Farmers call it the smell of money..Now FortisBC is too, after it announced plans to team up with dairy farmers in BC’s Lower Mainland to convert the waste products from the back end of a cow into clean-burning ‘renewable’ natural gas or RNG..The company announced it's teaming up with Dicklands Farms in Chilliwack to construct a biogas upgrading plant capable of producing enough RNG from the farm’s dairy cows to power and heat 2,000 homes..In a news release the company described it as a reliable long-term supply that displaces an equal volume of conventional fossil-based natural gas and lowers overall greenhouse gas emissions..Said Jenelle De La Cour, Fortis’ RNG accounts manager: "The more RNG we have, the less conventional natural gas we need. Every RNG project is a win for climate action.".Agricultural waste streams generate significant amounts of methane that would otherwise escape into the atmosphere. Methane itself is 25 to 80 times more potent than CO2 at trapping heat. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, methane concentrations in the atmosphere have more than doubled in the last century, mostly due to human activities such as farming.. Canadian RNG production .According to researchers at the University of California, Davis, bovine flatulence is the number one source of agricultural emissions worldwide. Each year, a single cow — dairy or otherwise — will belch about 220 pounds of methane. That’s just what comes out of its mouth. .Cows and other ruminants account for about 4% of all greenhouse gas produced in the US, a volume equal to roughly half of all of Canada’s GHG emissions. Although the absolute volume is smaller, GHGs from crop and livestock production in this country — excluding fossil fuels and fertilizer — account for about 10% of Canada’s emissions..Although it's more expensive than conventional natural gas — it costs about twice as much — Fortis said RNG mixes seamlessly with its existing gas infrastructure which in turn allows it to decarbonize its overall gas supply. According to the Canadian Gas Association, Canada’s gas distribution companies are targeting 5% RNG by 2025 and 10% by 2030..Across the country, RNG producers — mostly dairy and cattle farmers — have partnered with Canada’s gas utilities to build and commission 15 projects that are presently producing six million gigajoules of pipeline-grade RNG, enough to heat close to 66,150 homes. That amount offsets nearly 310,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, which is akin to removing more than 67,250 passenger cars from the road, according to the Canadian Gas Association..Fortis said more than 11,500 BC homes and businesses are already subscribed to its RNG program, a number poised to rise exponentially in the coming years. By 2030, the company projects that there will be enough renewable and low-carbon gas in its system to meet the annual gas needs of close to 345,000 BC homes..But for farmers like Dicklands farm owner George Dick, it also makes good business sense.."Turning our agricultural manure and local food waste into RNG, organic fertilizer pellets and clean water is a great way for us to diversify the farm's revenue streams, while also operating the farm in a more sustainable manner in line with our values," he said.
