FortisBC to supply all new British Columbia homes with 100% renewable natural gas

A natural gas stove. (Shutterstock)

Every newly-built home in British Columbia connected to FortisBC’s gas system will be supplied with 100% renewable natural gas for the entire lifespan of the structure.

Today, FortisBC announced it is seeking approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission to mark the start of what it calls “a new era in the evolution of the company’s renewable energy programs.”

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Instead of deriving the gas from fossil fuels, the renewable variant captures methane released from decaying organic material and purifies it, allowing it to blend seamlessly into the existing gas system.

The source of this renewable variant includes landfills, where installed gas collection infrastructure captures the organic waste emissions. Doing so prevents waste emissions that would otherwise be vented into the atmosphere from contributing to the acceleration of climate change.

One such project is the current expansion of the existing gas collection system at the City of Vancouver’s landfill in Delta, where the extracted gases are sold to FortisBC.

“If approved by the BCUC, this would give every British Columbian a choice on how best to reduce GHG emissions from their new home,” said Joe Mazza, vice-president of energy supply and resource development for FortisBC, in a statement.

“We realize there’s much to consider in the proposal we’ve put forward, but we’re excited about the prospect of a new generation of FortisBC customers knowing us as a renewable energy provider.”

Additionally, this proposal automatically provides existing residential natural gas customers with a small percentage of renewable gas as part of the gas supply changes by 2024. This also supplements FortisBC’s ongoing program of providing customers with the option to select how much additional renewable gas they would like to receive.

The use of renewable natural gas eliminates any need for expensive building retrofits to fuel switch and provides lower month-to-month energy costs compared to other carbon-neutral options.

FortisBC states it is currently on pace to exceed its target of having 15% of its gas supply renewable by 2030 and is striving to have about 75% of its supply be renewable by 2050.

The utility is aggressively expanding the proportion of renewable gas in its system to reduce the use of conventional natural gas considerably. In 2021, it tripled its renewable supply, and a similar exponential rate of increase is expected for 2022.

FortisBC is aiming to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of its customers by 30% by 2030.

Gas connections are, of course, used for space heating, water heating, and cooking, but some jurisdictions, especially the City of Vancouver, have been trying to steer new homes away from gas and towards all-electric building systems.

According to Paul Miles, the president of North Vancouver-based fireplace supplier Miles Industries, BC has the highest concentration of natural gas fireplaces of any state or provincial jurisdiction in North America.

“Natural gas fireplaces are about the only domestically made appliance installed in new homes today,” said Miles.

“The fireplace industry is a local success story, and giving new homes the ability to have their fireplaces fuelled with renewable gas will support carbon reduction and local manufacturing jobs as well as provide energy security and home heating affordability for all British Columbians.”

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