SoCalGas to convert its trucks to run on RNG

Utility company Southern California Gas (SoCalGas) said April 22 it would convert hundreds of vehicles in its fleet to run on renewable natural gas (RNG) by the end of the year.

Working with the US subsidiary of Landi Renzo, an Italy-based company that produces natural gas kits for cars, the utility said 200 of its new-model Ford F-250 service vehicles would be converted to run on RNG.

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RNG is sourced from the decomposition of organic matter. SoCalGas expects that converting the service trucks to run on RNG could remove more than 2,000 mt of CO₂ equivalent/year, about the same impact as removing 1,800 passenger vehicles from the road each year.

"This project is one of the many decarbonising initiatives we're implementing here at SoCalGas as we continue to move towards a net zero future," Sandra Hrna, vice president of supply chain and operations support at SoCalGas, said.

Through the use of renewable natural gas, hydrogen as a power source and other clean-energy initiatives, the company estimates that it already avoids more than 3.2mn mt/yr of CO₂-equivalent emissions.

By 2035, SoCalGas expects to have net-zero emissions across its entire road fleet and company buildings. The conversion of the F-250 fleet is expected to be finished by the end of the year.

The largest utility in the US, SoCalGas serves an estimated 22mn customers in California, about half of the state’s total population.