Renewable natural gas in California: An assessment of the technical and economic potential. (December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Parker, Nathan; Williams, Robert; Dominguez-Faus, Rosa; Scheitrum, Daniel
• Is Part Of: Energy policy. Volume 111(2017)
• Page Start: 235
• Page End: 245
• Publication Date: 2017-12
• Subjects: AD Anaerobic Digestion -- BCF Billion Cubic Feet -- BDT Bone Dry Tons (United States) -- CARB California Air Resources Board -- CEC California Energy Commission -- CNG Compressed Natural Gas -- CPUC California Public Utilities Commission -- EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency -- GBSM Geospatial Bioenergy Systems Model -- LC Levelized Cost -- LCFS Low Carbon Fuel Standard -- mmBtu Million British Thermal Units -- MSW Municipal Solid Waste -- NOx Nitrogen Oxides -- RFS United States Renewable Fuels Standard -- RNG Renewable Natural Gas -- TPY Tons Per Year -- WWTP Wastewater Treatment Plant; Biomethane -- Low carbon fuels -- Spatially explicit techno-economic analysis -- Biogas -- Renewable Fuel Standard -- Supply curve; Energy policy -- Periodicals; Politique énergétique -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 333.79
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2017.09.034
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0301-4215

Abstract

Abstract: Renewable natural gas has the potential to diversify and decarbonize natural gas as a transportation fuel. Biomethane, a subset of renewable natural gas, is produced from a range of waste sources that are distributed across the landscape with uneven access to natural gas infrastructure. Using a spatially explicit techno-economic model of renewable natural gas supply in California, we develop supply curves for producing renewable natural gas and delivering it to California's transportation fuels market in order to estimate the economic potential. The gross potential is 90 bcf per year (94.5 PJ/yr), which is larger than the 17 bcf per year (18 PJ/yr) of natural gas consumed as transportation fuel in California in 2016. Seventy-five percent of the resource is estimated to be economic if the value of existing policy credits are fully capitalized, resulting in 6.9 million Low Carbon Fuel Standard credits. Renewable natural gas provides an economically viable option for methane emission reduction for a quarter of dairy manure in the state. The results suggest that renewable natural gas can play a significant role in meeting low carbon fuel policies in California and that expansion of demand for natural gas in transportation is needed to fully realize this potential. Highlights: Economic resource is 68 bcf per year under current energy and policy credit prices. Clustering of manure resources reduces costs by 40–75% making them economic. Policy credits generate 80–95% of the revenue stream exposing the industry to policy risk. Additional measures are needed to ensure meeting methane emission reduction goals.