• Changes to business rates in England and Wales mean that operators of anaerobic digestion plants are facing significantly higher payments starting in April of next year
• The move is likely to hit farmers particularly hard as well as the expanding number of gas to grid plants

 Operators of both gas to grid and electrical AD plants are facing higher business rates after the UK government changed the way it calculates the rates assessments which forms the basis of rates bills. Analysis by Handel Rating Consultants – a leading expert specialising in the sector – suggests the increase could be as much as 30% per annum for gas to grid plants and at least 20% for electrical combined heat and power (CHP) plants.

Many of these plants are operated by farmers – already facing steep rises in costs and bruised by inconsistent government policies. Recent data says there are now 650[1] anaerobic digestion sites in the UK, mostly located on farms.  The Government is continuing to support gas to grid plants and has ambitious targets to more than double capacity by 2030.

The tax in question, business rates, is something almost every UK business has to pay with the charge being based on an estimate of the annual rental value of the premises. The tax brings in some £26bn to HM Treasury, with the  Valuation Office Agency (VOA), part of HM Revenue and Customs, being responsible for setting rateable values and local councils for collecting the tax.

The changes to business rates have come about following the Chancellor's announcement last week that the revaluation of business rates will go ahead as planned from April 2023. The new values were published following the Autumn Statement.

The rise in the rates bills of AD operators mirrors the rises faced by most other renewable power generators including onshore wind and solar and will add tens of millions of pounds to the bills and risks harming much needed investment.

Jim Pace is a farmer looking at the prospect of higher bills. At his St Nicholas Court Farms based in Kent, he runs two gas-to-grid AD plants which are fed on maize and rye silage have seen their combined Rateable Value increase from £144,000 in 2017 to £810,000 in 2023.

Jim Pace says, "Such increases hardly paint a picture of a government wanting to encourage investment in renewables. It feels much more that we are being penalised for showing an entrepreneurial spirit. It really is quite depressing and worrying at a time when all of the other inputs needed across the farm are going through the roof to be hit with a 400% increase in property tax."

Farmers and operators have the right to appeal to the Valuation Office Agency if they think their rates assessment is too high. It requires expert advice and careful negotiation but can lead to significantly lower bills.

Chris Handel, managing director of Handel Rating Consultants, comments: "Understanding the operational risk and challenges of operating AD plants is key to challenging the rating valuations now being set.  As a specialist in the renewables field, we understand these operational considerations and have already embarked on challenges to the VOA's approach to their valuations of AD plants. If successful, these challenges will support the case for reductions in the new valuations of these plants from 1 April 2023."

Anyone requiring more information about higher business rates or how to challenge the Valuation Office Agency can obtain it from Handel Rating Consultants directly:

• info@handelrating.com
• 07985 813859

[1] https://www.biogas-info.co.uk/about/faqs/