Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus Media Group (Argus) has launched a suite of prices for the environmental attributes of biomethane, also known as renewable natural gas (RNG), which market participants can use to offset carbon emissions in compliance and voluntary markets.
In a market first for North America, the calculated prices bring new transparency to renewable thermal certificates (RTCs) generated from landfill-derived biomethane, enabling companies to match natural gas consumption in sectors such as heating, power generation, and road and maritime transport.
RTCs are traded instead of physical biomethane, giving companies greater flexibility to benefit from biomethane’s carbon abatement properties.
The new prices will help developers and buyers make informed investment decisions and value potential biomethane projects.
They will also help corporate buyers evaluate how best to meet their sustainability goals, whether through RTCs, voluntary carbon credits, renewable energy certificates, or other available offsetting options, many of which are also assessed by Argus.
Argus has led the way in providing new transparency and innovative pricing solutions for environmental markets. The new RTC prices have been developed with input from the industry and help market participants across the whole supply chain make informed and efficient investment decisions, said Adrian Binks, Chairman and Chief Executive at Argus Media.
RTC prices will be published weekly on Thursdays in the Argus Americas Biofuels and Argus Air Daily reports.
Argus already publishes similar assessments for renewable gas guarantees of origin (GOs) and bioLNG bunker fuel in Europe, as well as for an entire suite of alternative fuels and carbon credits, many of which are used in physical and derivatives contracts globally.
