Pacific Gas and Electric Company yesterday announced an agreement with BioEnergy Solutions, a Central Valley waste-to-energy company, to deliver renewable energy to PG&E’s customers. Under the agreement, BioEnergy Solutions will deliver up to three billion cubic feet of renewable natural gas a year to PG&E, enough to meet the electricity needs of approximately 50,000 PG&E residential customers.

“Developing new sources of renewable energy is a priority for PG&E,” said Fong Wan, PG&E’s vice president of energy procurement. “This project is yet another example of our company’s commitment to the environment by delivering clean, climate-friendly energy to our customers.”

BioEnergy Solutions’ first project will be Vintage Dairy, which is located in Fresno County, California. Manure from the farm’s 3,000 dairy cows will be flushed into covered lagoons that will trap the methane gas produced as the manure decomposes. The methane will be “scrubbed” to remove carbon dioxide and corrosive materials to meet PG&E’s industry leading environmental standards for power plants, then delivered to PG&E through the utility’s pipeline. PG&E will use the natural gas to deliver renewable electricity to its customers in central and northern California.

“BioEnergy Solutions was founded by dairymen, and we understand the challenges agriculture faces in the coming years to reduce emissions,” said David Albers, president of BioEnergy Solutions and the owner of Vintage Dairy. “We’re thrilled to partner with PG&E – the largest utility in the state and a proven environmental leader. This agreement turns what would otherwise be a growing problem for farmers into a new revenue source for them, and helps PG&E continue its mission to deliver clean energy to its customers.”

PG&E has a long history of developing, generating, and purchasing renewable power. The utility currently supplies more than 12% of its energy from renewable resources that qualify under California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Program. In addition, more than 50% of the electricity that PG&E delivers to its customers comes from generating resources that emit no carbon dioxide, the primary contributor to global warming.

Since starting its renewable energy program, PG&E has entered into contracts for more than 1,100 MW of renewable energy – wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and hydro resources – enough power to serve about 800,000 customers. Passed by the Legislature and managed by California’s Public Utilities Commission and Energy Commission, California’s RPS Program requires each investor-owned utility to increase its procurement of eligible renewable generating resources by 1% of load per year to achieve a 20% renewables goal. The RPS Program was passed by the California Legislature and is managed by California’s Public Utilities Commission and Energy Commission.

PG&E will continue to advance its procurement efforts to deliver reliable renewable clean energy to its customers. PG&E is also exploring other projects that will demonstrate the viability of converting biomass to pipeline quality gas for use in power plants.