CenterPoint Energy has agreed to purchase renewable natural gas (RNG) produced from food scraps and yard waste collected across the Twin Cities metropolitan area in Minnesota, US.
The deal, signed with Dem-Con HZI Bioenergy (DCHZI), will see the RNG connect to CenterPoint’s distribution system in Shakopee, Minnesota, from 2027, providing homes and businesses with a lower-carbon alternative to conventional natural gas.
RNG is created by recycling organic waste – from farms, food scraps, wastewater treatment and garden clippings – into pipeline-quality gas through anaerobic digestion.
DCHZI’s Shakopee facility, supplied and operated by Kanadevia Inova, will be the first in the US to combine anaerobic digestion with gasification, also producing biochar.
It is expected to process 75,000 tonnes of organic waste annually, fuelling 2,500 homes and cutting emissions by around 30,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent a year.
The purchase forms part of CenterPoint’s five-year innovation plan under Minnesota’s Natural Gas Innovation Act, which includes investments in RNG, green hydrogen, networked geothermal and hybrid heating.
The plan is forecast to reduce or avoid 1.1 million tonnes of carbon emissions over its lifetime, create 3,000 full-time equivalent jobs, and help the company meet its target of cutting customer-attributed emissions by 20–30% by 2035.
Brad Steber, vice president of Minnesota Gas at CenterPoint, said: “Adding locally produced renewable natural gas to our system can provide our customers with a lower-carbon energy source, while continuing to deliver the safe, reliable service they expect.”
CenterPoint Energy to buy renewable gas from Twin Cities food and yard waste
