New way to expand uses for landfill gas
Renewable Natural Gas Credits encourage investment in alternative fuel source
A Philadelphia energy co-op believes landfills can be used to reduce the practice of fracking.
A Philadelphia energy co-op believes landfills like Lanchester in northern Chester County can be used to reduce the practice of fracking, the controversial natural gas extraction process.
The Energy Co-op in late January announced the launch of
“This new RNG product has the potential to change how natural gas is produced in the region.”
— Eric Kravitz, director of business development, The Energy Co-op
a new Renewable Natural Gas, or RNG, product that it says “provides consumers in Eastern Pennsylvania with a firstof-its-kind, renewable alternative to pipeline natural gas derived from fracking.”
The newproduct provides Renewable Natural Gas Credits, or RNGCs, which give landfill operators incentives to distribute landfill gas to local businesses.
“This new RNG product has the potential to change how natural gas is produced in the region,” said Eric Kravitz, director of business development at The Energy Co-op. “When you purchase the RNG product, you’re taking a stand against fracking, supporting the development of renewable natural gas and helping to achieve a cleaner, healthier future for Pennsylvania.”
Based in Center City, the Energy Co-Op says it has 6,000 members and “is leading the charge for mainstream RNG options in Eastern Pennsylvania.”
The organization said the credits are conceptually similar to Renewable Energy Certificates, which form the basis of mainstream renewable electricity products. The co-op said it intends to use them to help develop renewable natural gas sources beyond Pennsylvania.
According to the co-op, pipeline natural gas and landfill gas are both comprised mostly of methane, and can be used for cooking, heating, and as a vehicle fuel. The key distinction between the two is the source of the methane and how it is extracted.
Pipeline natural gas is a fossil fuel found in underground geological formations, which is extracted via methods such as fracking. RNG is a biogas that is a natural byproduct of landfills and is produced from the decomposition of organic matter found in landfills. As landfills are constantly replenished with organic waste, RNG is a renewable and environmentally beneficial alternative to pipeline natural gas, the co-op said.
RNG customers will continue to receive pipeline natural gas from PECO; however, The Energy Coop will purchase RNGCs generated from Pennsylvania landfills to offset the customer’s pipeline natural gas usage.
By assigning a monetary value to the environmental benefits of using landfill, the program incentives landfill operators to distribute landfill gas to local businesses as a sustainable alternative to fracked natural gas, Kravitz and Clay Bedwell of The Energy Coop said Tuesday.
“This is new product that provides an alternative” for natural gas users who are concerned about the environmental impact of fracking, Kravitz explained.
Kravitz and Bedwell said the program has started at the Lanchester Landfill, which straddles the Chester County-Lancaster County line. There, it is working with Granger Energy Co., which is based in Michigan and has an office in Honey Brook.
Bob Watts, executive director of the Chester County Solid Waste Authority, said the landfill has been producing gas for area businesses to use for about a dozen years. It currently has seven customers using the gas through Granger. The landfill plans to expand the gas it produces this year by about 10 percent.
As a matter of reference, Watts said the amount of gas produced at Lanchester Landfill could provide electricity for 10,000 homes.