PIXLEY, Calif., Jan. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Calgren Dairy
Fuels and Southern California Gas
Co. (SoCalGas) today announced that four additional
Central Valley dairies have started sending methane produced from
cow manure to Calgren's biogas operation in Pixley, where it is processed into
high-quality, renewable natural gas (RNG) and injected into
SoCalGas' system. The Calgren facility now collects methane— a
potent greenhouse gas that would otherwise escape to the atmosphere
and contribute to climate change—from more than 66,000 cows at 10
area dairy farms. The additional dairies are projected to
nearly double the amount of RNG produced at the facility, further
reducing greenhouse gas emissions and displacing more traditional
natural gas. Calgren partnered with Maas Energy Works to
develop these four new dairy digesters as well as the previous six
dairy digesters that have been operating since 2018.
"Over the last five years, renewable natural gas use in the
transportation sector has grown by almost 600 percent," said
Sharon Tomkins, SoCalGas vice
president and chief environmental officer. "We're looking to build
on that success by delivering more renewable energy options to our
customers, including renewable natural gas produced at farms,
hydrogen made from surplus solar energy, and advanced fuel cell
systems that can provide energy in extreme weather events. Each of
these technologies will be essential to promoting the long-term
reliability of our energy systems and to meeting California's ambitious climate goals
affordably."
"Calgren is leading efforts in California on this front, working with both
dairies and SoCalGas to mitigate emissions," said Lyle Schlyer, president of Calgren Renewable
Fuels. "This facility alone will eventually capture methane
produced from the manure of more than 75,000 cows, preventing about
130,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the
atmosphere each year, the equivalent of taking more than 25,000
passenger cars off the road annually."
Renewable natural gas can rapidly cut greenhouse gas emissions
(GHGs) because it takes more climate pollution out of the air than
it emits as an energy source. The RNG produced at Calgren's
facility today is used as a carbon-negative fuel for heavy-duty
vehicles like transit buses and long-haul trucks. RNG can also be
delivered to customers to generate clean electricity and heat homes
and businesses. Last year, SoCalGas committed to delivering 20
percent of the natural gas it buys for homes and businesses from
renewable sources by 2030.
More than 80 percent of all methane emissions in California come from organic sources like
wastewater treatment plants, landfills, food and green waste and
farms. In California, a 2016
law requires a 40 percent reduction of methane emissions
from waste sources such as landfills and dairies, with
provisions to deliver that energy to customers.
The law is expected to bolster the supply of RNG that is already
growing rapidly as cities and towns across the country look to
divert organic waste from landfills. Scientists at
the University of California, Davis estimate
that the state's existing waste could produce enough RNG to
meet the needs of 2.3 million homes. Nationally, a
just-released study by ICF estimates that 4,450 Trillion Btus
of renewable natural gas will be available by 2040, about 90% of
the nation's current residential natural gas consumption.
RNG is already helping eliminate emissions from trucks and
buses. Over the last five years, RNG use as a transportation fuel
has increased 577 percent, helping displace over seven million tons
of carbon dioxide equivalent (how GHG emissions are measured).
That's equal to the emissions from more than a million homes'
electricity use for one year.
Research shows that replacing about 20 percent
of California's traditional natural gas supply with RNG
would lower emissions equal to retrofitting every building in the
state to run on electric only energy and at a fraction of the cost.
Using RNG in buildings can be two to three times less
expensive than any all-electric strategy and does not require
families or businesses to purchase new appliances or take on costly
construction projects.
In recent years, energy providers across the country and around
the world are capturing methane emissions—from farms, wastewater
treatment plants, and landfills—to create renewable energy that
displaces traditional natural gas. For example:
- Dominion Energy and Vanguard Renewables recently announced a
$200 million partnership that
includes RNG projects in five states, with additional projects
planned nationwide.
- CR&R, a waste management company in Southern California is using green waste
diverted from landfills to make RNG being injected into SoCalGas'
pipelines.
- UPS last year agreed to purchase 170 million gallon equivalents
of RNG through 2026, the largest commitment for use of RNG thus far
by any U.S. company.
- French utility Engie plans to switch all of its gas operations
to biogas and renewable hydrogen by 2050.
SoCalGas is also working to build on RNG's success in the
transportation sector here by making it available to fuel the homes
of the company's 21 million customers across Southern
California. Earlier this year, SoCalGas' committed to replace
20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable
natural gas (RNG) by 2030 – as part of a broad, inclusive and
integrated plan to help achieve California's ambitious climate
goals.
To kickstart the plan, SoCalGas is pursuing regulatory authority
to implement a broad renewable natural gas procurement program with
a goal of replacing five percent of its natural gas supply with RNG
by 2022. SoCalGas also recently filed a request with the CPUC to
allow customers to purchase renewable natural gas for their
homes.
For more information on SoCalGas vision for California's clean energy future, visit
www.socalgas.com/vision
About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is
the largest natural gas distribution utility in the
United States. SoCalGas delivers
affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable natural gas
service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square
miles of Central and Southern California, where more than
90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water,
cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Natural gas delivered
through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing
electricity to Californians— about 45 percent of electric
power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power
plants.
SoCalGas' vision is to be the cleanest natural gas utility in
North America, delivering
affordable and increasingly renewable energy to its customers. In
support of that vision, SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20
percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable
natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from
waste created by dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment
plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its natural gas
system infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for our
customers. From 2014 through 2018, the company invested
nearly $6.5 billion to upgrade and modernize its natural
gas system to enhance safety and reliability. SoCalGas is a
subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy
services holding company based in San Diego. For more
information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with
SoCalGas
on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas)
and Facebook.
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SOURCE Southern California Gas Company