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    New California treatment plant turns waste into Renewable Natural Gas for Utilities

    Jan. 25, 2022
    The plant will generate 320,000 MMBTU of RNG from wastewater solids and food waste
    Image credit Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority
    Victorville Waste 61f0111542630

    Anaergia’s subsidiary SoCal Biomethane will commission the Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority (VVWRA) facility in Victorville, California.

    The company says the VVWRA is the first wastewater treatment plant in the state that will generate renewable natural gas (RNG) from wastewater solids and food waste. This RNG will be injected into a utility pipeline.

    The facility will be capable of generating up to 320,000 MMBTU of RNG annually. The anaerobic digesters at the new plant were retrofitted with Anaergia’s high-throughput and high-efficiency Omnivore technology and Anaergia’s biogas conditioning and upgrading technology package.

    “In this way, existing infrastructure can be extended to serve new California requirements in a very efficient way,” Anaergia Chairman and CEO Andrew Benedek said. “The net result is beneficial to all concerned, as it lowers the cost of operating a wastewater plant, helps the municipality meet the organic waste disposal requirements, and helps our planet by creating carbon-negative fuel. Our partnership with VVWRA is an example for the entire state on how to solve the current requirements efficiently.”

    The technologies will enable the facility to process wastewater and food waste from the region’s waste haulers. The technologies will help generate renewable carbon-negative fuel and prevent methane emissions from the above sources.

    Southwest Gas CEO John Hester said, “The facility is slated to create enough renewable natural gas to offset the emissions of more than 2,000 homes each year. We are pleased to be part of this important project, which advances communities towards a clean-energy future.”

    The plant will enable the local municipalities to comply with the California Senate Bill 1383 regulations.

    The rules require municipalities to divert food and other organic waste from landfills and reduce organic waste in landfills by 75% by 2025. In California, landfills are the main source of methane emissions and this bill was devised to combat this issue.

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.