SEATTLE (Recycling Monster): Southern California Gas Company is now accepting renewable natural gas (RNG) produced at the new WM Simi Valley RNG Facility into its pipeline system, marking the first time SoCalGas has interconnected a landfill-based RNG site with its infrastructure. WM captures landfill gas from its Simi Valley Landfill — which serves Ventura County and the west San Fernando Valley — and the RNG facility processes it into pipeline-quality RNG, which is then delivered into SoCalGas’s pipeline system. This RNG can be allocated to fuel consumption for heavy duty compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles and the RNG can be used to fuel homes and businesses.
“This is a significant milestone in our journey to expand the use of renewable natural gas,” said Jawaad Malik, senior vice president of strategy and sustainability at SoCalGas. “By working with WM to bring this project online, we’re supporting operations that capture methane and convert it into renewable fuel—helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions, advance California’s climate goals, and deliver reliable energy to our customers.”
More than $100 million has been invested by WM to construct the WM Simi Valley RNG Facility, which is expected to generate approximately 2.2 million MMBtu per year of RNG. This anticipated RNG production has the potential to avoid up to 100,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually – the equivalent of removing an estimated 2,000 trucks from the road or powering approximately 65,000 homes. The 30,000-square-foot plant is one of the largest RNG facilities in the WM portfolio and WM’s first RNG facility in California.
“WM is proud to collaborate with SoCalGas to deliver a renewable fuel source to communities and businesses,” said Tara Hemmer, chief sustainability officer at WM. “This new RNG facility is part of WM’s broader commitment to advancing circularity and providing the innovative solutions our customers need to thrive.”
These efforts align with SoCalGas’s aim to replace 20% of its traditional natural gas delivery to core customers with natural gas from renewable sources by 2030. In 2024, RNG made up about 5.5% of the gas SoCalGas delivered to its core customers. RNG sourced from landfills, dairies, and wastewater treatment plants can help lower greenhouse gas emissions and can be used to fuel CNG vehicles, generate electricity, and heat buildings. Since 2019, SoCalGas has procured RNG and delivered it through the pipeline system, which supplies its 26 fueling stations—increasingly enabling the displacement of traditional natural gas with renewable alternatives.
Currently, SoCalGas is receiving RNG from 10 production facilities — eight from dairy clusters and two from green and food waste facilities. The RNG industry is growing rapidly, with 505 facilities operating in North America as of June 2025, according to the RNG Coalition, of which SoCalGas is a member.
Courtesy: www.wasteadvantagemag.com