Dominion seeks to halve methane emissions in natgas infrastructure 10 years
Dominion Energy is pledging to reduce its methane emissions from its natural gas infrastructure by 50 percent by 2030, the Richmond, Va.-based utility said on Feb. 12.
Dominion aims to reduce methane emissions by 50 percent of 2010 levels to an estimated total of about 430,000 metric tons. The company said that amount is equivalent to bringing 2.3 million cars off the road for one year.
The utility said it has already prevented 180,000 metric tons of methane emissions from entering into the Earth’s atmosphere since 2010.
Dominion plans to reduce methane emissions through three channels or methods. The first channel will be to limit or stop gas venting during Dominion’s planned maintenance and inspections of its transmission and distribution pipeline system, which the company says is the largest source of Dominion’s methane emissions.
The company seeks to expand a pilot program to capture methane and recycle it using Zero Emissions Vacuum and Compression (ZEVAC) technology. The technology will be installed across its distribution and transmission pipeline systems. During maintenance work and an inspection, Dominion will be able to capture methane and pump it to another facility, according to Dominion spokesman Aaron Ruby.
“Thanks to advances in technology and innovations in our operating procedures, we can capture methane on a much larger scale than we could have 10 years ago,” Dominion Chief Innovation Officer Mark Webb said in a written statement.
The second channel will be to replace older equipment with newer equipment that will enable Dominion to reduce methane emissions, such as replacing gas-powered pumps with solar-powered pumps at Dominion’s gas producing wells.
The third channel involves expanding the company’s leak detection program. Dominion plans to use infrared cameras throughout its gas production and storage facilities and its transmission and distribution system to spot and repair leaks.
“Dominion had a lot of success over the last 10 years using infrared cameras,” and the company wants to expand its usage across Dominion’s gas infrastructure, Ruby said.
Dominion’s gas assets include more than 100,000 miles of gas transmission, gathering, storage and distribution pipelines. The company operates the United States’ second largest gas storage system, consisting of 1 trillion cubic feet of capacity. Dominion has 3.4 million gas distribution customers in Ohio, the Carolinas, West Virginia, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho.
