SPOKANE, Wash., Sept. 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avista, through a request for proposal (RFP), is seeking to secure renewable natural gas (RNG) resources for its customers over the long term. RNG is derived from organic waste streams that would otherwise release methane to the environment as they decompose. These sources include, for example, landfills, wastewater treatment plants, food waste and dairy waste. RNG is produced by capturing that methane that would otherwise escape to the atmosphere and purifying it to make it very similar to conventional natural gas.

“Avista is seeking to obtain RNG, so that we may build on our aspirational goals to be carbon neutral in our natural gas operations by 2045, and so that we may also meet the requirements of Washington’s Climate Commitment Act and Oregon’s carbon reduction goals,” said Jason Thackston, Avista’s chief strategy and clean energy officer. “Additionally, legislative changes have laid the groundwork for utilities, such as Avista, to enter the RNG market as developers, long-term buyers, and long-term partners to help grow and mature the RNG market in North America.”

In 2019, the Oregon legislature passed Senate Bill 98, which allows natural gas utilities to acquire RNG for delivery to their customers. The rules implementing Senate Bill 98 are established and overseen by the Public Utility Commission of Oregon, including limits on total expenditures for RNG and the overall rate impact to customers. In 2019 the Washington State legislature also passed a bill supporting RNG procurement, House Bill 1257.

The RFP is open to parties who currently own, propose to develop, or hold rights to resources, or those marketing a resource or portfolio of resources meeting Avista’s requirements for RNG. Bidders may submit multiple proposals; each proposal may include certain configuration, contracting or pricing options. Avista anticipates RNG deliveries to be no earlier than January 1, 2025.

Avista anticipates proposals from both new and existing resources such as:

• Landfill RNG
• Biomass Fast Pyrolysis Synthetic RNG
• Dairy RNG
• Food Waste RNG
• Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant RNG
• RNG commodity portfolios (bundled or unbundled)
• Carbon Capture with synthetic RNG byproduct
• Hydrogen
• Other RNG offerings meeting Avista’s needs
  

RFP responses are due by Tuesday, October 29, 2024. The RFP and bid instructions are available on the Avista website at: myavista.com/RNGRFP

About Avista Utilities
Avista Utilities is involved in the production, transmission and distribution of energy. We provide energy services and electricity to 418,000 customers and natural gas to 382,000 customers in a service territory that covers 30,000 square miles in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and parts of southern and eastern Oregon, with a population of 1.7 million.  Avista Utilities is an operating division of Avista Corp. (NYSE: AVA). For more information, please visit www.myavista.com.

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