March was a milestone month for the renewable natural gas sector, as New Mexico became the fourth state to enact a clean fuel standard. The bill signing on March 5 came after years of effort from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and is the latest example of a growing trend of states being interested in supporting RNG projects.

A study examining Minnesota’s RNG development potential further underscored the importance of state-level incentive programs. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that RNG from a range of project types could replace about 7.5% of Minnesota’s natural gas use, but: “No projects are financially feasible without state or federal renewable fuel credit programs because direct sale of RNG alone does not cover project costs.”