For decades, waste companies have generated electricity by collecting and processing landfill gas, turning regulatory requirements into an opportunity to spin a profit. But as North America’s energy policy has shifted, using landfill gas to generate pipeline-quality renewable natural gas has become a lucrative venture.
Today, all of the major public and private waste companies operating in the U.S. and Canada have announced or already completed RNG projects at their landfills. Those facilities join a rapidly growing sector that’s also producing RNG from food waste, dairy farm manure and wastewater treatment.
State and federal policies continue to provide tailwinds for the industry. California, Oregon, Washington and New Mexico have all enacted policies which provide incentives for fuels considered cleaner than those derived from petroleum, including those derived from waste. The EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard has also provided several years of incentives through Renewable Identification Number credits, or RINs.
Waste Dive has been tracking major announcements from businesses operating in this sector through its Biogas Monthly series. Below is a collection of those highlights.
