August 18, 2023. The Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas (RNG Coalition) announced a landmark sustainability achievement in the field of renewable energy: North America now has 300 operational Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) facilities, up from just over 30 facilities in 2011 when RNG Coalition was founded.
“The monumental increase in RNG facilities developed over the last decade-plus is reason to celebrate; unequivocally, RNG facilities are an imperative to mitigating methane and carbon in our advancement toward a more sustainable society and circular economy,” RNG Coalition Founder and CEO Johannes Escudero said. “We are proud of this achievement, but it is merely the foundation that RNG Coalition member organizations will continue to build on to harness the full power of RNG in pursuit of a cleaner planet.”
While the landmark of 300 operational RNG facilities is the result of decades of development, there still remains substantial unrealized potential behind RNG in North America and beyond. RNG Coalition data indicates that 178 more RNG facilities are currently under construction across the U.S. and Canada, with another 303 facilities in planning stages.
“Even with this great milestone reached, it is critical that policymakers continue to create conditions that allow RNG to compete as a flexible decarbonization tool,” RNG Coalition Founder and CFO David Cox said. “The enormous environmental, economic and energy benefits of RNG cannot be underestimated as we work to limit and leverage methane emissions from society’s inevitable waste streams.”
Long term, RNG Coalition will continue to lead through its SMART initiative to capture and control methane from more than 43,000 organic waste sites across North America by 2050, achieving meaningful benchmarks by 2025, 2030 and 2040.