CR&R Environmental renewable natural gas pumped into SoCalGas pipelines

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and waste management company CR&R Environmental (CR&R) announced this week that they introduced renewable natural gas produced at CR&R’s anaerobic digestion facility into SoCalGas pipelines.

This is the first renewable natural gas produced in California to be introduced into SoCalGas’ pipeline system, SoCalGas said.

“SoCalGas is committed to delivering cost-effective solutions to our customers that both reduce emissions linked to climate change and keep energy bills affordable,” Sharon Tomkins, SoCalGas vice president of customer solutions and strategy, said. “The relationship with CR&R is a great example of a smart investment by CR&R that delivers immediate and meaningful air quality improvements to communities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state.”

CR&R produced the gas at its anaerobic digestion facility in Perris, California from organic waste collected in Southern California cities. The biogas is upgraded to the same standards and specifications of traditionally-sourced natural gas and then injected into a new 1.4-mile section of SoCalGas pipeline. The gas will fuel about 400 of the company’s waste hauling trucks.

“We need clean fuels to achieve clean air,” Wayne Nastri, executive officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, said. “This local production and distribution of renewable natural gas will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and enhance our ability to reduce emissions from the region’s heavy-duty vehicles.”