Washington utility agrees to purchase RNG

Washington state utility Puget Sound Energy will begin purchasing about 531mn cf/yr (15mn m³/yr) of renewable natural gas (RNG) in July.

Puget Sound, the state's largest utility, will be able to use RNG from the agreement to meet requirements of Washington House Bill 1257, via offering its customers a voluntary RNG program. The deal comes as state regulators in the western US and nationwide have pushed or passed legislation favoring renewable sources of energy over traditional fossil fuels, in an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The utility agreed to purchase the RNG in an agreement with the Klickitat Public Utility District. Puget Sound will source the gas from the H.W. Hill Renewable Natural Gas facility in Roosevelt via an interconnect with Williams Northwest pipeline.

The utility will purchase the RNG through June 2040, starting at approximately 531mn cf/yr for the first three years and increasing to 1.5-1.8 Bcf/yr for the remainder of the contract.

The deal means Puget Sound could continue running some natural gas-fired power plants with renewable fuel as opposed to shifting to alternative generation.

By David Haydon