Londonderry, NH – September 27, 2018 – Earlier today Liberty Utilities announced a major initiative aimed at combating climate change, developing a new source of local renewable energy, and reducing energy costs. Liberty Utilities, New Hampshire’s largest natural gas distribution company, is partnering with RUDARPA Inc. to develop a new Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) production facility at the Bethlehem, N.H. landfill. This project will help strengthen the landfill’s sustainability profile, while producing renewable energy to serve Liberty’s natural gas customers. The project is based on the landfill’s current capacity, and is independent of any future expansion of the landfill.

According to the 2018 Environmental Protection Agency Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, biological sources account for the majority of methane emissions in the United States. Liberty Utilities’ Renewable Natural Gas project will capture the gas currently being produced by decomposing organic matter at the Bethlehem landfill and process it, so that it will match the chemical composition of conventional natural gas. Liberty Utilities will then provide this locally-produced, clean, renewable fuel to the over 92,000 homes and businesses it serves in New Hampshire.

This project is expected to provide approximately 475,000 dekatherms of Renewable Natural Gas annually in the first 10 years of operation, all of which will be used to serve customers in New Hampshire. A typical New Hampshire home uses about 78 dekatherms of natural gas per year. The supply of RNG from the Bethlehem landfill represents approximately 6% of Liberty Utilities’ total annual sales in New Hampshire. Capturing, cleaning and using this gas not only combats climate change, it also reduces emissions at the landfill.

“This project will reduce air emissions, develop a local renewable resource, lower fuel costs for our customers and create jobs and economic development in the North Country,” said Susan Fleck, president of Liberty Utilities New Hampshire operations. “Liberty Utilities is a leader in the development of renewable energy, and we are thrilled to advance the development of Renewable Natural Gas right here in New Hampshire.”

“The Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas congratulates Liberty Utilities for taking this important step,” said David Cox, director of operations and general counsel for the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas.  “By moving forward with RNG, Liberty Utilities is demonstrating its commitment to sustainability and to the environment. Renewable Natural Gas has the lowest lifecycle carbon intensity of any alternative fuel. RNG helps address society’s waste and resource management problems by harnessing the energy of gas that would otherwise vent to the atmosphere or be flared without purpose.”

Liberty Utilities plans to use this new supply of Renewable Natural Gas to serve its customers in Keene, which is currently served via trucked-in propane, as well as customers in the other 31 communities Liberty serves in central and southern New Hampshire. On its own, the Renewable Natural Gas generated by the project is comparable to the cost of conventional natural gas, but New Hampshire’s innovative Thermal Renewable Portfolio Standard enables Liberty Utilities to further lower the cost of RNG so that customers will actually pay less for RNG than for conventional natural gas on an annual basis based on recent pricing.

“We know reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fighting climate change is important to many Granite Staters. It’s important to us, too,” continued Fleck. “Renewable Natural Gas is a low-cost way to maximize local resources and reduce the carbon footprint of New Hampshire’s heating sector. We intend for this project to be the first of many in New Hampshire, and Liberty Utilities plans to be at the center of this growing local clean energy industry. Our team is currently working with communities across New Hampshire on similar projects, and we hope to announce more New Hampshire RNG projects in the future,” concluded Fleck.         

Last week Liberty Utilities filed for New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission approval of its agreement with RUDARPA. If the agreement is approved, Liberty Utilities would begin providing Renewable Natural Gas to Keene and its existing natural gas customers in the summer of 2019.