California’s Biomethane Procurement Program

In February, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved biomethane procurement targets for utilities in a bid to meet the broader goal of reducing methane and other short-lived climate pollutants 40% by the end of the decade. The program follows a mandate to study such a program from the Legislature via SB 1440. The agency’s decision included both short-term and medium-term goals, including a total annual procurement target of 72.8 billion cubic feet of biomethane by 2030, equating to approximately 12% of the gas used by residences and small businesses in 2020.

Biomethane is produced through the process of anaerobic decomposition of organic matter, such as from landfills and wastewater treatment facilities, which is then purified to the point where it can be injected into a gas pipeline as a replacement for natural gas. This process prevents the methane — a potent short-lived climate pollutant — from being released into the atmosphere.

Despite its goals, some climate groups have criticized the ruling for short-circuiting the cost-benefit stage of the analysis, given that the actual amount of true waste methane available — that which cannot be ameliorated in another way — may be very small.