Written evidence submitted by Melton Renewable Energy UK Ltd (PWC0053)
26 March 2026
Dear Committee members,
I am writing to draw your attention to an emerging risk to the UK’s agriculture and poultry sectors that will have potentially catastrophic knock-on effects for the health of the UK’s rivers and soil. Because of a lack of progress on a transitional support mechanism to replace the Renewable Obligation Certificate scheme (RO) from 2027, Melton Renewable Energy, the UK’s largest poultry litter management company, has informed employees of the impending closure of sites from as early as April 2027.
Melton owns and operates five biomass power generation facilities across the UK. Collectively, these plants process more than 600,000 tonnes of poultry litter each year, providing the UK’s only large-scale, safe and secure disposal route for this waste.
Without a clear and coordinated policy response to the expiration of the RO, Melton’s operations will become uneconomical and will be forced to close. Last week, I informed staff that we expect to begin consultation on plant closures and redundancies from December 2026.
The implications of this are immediate and significant for Melton’s poultry sector partners, which include some of the largest producers in the country, including Pilgrims, Moy Park and 2 Agriculture. Without Melton’s disposal capacity there is likely to be a substantial increase in land-spreading of untreated poultry litter, increased risk to water quality, soil health and nutrient management, increased biosecurity risks and additional costs and operational pressures on poultry producers, with implications for domestic food security.
For more than 25 years, Melton’s facilities have provided a reliable, compliant and nationally significant service to the UK agricultural sector. Their closure would create a waste management crisis that fuel suppliers are telling us cannot be easily addressed through existing regulations or alternative technologies – this is demonstrated in the Wye Valley, where agricultural pollution has been partly responsible for the ecological collapse of the River Wye. Melton does not currently have any facilities in the West of England.
Given the urgency and scale of the issue, I would like to use this letter to encourage the Committee to consider taking immediate evidence from the Defra Secretary of State on the following questions:
- What is the government’s assessment of the impact of potential plant closures on agricultural waste capacity?
- What are Defra’s plans to ensure the safe and sustainable disposal of poultry litter in the absence of Melton’s facilities?
- What steps are being taken across government to coordinate a response to the consequences of closure?
Melton believes that there is a clear case for the Committee to call the Secretary of State to respond to these issues as a priority issue, to ensure that Parliament is fully informed and that Defra is able to demonstrate its assessment and contingency planning.
I would be happy to provide further details or to meet with Committee members to support work on this issue.
Yours sincerely,
Eddie Wilkinson
Chief Executive Officer
Melton Renewable Energy UK Limited
March 2026