February 13, 2024. Newly-released data from the American Biogas Council (ABC) indicates that 2023 was the third year of record growth across the U.S. biogas industry, with nearly 100 new projects coming online last year— representing $1.8 billion in capital investments. ABC expects this growth to continue into 2024, with more than 100 new projects already projected to go into operation this year.
The growth of the U.S. biogas industry goes beyond increased domestic investments and renewable energy production. It also proportionally reduces methane emissions and spurs construction of recycling infrastructure, which will benefit Americans for decades to come.
Biogas systems recycle organic waste, capturing methane that would have been produced without them, and turning it into renewable energy—while reducing the use of fossil fuels for energy and fertilizer. These systems are a value-packed solution to addressing the urgent need in the U.S. to manage millions of tons of food, water and animal waste. At the same time, these systems prevent tons of carbon-related emissions from entering the air, keep nutrients from polluting waterways, create healthier soils with natural, non-fossil fuel-based fertilizers, and produce reliable, baseload or dispatchable, renewable energy.
After processing, biogas is most often used as a renewable substitute for natural gas, for electricity and for heat that varies in carbon reduction from 50% to 700% compared to fossil fuels.
In 2023, 96 new biogas projects became operational in the U.S., pushing the total number of active U.S. biogas projects to 2,251, which represents USD 39 billion in capital investment. The new projects produce 66,000 standard cubic feet per minute (SCFM) of biogas—an electricity equivalent to 4,000 football fields of solar panels, to powering 600,000 homes or to eliminating 600,000 gasoline cars from the road.
“This is an exciting time of growth for a renewable energy sector that is directly responsible for methane emission reductions,” said Patrick Serfass, executive director of ABC. “As the biogas industry expands, so, too, does our capacity to capture methane emissions that would otherwise be emitted from organic waste. We can simultaneously use that captured methane to displace other emissions from fossil fuels that are used for energy and making fertilizer. It’s a win-win that often results in negative carbon emissions.”
“Most other renewables can only get to a carbon intensity of net zero. If a company buys renewable natural gas (RNG) made from biogas with a carbon intensity six times lower than natural gas, it only must replace 1/6 of its gas usage to reduce all of its carbon emissions from that gas,” said Serfass.
More information in www.usgasvehicles.com
