The Canadian biogas sector has experienced a decade of rapid growth from 2011 to 2020, with an almost 50 percent jump in operating biogas projects across the country. That’s the key takeaway from a new market report released by the Canadian Biogas Association that provides a comprehensive analysis of trends in the production and use of biogas energy in Canada.
According to the Canadian 2020 Biogas Market Report, Canada now has 279 biogas projects from coast to coast.
These projects are capturing waste methane from agricultural waste, landfills, green bin programs, and municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and turning it into a total of 196 MW of clean electricity and 6 million Gigajoules (Gj) of renewable natural gas (RNG).
It’s more important than ever that we tell Canada’s biogas story. Biogas can deliver reliable and clean energy while reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions and driving economic development in both urban and rural areas, said Jennifer Green, Executive Director of the Canadian Biogas Association.
Poised for continued growth
Canada’s biogas sector is poised for another decade of growth. The Canadian 2020 Biogas Market Report calculates that Canada is tapping only 13 percent of its easily accessible biogas potential.
The 2020s will drive new biogas growth, with demand for RNG increasing rapidly thanks in part to climate and clean energy policies at the national and provincial levels, such as RNG mandates in British Columbia (BC) and Québec (QC).
Studies have shown that biogas and RNG could reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 14 million tonnes in 2030 and 62 million tonnes in 2050. The resource is there, commercially proven, and ready to be seized.
Biogas is a full package solution for Canada’s climate targets, and the good news is there’s an opportunity for much more of it. Research says that Canada could efficiently tap more than eight times more energy from biogas and RNG, that is the goal that the CBA is dedicated to helping achieve, said Jennifer Green.
