Renewable Natural Gas
is the term used to describe pipeline-quality biomethane produced from biomass. Common sources of biomass used in the production of RNG are livestock operations, landfills, and wastewater treatment facilities. It is interchangeable with traditional natural gas, carbon neutral, and fully compatible with the U.S. pipeline infrastructure. It can be used in homes and businesses, in manufacturing and heavy industries, for electricity production, and as an alternative fuel for transportation.
Intermountain Gas Company filed a request with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission for authority to allow access by Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) producers to Intermountain’s distribution system for the purpose of moving RNG to the producer’s end use customer. If approved as filed, this application will result in zero cost impact to Intermountain’s existing customers.
The request is a proposal and is subject to public review and approval by the IPUC. A copy of the application is available for review at the commission’s website www.puc.idaho.gov as well as the company’s website www.intgas.com. Written comments regarding the application may be filed with the commission. Customers may also subscribe to the commission’s RSS feed to review periodic updates via email.
The RNG industry
is in its infancy which means the cost of the energy produced is still substantially higher than traditional natural gas. Because of the higher cost, Intermountain is not proposing to purchase any RNG for its customers at this time. As the industry matures and costs decline, however, Intermountain looks forward to future opportunities to incorporate cost-effective RNG into its supply portfolio.