Columbus residents will soon benefit from locally sourced renewable natural gas flowing into their homes, all thanks to a 2023 approved tariff for Liberty Utilities (Peach State Natural Gas) Corp., a natural gas local distribution company, and its collaboration with the Muscogee County Landfill in Columbus.

Liberty has signed a contract with Columbus Power Producers to provide an interconnection that will allow the methane captured from the Muscogee County Landfill to be cleaned to pipeline standard and injected into the company’s distribution system. The benefits of this arrangement are numerous:

· Customers will benefit from more affordable, locally sourced natural gas supply.

· The environment will benefit from the reduction of greenhouse gases produced by the landfill and currently released into the atmosphere.

· The reliability of the distribution system will benefit from the addition of increased resilience provided by locally sourced gas, which will help mitigate supply limitations that might occur.

· The County and citizens will benefit from the positive economic impact of new jobs and tax revenues.

“This is a big day for our community and our local industry,” said Carolyn Bermudez, President of Liberty. “We are excited to offer our customers access to an alternative form of safe, reliable natural gas that is cost-effective and helps us reduce our carbon footprint without placing upward pressure on our rates.”

RNG projects capture surface methane that is released into the atmosphere as waste breaks down. Livestock farms, food processing, wastewater facilities, and landfills are four common sources of naturally occurring waste that can be converted into pipeline-quality natural gas. Once captured and cleaned, the methane can be injected into the natural gas pipeline as a supplement to the natural gas produced from fossil fuels. This process also prevents naturally occurring methane, a greenhouse gas, from directly polluting the atmosphere.

“Being able to take waste and turn it into energy to heat our homes and businesses is a positive for our community,” said Clint Cox, Director of Business Development for the utility. “This would not have been possible without the collaboration and support of the city of Columbus, the Georgia Public Service Commission, and Columbus Power Producers.”

Last August the Georgia Public Service Commission approved a natural gas transportation tariff that facilitates interconnections to blend RNG into the company’s distribution system and enables Liberty to connect developers who are producing pipeline-quality natural gas from Georgia waste.

To learn more about Liberty’s commitment to building a more sustainable future, visit libertyenergyandwater.com.