Utility gets state OK to process biogas
JAMM AQUINO/THE HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER
Hawaii Gas Company headquarters in downtown Honolulu.
STAR-ADVERTISER
The city-owned Honouliuli plant produces 800,000 therms of biogas — equivalent to about 15,000 barrels of oil or 575,500 gallons of diesel — annually that is burned but could be processed and used as a natural gas for cooking, heating water and drying clothes.
Hawaii Gas won approval Wednesday from the state Public Utilities Commission to develop renewable natural gas from the Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant in Ewa Beach.
The City and County of Honolulu awarded the gas utility a contract in July 2016 to capture and process biogas to eliminate the need for about 15,000 barrels of oil and reduce greenhouse gases by the equivalent of what is produced by 400 cars annually. By selling the biogas, the city estimates it will generate about $1.6 million in revenue per year.
“Incorporating cost-effective renewable natural gas as part of our fuel mix is a key priority as we continue to do our part to advance Hawaii’s clean energy future,” said Alicia Moy, president and CEO of Hawaii Gas, in a news release. “We look forward to pursuing similar projects that deliver renewable fuels to our customers and new revenue streams to the city.”
The contract enables the city to generate revenue from a source that previously was untapped. The city-owned plant produces 800,000 therms of biogas — equivalent to about 15,000 barrels of oil or 575,500 gallons of diesel — annually that is burned but could be processed and used as a natural gas for cooking, heating water and drying clothes. Hawaii Gas will invest about $5 million for infrastructure to connect its pipeline with the wastewater treatment plant to process the raw biogas.
Hawaii Gas will pay the city $2 per therm.
Wastewater treatment plants and landfills produce biogas when chemical reactions and microbes break down biodegradable waste. Companies then remove impurities from the raw biogas to create a renewable natural gas (98 percent methane and 2 percent carbon dioxide). Hawaii Gas will blend that with the synthetic natural gas in its pipeline.
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Hawaii Gas serves about 33,000 Oahu customers who are connected to the company’s pipeline, which runs from Campbell Industrial Park through Waikiki and out to Hawaii Kai. The contract expires Dec. 31, 2024, though it can be extended. The project is expected to be in operation by the end of 2018.
