FortisBC First to Purchase Renewable Natural Gas Made from Wood Waste
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FortisBC announced a project which will produce Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) from wood waste. In a partnership with REN Energy, FortisBC will purchase Renewable Natural Gas from their facility in Fruitvale, British Columbia. This venture takes advantage of BC’s expansive forestry sector.
Even during this difficult time amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we are continuing our efforts to be accountable to all British Columbians as we seek innovative new energy solutions that advance a more environmentally and economically sustainable future.
“We are extremely pleased with our FortisBC agreement spanning 20 years, to provide RNG to our fellow BC customers,” said Philip Viggiani, president of REN Energy. “REN Energy plans to be a major factor in assisting with the FortisBC mandate of creating carbon-neutral RNG. The REN team has been working for the past several years to create the REN Solution that creates RNG from wood waste. The plant, the first of its kind in North America, will create an immediate annual economic impact in the Kootenay region, as well our future waste-to-energy project regions will carry similar economic impacts in regard to the creation of hundreds of direct and indirect jobs, significant in-community investments and, of course, the clean energy product we create.”
Advancing carbon-neutral energies such as RNG is a crucial element of FortisBC’s 30BY30 target – the organization’s goal to reduce customers’ greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030. FortisBC is also working towards having 15 percent of its natural gas supply be renewable by 2030, which is in line with commitments outlined in the Province’s CleanBC promise.
The project received regulatory approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission last month and is expected to be in service in the summer of 2021. It is anticipated to produce more than million gigajoules of RNG annually, which would make it the largest source of RNG in the province to date.
For more information, visit: fortisbc.com/30BY30.
