Awareness of biogas increases its social acceptance

Biogas has the potential to be one of the cheapest technologies for decarbonising Australia's gas networks. However, despite biogas being a mature technology in some countries, its production in Australia is limited to only a few hundred plants. If biogas production is to grow to play a role in Australia's future energy system, understanding Australian public perceptions regarding biogas can help to inform the development of suitable policy measures. Through an Australian national survey, we found that lower levels of awareness of biogas were linked to lower social acceptance. After providing some simple information (a definition, a diagram and/or one of three simple messages), we were able to show a change in support for biogas in Australia. The results showed how information provision increased support for biogas from between 5% and 10% compared to the baseline and highlighted the importance of awareness in fostering support for biogas as an Australian decarbonisation mechanism.