Viridi to supply RNG to Quebec distributor Energir

US renewable natural gas (RNG) developer Viridi Energy said July 24 it had signed a 20-year offtake agreement with Quebec distributor Energir for 650,000 GJ/year of pipeline-quality RNG.

The RNG will come from three Viridi Energy facilities in Brunswick, Maine; Marathon County, Wisconsin; and Bethlehem, New Hampshire. The volume under the offtake agreement represents about half the total RNG capacity at the three facilities.

“Energir has a proven reputation as a leader in decarbonising North American energy,” Viridi Energy CEO Dan Crouse said. “Combined with Viridi’s flexibility in sourcing utility-quality RNG across our growing portfolio of assets, this partnership will help Energir achieve its sustainability goal of carbon neutrality in the energy it distributes by 2050.”

The Brunswick facility processes and estimated 85,000 tons/year of biosolids from local wastewater treatment plants, while the Wisconsin and New Hampshire facilities produce RNG from landfill gas emissions.

Energir is the largest gas distribution utility in Quebec and has been purchasing RNG from Houston-based Archaea Energy since 2023. Since April, all new residential, commercial or institutional customers to its system must opt-in to its dual energy-RNG programme, under which heating will be supplied by electricity most of the time and by RNG only on the coldest days.

“Thanks to Viridi’s well-established team and expertise, we will be able to increase RNG volumes within our grid and expand our solutions designed for all our customers looking to shrink their carbon footprint,” said Vincent Regnault, Energir’s executive director, Gas Supply and Renewable Gas Development. “We are looking forward to working together during this long-term agreement that will help us gradually achieve our target to inject a minimum of 10% RNG by 2030.”