Renewable Natural Gas

This briefing by the American Gas Foundation, presented to Congressional staff, outlines the potential of Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) as a carbon-neutral energy source derived from biomass, landfills, and wastewater treatment facilities. It highlights RNG's versatility across multiple sectors, its compatibility with existing pipeline infrastructure, and its potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs.

• Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) is defined as a carbon-neutral fuel sourced from landfills, wastewater treatment facilities, and renewable, sustainable biomass sources. It is described as providing greenhouse gas reductions beyond carbon neutrality by avoiding methane emissions.
• RNG is a versatile energy source applicable to electricity production, transportation fuel, residential heating and cooking, commercial applications, and manufacturing, including heavy industry. It is estimated that RNG could satisfy between 4% and 10% of natural gas demand.
• RNG is considered a resource available in every US state due to the presence of agricultural sources, wastewater treatment, and landfills. National production using all available feedstocks could provide 9.5 quadrillion Btus annually.
• The adoption of RNG could lead to national greenhouse gas reductions of up to 146 million tons of CO2 per year, which is roughly equivalent to the emissions of 29 million cars. The California Air Resources Board identifies renewable gas as the lowest carbon transportation fuel available.
• Developing RNG resources has the potential to create up to 250,000 jobs across the farming, agricultural, and green energy sectors. Furthermore, RNG is compatible with the 2.4 million miles of existing natural gas pipelines in the United States.
• The document advocates for including RNG in the federal investment tax credit (ITC), noting that solar energy received a 30 percent ITC through December 31, 2016, and that a level playing field for all renewables would stimulate RNG deployment.

APA

Clay, K. (n.d.). Renewable Natural Gas. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/files/Clay_042612.pdf

Chicago

Clay, Kathryn. Renewable Natural Gas. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, n.d. https://www.eesi.org/files/Clay_042612.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Clay |first1=Kathryn |title=Renewable Natural Gas |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/Clay_042612.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clayndrenewable, author = {Clay, Kathryn}, title = {{Renewable Natural Gas}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/Clay_042612.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }