CGA Report Lays out Roadmap for Renewable Natural Gas

In December, the Canadian Gas Association (CGA) issued a report titled “Renewable Natural Gas Technology Roadmap for Canada.” The report highlights how biomethane production can reduce waste and greenhouse gases while providing a renewable source of natural gas. The report indicates Canada could produce as much as 1,300 billion cubic feet of renewable natural gas, an amount that would supply 50 percent of the country’s 2012 natural gas consumption. Like other reports, this one also includes an assessment of the potential to harness methane from landfills, municipal solid waste and waste water treatment facilities. The report, however, finds that the larger sources of renewable natural gas could come from other sectors such as agriculture where animal waste and bioenergy crops can serve as sources for methane. The largest potential source but also the most challenging sector is forestry, according to the report.

Persons interested in the potential for biogas production in the U.S. may want to look into an effort underway at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In August 2014, we reported that the department had released a Biogas Opportunities Roadmap.