Is it just me or does this not make any sense to you either?
Richland, Washington Opens Landfill Facility That Captures & Cleans Natural Gas
Normally, I would be excited about this news from Richland, Washington. The city just opened a new facility that takes natural gas created by a landfill and converts it to usable energy in Washington State households. Pine Creek RNG and the City of Richland agreed back in 2017 to build the new landfill gas treatment system and turn methane gas at the City’s landfill into renewable natural gas. A large majority of businesses and households in the Tri-Cities area and all over Washington State use natural gas for heating and energy. There are two separate facilities finished, one at Horn Rapids Landfill and the other at the Lamb Weston potato processing plant. The two plants together can produce 2.5 million therms of renewable natural gas per year. How does this work you ask?
How Does the Landfill Renewable Natural Gas Facility Work?
Renewable natural gas is made naturally from waste in landfills and the facility would capture the methane that would otherwise leak into the atmosphere. Instead, the natural gas is gathered and then purified to be used in homes. The leaked natural gas created by those areas in the past was mostly consumed by constantly burning flares which will no longer be used. Pine Creek RNG from Denver and Avista Power in Spokane worked with the City of Richland to build both treatment facilities. Even though this step is exciting, it might all be for nothing after a Bill Washington Governor Jay Inslee is signing today.
Washington Governor Inslee to Sign Bill That Will Phase Out Natural Gas
I have a natural gas furnace in my home, which is one of the reasons we bought the house we chose in the first place. Now, Washington State is moving to eventually ban natural gas with a Bill Governor Inslee is supposed to sign today. Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1589 would allow utilities to move away from natural gas. On the surface, it might seem like a good idea until you look at the real numbers of both cost and impact on pollution in Washington State. Did you know that a large portion of the electricity used in Washington State comes from a Colstrip coal-fired plant in Montana and the Jim Bridger coal-fired plant in Wyoming? According to a study published by the Washington State Department of Ecology, “Electricity consumption in 2019 accounted for nearly 21 percent of statewide total GHG emissions. This is a 33 percent increase over 2018 and a 29 percent increase over 1990 for this sector. Electricity sector data is available through 2020 and it shows that emissions then dropped 35 percent to 16 percent below the 1990 emissions for the electricity sector.”
Study Shows Coal Pollution Likely to Replace Natural Gas
The study also shows natural gas accounts for a much smaller percentage of 28% compared to coal at over 70% of the pollution created to produce electricity alone. When Washington’s electricity consumption has increased in the past, it is coal that is used to fill the gap historically according to their own data in the study. I personally do not see the logic in creating much more pollution from coal to eliminate natural gas. Not only will our energy prices go up, a majority of homeowners will have to spend thousands replacing appliances, and the pollution created by coal electricity plants will increase greatly. Read the data for yourself (scroll down to page 25 or 26), then contact your local Washington State representative and let them know how you feel. Even if Governor Inslee signs Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1589, the voters of Washington State can strike it down and make it all go away in November by passing Initiative 2117.