelines since 2013 has now exceeded 1.5 billion cubic metres.

A press release issued by the company reports that in energy terms, the volume delivered to date is equivalent to heating around 1.5 million homes for a year and represents an estimated 3 million tonnes of CO₂ avoided compared with the use of natural gas – equivalent to taking 750,000 cars off the road for a year.

Biomethane is derived from continually replenished organic materials, including agricultural residues, sewage, and food waste. It is increasingly seen as one of the practical, near‑term options available to support the UK’s wider transition away from fossil-based energy sources.

Cadent’s networks have an installed capacity of around 4TWh of biomethane – this is the annual gas usage of 351,000 homes – and has set a target to scale this to 20TWh by 2035 (which equates to the approximate annual gas usage of 1.8 million homes).

With over 80,000 miles of pipeline supplying most homes, businesses, public services, and energy‑intensive industries, Cadent says its network is uniquely placed to help biomethane scale rapidly and support the UK’s net zero ambitions.

The milestone is revealed as a deadline nears for prospective biomethane developers to apply for an opportunity to share the reinforcement cost associated with connecting their plant to the gas network.

Under previous arrangements, the first project in an area requiring network entry reinforcement would have faced bearing the full cost of upgrading local infrastructure, a barrier to entry often highlighted by developers. Cadent’s updated process assesses planned projects in ‘clusters’ (groups) and considers reinforcement needs on a shared basis.

Howard Forster, Chief Operating Officer at Cadent, said: “Biomethane is one of the fastest, most cost‑effective ways to decarbonise heat today. But the industry has been held back by outdated charging rules that placed the entire reinforcement burden on individual developers.

“This new process – the first‑of‑its‑kind in our industry – moves away from the ‘first‑connector pays’ principle. It creates a fairer, more customer‑centric path for biomethane projects to connect. By clustering applications and sharing reinforcement costs, we’re helping unlock the next wave of biomethane growth across our networks.”