NEWS RELEASE
September 4, 2018
California Legislature Approves Two RNG Coalition Bills
RNG Coalition Bills SB 1440, AB 3187 Pass California State Legislature
Sacramento, CA – On the final day of California's 2018 legislative session, a bill sponsored by the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas (RNG Coalition) that would pave the way for a state renewable natural gas procurement program was approved by the Legislature, passing 29-10 in its reconciliation in the Senate.
As approved, SB 1440 (Hueso) authorizes the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), in consultation with the Air Resources Board, to adopt a biomethane (aka renewable natural gas or RNG) procurement program that would benefit ratepayers, is cost-effective, and advances the state's environmental and energy policies.
“A renewable natural gas procurement program would create market certainty that industry developers need to access investment capital and build new projects in California,” said RNG Coalition CEO Johannes Escudero. “Nearly thirty states have RPS programs in place requiring electric utilities to procure and use increasing proportions of renewable energy. States should set similar renewable natural gas targets for gas utilities, to create new in-state jobs, decarbonize our pipeline systems, reduce emissions and improve air quality.”
The RNG Coalition's other sponsored bill this year, AB 3187 (Grayson), passed the legislature by comfortable margins. The bill requires the CPUC to open a proceeding to consider options to promote the in-state production and distribution of biomethane, including recovery in rates of the costs of interconnection infrastructure investments, by no later than July 1, 2019. It was unanimously approved (38-0) by the Senate on August 27 after passing the Assembly earlier this year.
Both bills will now go to Governor Brown for signature.
About the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas
The RNG Coalition is the trade association representing over 140 companies and organizations dedicated to the advancement of renewable natural gas (RNG or biomethane), including as an ultra-clean, domestically-produced, renewable fuel in North America. The RNG industry captures and converts methane (raw biogas) emitted by and captured from organic waste streams such as those from landfills, wastewater treatment facilities, livestock and agricultural digesters, and commercial food waste facilities, and converts the biogas into RNG. RNG is fully fungible with conventional natural gas, and is used as a direct substitute for most commercial, industrial and residential natural gas applications.
# # #
Media Contact:
Marcus Gillette
Marcus@RNGCoalition.com
916-588-3033, ext. 3