RNG production grows by 85 percent since 2015
New data collected by the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas shows that the North American renewable natural gas industry is on pace to reach the coalition’s goal for RNG production facilities way ahead of schedule.
In 2015, when there were 51 RNG production facilities in North America, the coalition set a goal to double that number by 2025. A new map and database released in April indicates 23 RNG production facilities currently under construction and another 25 RNG facilities in stages of pre-construction development—putting the continent on pace to meet the goal in half the time.
Overall, the refreshed database cites at least 76 operational RNG facilities in the United States and Canada, representing 85 percent growth from the 41 projects that were built between 1982 and 2014.
“This is really a testimony to how advocacy and education influence and shape public policy, which creates a market, which drives demand, and, ultimately, the industry thrives,” RNG Coalition CEO and Executive Director Johannes Escudero told American Gas.
Each project is worth $10 million to $70 million and creates 173 jobs, he noted.
“When you’re talking about redeeming refuse for productive end use, RNG is the epitome of sustainability,” Escudero said.
As organic materials decompose naturally in large stationary feedstocks such as landfills, wastewater treatment facilities and agricultural operations across North America, the methane gas that’s emitted is captured and cleaned to meet natural gas pipeline quality specifications. From there, it is delivered to customers for combined heat and power in homes, renewable electricity and ultra-low-carbon transportation fuel.
In 2011, 100 percent of all RNG was being used for renewable electricity; in 2018, almost 80 percent of RNG is used for ultra-low-carbon transportation fuel for CNG and LNG vehicles, Escudero said, noting that “policy drove that transformation.”
The coalition continues to advocate for increasing development, deployment and utilization of RNG to ensure future generations will have access to this domestic, renewable, clean fuel and energy supply.
“Increased RNG development, deployment and use leads to greater adoption of the renewables we use to drive, heat and power our homes and businesses, while ensuring the reliability of our electric grid and decarbonizing our gas distribution systems,” Escudero said.