Ontario Increases Opportunity for On-Farm RNG Production

by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) The Ontario government on July 5 announced it is changing its biogas regulations under the Nutrient Management Act to enable new on-farm biogas systems and expansions of existing systems to be approved more easily and at a lower cost.

The changes will also help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by diverting waste from the landfill through increased maximum allowable limits and new types of off-farm anaerobic digestion materials, such as food processing waste and source separated organics, and by encouraging production of renewable natural gas (RNG).

The Ontario government predicts that the regulatory changes will allow Ontario’s $35 million-per-year biogas sector to grow by up to 50 percent over the next five years. The province currently has approximately 40 agri-food anaerobic digesters. Those facilities are primarily located on farms.