Renewable Natural Gas Production is a Bad Idea in BC - Despite What Fortis Wants Us to Believe

Despite Fortis' advertisements (and Andion / SFN assurances) that promise an abundance of Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) produced from our highly problematic and disaster causing apple cores, this is effectively false advertising! They guarantee a magical sustainable future for us all in B.C., when the reality is that according to FortisBC’s own numbers, after 10 years of development renewable natural gas only accounts for about one percent of B.C.’s gas use. In hard facts then, the gas distributed by Fortis remains 99% fossil gas [1a]. Not good, not good at all.

According to current regulations, the portion of RNG should gradually increase to reach 10% by 2030. So, even if Fortis meets the regulatory target (which seems highly uncertain), they will still be distributing 90% fossil-origin gas in 2030. What’s more, it’s commonly accepted in many jurisdictions (including Washington state [1b] ) that this number could never realistically surpass five per cent of total demand, unless the definition is twisted to include other energy sources.

FortisBC advocates often refer to a joint report with the B.C. government [2], asserting that there will be a surplus of "renewable and low-carbon gases" by 2050 to meet the rising gas demand. However, a closer look at the report reveals a crucial omission from their narrative - only a small fraction of these "renewable and low-carbon gases" are sourced from renewable natural gas produced by "magically clean and new technology" from that nasty food waste we're told is such a problem in Vancouver.

The majority is slated to come from hydrogen generated through burning fracked gas and syngas produced by burning wood pellets, commonly known as trees. Even the production of RNG relies on heat from burning fossil gas and FortisBC's own report explicitly acknowledges all this, noting that traditional renewable natural gas has limited potential, emphasizing the necessity of alternative pathways for substantial decarbonization of the natural gas system.

Large-scale production of RNG for heating buildings is a really bad idea for the future of BC and our hopes for clean air and good health too [3]. It poses significant ecological, climate and health risks if produced in sufficient quantity to stand any chance of replacing fossil gas in our pipes and homes, relying on massive biomass harvesting, threatening forest ecosystem balance, biodiversity and land use [4][5]. 

RNG also promotes the maintenance of mega-industrial farms providing the necessary slurry and manure that (despite any impression to the contrary) is needed to promote the anaerobic process that produces methane in an RNG refinery reactor in the quantities needed to make the process financially viable. These industrialized farms are major greenhouse gas emitters and significant pollutants of water resources in the Fraser valley and beyond, impacting the Salmon populations in our seas and oceans [6a & 6b]. 

Even worse, as shown in 2023 when the Ministry of Environment issued a stop-work order to Fraser Valley Renewables in order to stop them continuing to dump more than 1000 truckloads of "hot waste" near Cultus lake on a main aquifer, all is not "green" in the land of RNG production in BC . This waste was traced to Surrey domestic green bins and “The stench was so bad,” said local Cultus lake resident Vasilash. We bet. 

The RNG misery continues... The ministry also confirmed that the ultimate source of the stinking dumped materials was Surrey Biofuel site! An RNG refinery run by our local Government... If we can't trust our local Government to run a clean and conscientious, compliant RNG production facility, how can we possibly trust that Andion, a Company with many question marks in their history, company officers implicated in multiple scandals and driven by profits and shareholders to "do the right thing" as promised in their glossy brochure? 

The City of Surrey was "not able to provide a comment" at the time of that embarrassing disclosure. But the city’s website says the biofuel facility receives organic waste from more than 150,000 Surrey homes, as well as commercial operations and other municipalities.

It contradicts efforts to combat food waste [7], a substantial source of residual biomass for urban biomethanization plants and something we are told is a problem that needs solving by proponents of RNG refineries, like Andion. Good to know that over 60% of household food waste is avoidable, according to the BC Government. In fact, what they say on the subject is "By preventing food waste we are taking action at the highest level of the 5R pollution prevention hierarchy. Actions at this level (reduction), can have a far more significant impact than action at lower levels, as waste and pollution are addressed at their source.

For example, when food is wasted, both food and money are lost. The amount of food wasted in Canada is worth an estimated $31 billion annually (Value Chain Management International Inc., 2014). " Food for thought!  (sorry, couldn't resist!) 

Finally, like fossil gas, RNG is not climate-friendly. It is mostly composed of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and any RNG leakage during its production, distribution, and combustion has the same climate impact as a fossil gas leak➇.

In summary, considering the existing hydroelectric facilities, the idea of injecting RNG into a gas network primarily used for heating buildings doesn't make sense! And it won't, even if the percentage of RNG increases significantly. It would be preferable to produce RNG in limited quantities and reserve it for challenging-to-electrify needs such as certain industrial processes or the energy needs of remote communities not connected to the electrical grid, or those of cold weather extremes and peak demand for power. 

All of this contradicts the idea that the Semiahmoo RNG biofuel refinery project should be in any way hailed as a sustainable or good project - actually quite the opposite!