SoCalGas has renewed our program to supply renewable natural gas (RNG) to all 32 of our fueling stations, along with six in the San Diego area, signing three-year contracts with suppliers U.S. Gain and Element Markets as demand continues to grow.
In April 2019, we began replacing traditional compressed natural gas at fueling stations with RNG to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet California’s climate goals. RNG is produced by capturing methane emissions from organic waste materials. Depending on the source of organic waste, RNG can be carbon negative because it captures more greenhouse gases than it emits. Since September 2020, the RNG delivered at the 38 fueling stations is considered carbon negative by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
The results have been remarkable: RNG delivered at the 38 fueling stations helped avoid approximately 275,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions over the last three years – equivalent to eliminating nearly 31 million gallons of gasoline burned, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.
“Our first three years dispensing RNG at our fueling stations have been a dramatic success, both in terms of moving forward toward our climate goals by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but also in demonstrating the growing demand for clean RNG in our region,” said Elsa Valay-Paz, SoCalGas vice president of gas acquisition. “We dispensed 46 percent more RNG the last year than we did during the first two years, and we expect demand to continue to grow.”
The new three-year renewal continues our partnership with U.S. Gain. SoCalGas signed a new contract with Element Markets to provide RNG as a second partner.
“We’re honored to continue working with SoCalGas to build on the success of the last three years, connecting their fleet with RNG in support of their decarbonization journey,” said Bryan Nudelbacher, U.S. Gain’s Director of Business Development. “Successful programs like this can help accelerate RNG adoption across industries, applications and geographies to reduce emissions and make a real impact on climate change.”
“We’re pleased to have been chosen to partner with SoCalGas as they explore and expand the use of low carbon RNG,” said Angela Schwarz, CEO of Element Markets. “As the leading independent marketer of RNG in the U.S. and, with our recent merger with Bluesource, the largest marketer and originator of carbon and environmental credits in North America, we welcome the opportunity to grow in our role a trusted provider of decarbonization solutions that progress sustainability mandates and voluntary goals.”
Last year, we were proud to receive the 2021 NGV Achievement Award in the Utility Leadership for outstanding contributions to the advancement of natural gas as a transportation fuel, in part for our efforts at fueling stations.
RNG is an important tool in our efforts to reach both California’s and the company’s climate goals. In 2019, we established benchmarks including delivering 20 percent renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Last year, we expanded our sustainability goals further, setting our aims on achieving net zero greenhouse emissions in our operations and the energy we delivers by 2045.
And in October, we shared its Clean Fuels Study, a comprehensive technical analysis that examines how to achieve California's carbon neutrality goals through a more integrated, reliable, and affordable energy system with a diverse array of clean fuels that includes RNG and hydrogen.
For more information about renewable natural gas and how it fits into our sustainability efforts, please visit http://www.socalgas.com/aspire2045.
