Renewable Natural Gas
Hard-Hitting QuestionS & StraightForward Answers
Q: What is the difference between Renewable natural gas (RNG) and other sources of clean energy?
A: RNG uniquely takes a product that is negatively impacting the environment – waste – and creates a clean and reliable energy resource that is fully compatible with our current infrastructure and appliances – serving a productive role in the clean energy transition.
Society will always produce waste, which naturally emits surface-level methane as it decomposes. We can and should capture methane from our waste streams and prevent that methane from entering the atmosphere.
RNG is one essential piece of the puzzle. It is crucial to maintain a diverse portfolio of solutions that work together to combat climate change. RNG is a complement to other renewable energy sources because it is storable, dispatchable and can be combined with other fuel, heat, and power generation resources providing reliable energy in a more sustainable and circular economy.
Q: What problem is RNG solving?
A: As the global population grows, the World Bank projects solid waste to increase nearly 70% by 2050. RNG is an immediately available and ‘no-regrets’ solution to help improve society’s response to waste and the emissions created from it. We must reduce, reuse, and recycle. However, we also need solutions for inedible food waste, manure, municipal solid waste, and wastewater. Because RNG captures emissions from society’s waste streams and redeems its energy value, it has the lowest lifecycle carbon intensity (CI) of any clean energy source available today. RNG helps decarbonize energy and combats climate change.
Q: Isn’t RNG just a costly exercise that only delays the need to complete full electrification?
A: Full electrification will take time and intense investment; meanwhile, the infrastructure for RNG exists today. To effectively address our complex environmental challenges, we need a diverse portfolio of solutions that can work together. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), RNG plays an essential, long-term, clean energy role because it can be used to produce renewable electricity, heat, fuel, and hydrogen.
Q: Shouldn’t we discontinue all gas use, including RNG, because of the potential for pipeline leaks?
A: RNG captures the naturally occurring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from society’s many waste streams, keeping methane out of the atmosphere, and recycling its energy value for electricity, heating, and fuel. Left un-captured, this gas leaks into the atmosphere at 100%.
Even if we only deliver 99.9% of this fugitive biogenic methane for productive use, we still need to capture and deliver everything we can. The very good is not the enemy of the perfect.
The best use for RNG is an active discussion that will likely evolve over time. Today, RNG is mostly used to displace higher-carbon and less-clean transportation fuels.
We are constantly striving to capture and destroy every fugitive GHG molecule. This capture and energy creation improves environmental conditions, human health and odor control.
Q: What is the percentage of methane leakage through the RNG process?
A: Ultimately, we believe that any leakage is too much. RNG Coalition is actively studying this question and is committed to continually improving technology and infrastructure to remove any-and-all leaks. Furthermore, under current regulatory conditions, RNG projects lose money as a result of leakages - providing a financial incentive, in addition to the environmental incentive, to detect and eliminate leaks.
Remember that 100% of this methane comes from society’s waste and would have otherwise escaped into the atmosphere were it not being captured.
Q: Studies show that RNG, at full utilization, would only replace a small percentage of the power that we currently use throughout the country. Additionally, SOME argue that there isn’t even enough viable waste to source the RNG necessary to effectively replace fossil fuels. Is this the case?
A: It is true that there is far more demand for RNG than there is RNG supply available today. Looking to the future, even once we succeed in capturing all gas produced by society’s waste, RNG will likely not produce enough energy to be a single solution to provide the world’s energy. RNG is a critical part of our energy future, but we need a diverse portfolio of solutions to make the transition to clean energy affordable, attainable, and immediately actionable. Through the combined use of complementary-technologies and solutions, we can work together towards a clean energy future.
Q: How do you address the concern that the negative impacts of RNG are concentrated in vulnerable communities?
A: RNG is derived from gases emitting from existing waste streams that are inevitably produced by all communities. Mismanagement of waste harms vulnerable communities. RNG helps to reduce the impacts waste streams can have on the environment, while powering and fueling a green energy future for all of us.
RNG Coalition does not support the creation of more waste to fuel the growth of RNG, but rather recognizes that natural and organic waste streams will always exist and need to be managed. Why not convert society’s inevitable waste streams into an affordable and reliable clean energy source while capturing methane that would otherwise escape into the atmosphere? RNG improves current conditions and is an important step to help abate, mitigate and ultimately eliminate any negative, local impacts of waste.
Q: Will switching to RNG impact food costs?
A: Yes, RNG has the potential to reduce food costs. RNG, and byproducts like fertilizer and soil amendments, create new revenue streams for farmers, helping them to keep food prices lower. By powering farms and fueling the vehicles that deliver our food, RNG provides savings throughout the food production and delivery system.
Q: If RNG is a “drop-in” fuel, why aren’t my gas and electric utilities doing more with RNG?
A: In recent years, utilities across North America have embraced and even championed RNG for the reliable, clean energy it provides as they work to reduce their carbon emissions and deliver renewable energy to their customers. In fact, utilities have been on the forefront of embracing a diverse range of green technologies to continue to serve their customers while increasing their use of clean energy sources. Many utilities already offer RNG as an option. For those that do not, RNG Coalition is actively working with state, provincial and federal regulators to gain approval for RNG delivery to your home and business.
Q: Isn’t RNG more costly than other clean energy sources? How can RNG become more competitive in pricing/access?
A: RNG is best understood as two products – the energy commodity and environmental attributes.
When delivered to customers, RNG is often sold at or below conventional gas prices because the environmental attributes are sold separately to parties with regulatory obligation or sustainability commitments to retire such attributes. For companies, universities or governments committed to decarbonization, RNG is cost competitive with other popular strategies for reducing the carbon footprint of energy consumption.
Ultimately, however, the cost of RNG isn’t strictly measured in dollars and cents. What is the price of reducing waste, realizing cleaner air to breathe and a healthier environment?
If done well and sold on a large scale, RNG is an affordable source of clean energy for consumers. RNG will cost less than gasoline at the pump and much less than rebuilding infrastructure for electrification, given the technology and infrastructure currently available.
Q: What is the economic impact of RNG?
A: With how quickly the industry has grown in the past five years alone, we continue to observe and analyze the economic benefits of RNG. We know that RNG projects provide good paying jobs, and additional revenue streams for municipalities, farmers and communities that want to be responsible stewards of the environment.
Q: How costly is it for farmers/cities to set up an RNG facility?
A: The answer depends on the size of the facility and how much waste management infrastructure is already in place. The average RNG cleaning and conditioning facility costs $17 million to construct, with actual facility construction ranging from under $1 million to over $100 Million. Many of these facilities are financed with private equity, while others capitalize on loan programs, such as the USDA Business & Industry Loan Program. Regardless of the cost, RNG facilities have a proven track record of returning quick and predictable returns on investment.
Q: Doesn’t RNG require significant infrastructure upgrades just to connect RNG to the larger utility system?
A: RNG production facilities don’t require a new gas pipeline network – they simply need access to connect to already existing infrastructure. Once connected, RNG helps to decarbonize our energy transmission systems.
Q: How do I get RNG at my home or business? Do I need to switch equipment?
A: We recommend contacting your energy provider to find out if they currently offer RNG as an option. Because of its compatibility with the current gas and electric systems already in place today, RNG is a true “drop-in” fuel that requires no upgrades or adjustments to existing appliances.
Q: What is your stance on natural gas, and in particular, fracking?
A: Unlike natural gas, RNG is not a fossil fuel.
Natural gas is widespread through many facets of our economy and has been used for a long time. RNG provides an alternative to conventional natural gas produced by hydraulic fracturing (fracking).
Currently both natural gas and RNG are cost effective for consumers, and the vast existing natural gas infrastructure is compatible with RNG, allowing RNG facilities to quickly decarbonize our energy infrastructure and provide clean energy on a regional or even national scale.
Q: How do you address the accusations of “greenwashing”?
A: RNG has been a clean source of energy for decades but is growing in importance and popularity today because the urgent need to combat climate change and deal with the emissions of society’s growing waste streams. RNG is not a marketing pitch, but rather is a tangible and immediately available solution predicated on improving waste management and reducing methane emissions. It is regulated and promoted as clean, green energy by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and similarly situated state entities, as well as throughout Canada, Europe, and the rest of the world.
Governments and companies are embracing RNG because it provides a real, sustainable path to decarbonization. Because the emissions from waste are not optional – but rather a naturally occurring source of GHG that we must address – RNG is an essential part of the energy future. RNG Coalition believes the circular economy is essential and that we need everyone working toward meaningful solutions, including companies whose core businesses have historically focused on traditional energy sources.