CenterPoint Energy to invest in RNG from Twin Cities’ metro food and yard waste

RNG can be developed by recycling organic waste from farms, food scraps, wastewater treatment facilities, yard clippings, and other localized methane sources that would typically vent to the atmosphere to produce pipeline-quality gas that can be used in place of conventional natural gas.

Investments in RNG provide a lower-carbon alternative to natural gas and help reduce emissions attributed to customers’ use of natural gas.

At CenterPoint, we’re excited to invest in innovative efforts such as DCHZI’s renewable natural gas production facility to help meet the energy needs of our customers and communities. Adding locally produced renewable natural gas to our system can provide our customers with a lower-carbon energy source that will continue to provide them with the safe, reliable service they expect from us. We support the growth of the RNG industry to strengthen regional economies and help meet the energy needs of our state, said Brad Steber, CenterPoint Energy’s VP of Minnesota Gas.

DCHZI’s facility in Shakopee, MN, is expected to be in service in 2027 and will produce the RNG from local waste products collected from Twin Cities metro residents using the anaerobic digestion (AD) process.

The DCHZI facility, supplied and operated by Kanadevia Inova (formerly Hitachi Zosen Inova) will be a first-of-its-kind in the country to combine an anaerobic digestion and gasification process to produce RNG and biochar from organic waste. Annually, the facility is expected to process 75,000 tonnes of organic waste, producing enough pipeline-quality RNG to fuel 2,500 Minnesota homes while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per year, said Bill Keegan, Dem-Con Companies President.

Five-year innovation plan

Purchasing RNG from DCHZI is part of CenterPoint’s five-year innovation plan submitted under Minnesota’s Natural Gas Innovation Act (NGIA).

The NGIA enables natural gas utilities to invest in renewable energy resources and innovative technologies to help reduce Minnesota’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved CenterPoint’s innovation plan in July 2024, which includes 17 pilot projects and seven research and development projects.

CenterPoint Energy plans to invest in regionally produced low- and zero-carbon gases like RNG and green hydrogen, as well as innovative efforts such as networked geothermal and hybrid heating.

CenterPoint’s innovation plan is expected to advance decarbonization efforts and deliver significant benefits for its Minnesota customers, including:

• Reducing or avoiding an estimated 1.1 million tonnes of carbon emissions over the lifetime of the projects – equivalent to the annual energy use of approximately 150,000 homes;
• Creating an estimated 3,000 full-time equivalent jobs over the pilot projects’ lifetimes;
• Recycling and reducing waste to create renewable energy, such as RNG.   ​

CenterPoint Energy says that it is “committed to helping residential and business customers reduce GHG emissions attributable to their end-use of natural gas by 20-30 percent by 2035 from a 2021 baseline.”

The company’s innovation plan is designed to support customers in reducing emissions from their own energy use.