Renewable Natural Gas
Discover the newest option in clean energy.
Renewable natural gas allows Washington, Idaho, and Oregon natural gas customers to:
- Continue to enjoy the reliability and comfort of natural gas
- Tap into a local carbon-neutral resource
- Help repurpose existing waste streams
- Subscribe for as little as $5 per month
- Start or stop at any time, with no contract, while supplies last
What is renewable natural gas (RNG)?
RNG is made from organic waste produced by everyday activities. As organic matter, such as food or animal waste, breaks down, it releases methane. Capturing methane that otherwise escapes into the atmosphere, and using it to make renewable energy, makes RNG a carbon neutral energy resource that can be injected into the existing pipeline infrastructure to safely and reliably support the needs of our natural gas customers.
While the RNG market is still emerging, more than 500 renewable natural gas projects are in operation across the United States. The process to capture methane from organic wastes and then purify it to be safely injected into the traditional natural gas pipeline is relatively expensive, and projects are limited. We expect a growth in these opportunities in our region.
Avista’s RNG program supports RNG suppliers, including local and regional farms, landfills, green energy companies and municipalities, to capture the methane associated with these waste streams and purify it to make RNG.
Check out our FAQs to learn more about the program and its many benefits.
Frequently asked questions
Renewable natural gas (RNG) is pipeline-quality biogas, which is produced from decomposing organic waste captured from landfills, agricultural waste and wastewater from treatment facilities. The biogas is captured and cleaned to create carbon neutral Renewable Natural Gas (also called biomethane).
Avista has a long history of offering customers the choices that matter to them and while it is true that natural gas is considered the cleanest fossil fuel; still, many customers prefer to know their energy comes from renewable resources.
Additionally, Avista has set the aspirational natural gas goal of being carbon neutral by 2045, with a near-term goal of 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
This goal demonstrates Avista’s vision of a clean energy future, and our strategy to achieve lower emissions includes investing in new technologies, like this voluntary RNG program.
Initially, the RNG blocks available to subscribers is produced at the H.W. Hill Renewable Natural Gas facility in Roosevelt, Washington through an agreement with Puget Sound Energy.
Beyond this supply, the program is designed to grow with customer demand. Avista will work with entities such as farms, landfills, and municipalities to meet the needs of program subscribers.
Capturing methane created by landfills, agricultural or food waste prevents it from being released into the atmosphere. By capturing methane released from organic waste and re-purposing it as renewable natural gas, RNG programs reduce direct methane emissions and supplant emissions associated with traditional fossil natural gas.
Subscribing to renewable natural gas provides program participants the ability to reduce the carbon emissions associated with their natural gas usage and customers may even become carbon neutral when offsetting 100 percent of their use.
To be carbon neutral refers to achieving net-zero carbon emissions. This can be done by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal or by eliminating emissions from society. It is used in the context of carbon dioxide-releasing processes associated with transportation, energy production, agriculture, and industry.
RNG is a carbon neutral energy resource because it does not contribute any net carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
RNG is billed on your regular monthly bill along with your natural gas and monthly basic meter charge. The RNG is listed as a separate line item and billed in $5.00 increments.
Customers can start, change or cancel their subscription at any time, but purchases may be limited based on actual RNG availability.
Subscribers are effectively reducing their carbon footprint through participation in this program. Avista’s RNG option combines the environmental or green attribute benefit of renewables with the reliability of natural gas to meet the 24/7 needs of our customers one block at a time. Each block represents 1.5 therms of the green environmental attributes associated with Renewable Natural Gas. These attributes are the environmental and social qualities associated with the production of RNG.