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CenterPoint Energy has signed an agreement to purchase waste-created renewable natural gas and provide it to its customers across Minnesota.
That gas will come from organic food and yard waste in the Twin Cities, as well as waste from farms and wastewater treatment facilities. The waste will be processed and converted to renewable natural gas by Dem-Con HZI Bioenergy’s new facility in Shakopee, set to open in 2027.
“Renewable natural gas turns what could be thrown out into a locally produced fuel,” said Joshua Solis, CenterPoint Energy spokesperson. “It’s developed by recycling waste from farms, food scraps, wastewater treatment, yard clippings and other sources.”
At the Shakopee facility, the food and yard waste collected in the Twin Cities will be put in an oxygen-free tank and go through a process known as anaerobic digestion.
After a 15- to 60-day “digestion” period, the renewable natural gas that’s produced will be distributed to CenterPoint, and then sent on to customers. That can happen through injection into natural gas pipelines.
“Enough energy will be created through this project to power the equivalency of 2,500 Minnesota homes,” Solis said.
Each year, more than 62 percent of food and related organic waste is sent to landfills or ends up in places like wastewater treatment plants, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. When accumulated in large amounts, that waste releases methane, a colorless and odorless gas that contributes to global warming.
Some landfills in Minnesota capture methane for energy, but much more methane leaks into the air than is captured. As the third-largest source of human-caused climate change, methane traps heat in the atmosphere, making Minnesota summers hotter and the air quality worse over time.
CenterPoint has committed to helping its customers reduce greenhouse gas emissions by between 20 and 30 percent by 2035.
“Over the course of its five-year term, our innovation plan will cost the typical residential customer about $1.50 a month, while investing in emerging technologies and renewable energies that reduce emissions for Minnesota customers."
The utility said its renewable natural gas commitment is part of a broader “innovation plan” that includes 17 pilot projects.
“Those 17 pilot projects will create an estimated 3,000 full-time equivalent jobs,” Solis said. “From people working to create renewable natural gas, to installing future network geothermal systems, to producing green hydrogen across a variety of sectors focused on emissions reductions for Minnesota.”
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