Biogas Benefits

Biogas offers Canadians a solution to helping protect our environment and meet ambitious climate change commitments by generating renewable energy, reducing GHG emissions, and resource recovery.

RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION

Biogas & RNG is a renewable source of energy that is a direct replacement for non-renewable, carbon-intensive fossil fuels.  Biogas & RNG are available 24/7 and gas storage means that systems can provide renewable energy on demand. Biogas can be used to generate electricity or on-site heat, and RNG is interchangeable with natural gas for pipeline injection and transportation uses.

GHG EMISSION REDUCTION

The capturing and utilization of biogas is a powerful tool for reducing GHG emissions. GHG emissions are reduced in two ways: first, the biogas produced is a source of renewable energy that can replace fossil fuels. This can be in the form of direct displacement in the pipeline by injecting RNG into the natural gas supply, or in transportation by replacing diesel with RNG. Second, the capturing of biogas reduces methane, a very potent greenhouse gas that would otherwise be free to escape into the atmosphere. The biogas process captures methane emissions that would otherwise be released to the atmosphere and convert it to renewable energy.

Resource Recovery

Biogas offers a solution to waste management that ensures valuable organic material is not sent to landfill. The benefits resulting from diversion of organic materials, include the following:

• Diverting organics from disposal avoids potential methane emissions from landfills;
• Using the biogas produced from organic wastes as a source of energy reduces the need for fossil fuel energy sources, such as oil and natural gas;
• Digestate (the product that comes from the anaerobic digestion of organic material) returns organic matter to the soil;
• Preserved landfill space for other materials.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Biogas offers important environmental benefits and improvements to our air and water sources. As materials such as animal manures or food wastes are processed in biogas systems, the pathogens are significantly reduced, and nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous are made more available to plants.