Biomethane – A Renewable Fuel

What is biomethane?
Biomethane is pipeline-quality, high BTU methane derived from biogas and is an entirely renewable and readily available low-carbon alternative fuel that can be produced locally from organic waste. Chemically the same as conventional natural gas, biomethane is produced from the anaerobic digestion of organic matter such as animal manure, sewage, and municipal solid waste. After it is processed to required standards of purity, biomethane becomes a renewable substitute for natural gas and, once compressed or liquefied, can be used to fuel natural gas vehicles.

Who uses biomethane as an alternative fuel?
The U.S. Department of Energy says a 2007 report estimated that 12,000 vehicles are being fueled with biomethane worldwide, with 70,000 biomethane-fueled vehicles predicted by 2010. Europe has most of these vehicles. Germany and Sweden are successfully using biomethane to power public transportation vehicles. In Sweden alone, more than half of the gas used in its 11,500 natural gas vehicles is biomethane. Germany and Austria have established targets of 20% biomethane in natural gas vehicle fuel.

In the United States, biomethane use in vehicles is in its preliminary stages but is steadily gaining momentum and support. In California, biomethane produced from landfill waste creates both CNG and LNG for use as a gasoline or diesel substitute to reduce emissions in an array of vehicles: light-duty vehicles, transit buses, refuse trucks, and off road heavy-duty equipment. Use of biomethane as a vehicle fuel can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 88% as compared to gasoline and is an important domestic resource that can reduce our national dependence on foreign oil.

Clean Energy’s Biomethane Operations
Aware of the potential of biomethane as a renewable, low-emission fuel for fleet vehicles, Clean Energy owns and operates a landfill gas processing facility in Dallas, TX that produces renewable biomethane that is currently delivered into the nation’s gas pipeline network and displaces conventional natural gas. The McCommas Bluff landfill gas operation is one of the largest biomethane landfill gas operations in the United States. The landfill, owned by the City of Dallas, is not scheduled to close until 2042 and it is estimated that biogas will continue to be produced for approximately 30 years after the landfill closes. Of particular interest to Clean Energy’s fleet customers is the landfill gas processing plant’s potential for expansion. Expansion of the plant’s production capacity will support additional gas sales, including the potential use of renewable biomethane as a vehicle fuel. Clean Energy has the ability to transport biomethane from its McCommas Bluff operations or other biomethane production sites to its national network of CNG and LNG fueling stations for use as a vehicle fuel. Clean Energy is actively pursuing additional opportunities to develop biomethane production sites and acquire biomethane for sale as a vehicle fuel to its customers.