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A renewable natural gas facility said to be the first of its kind in the state has started operations at the Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant in Ewa Beach.
The facility, recently dedicated by the city and Hawaii Gas, is expected to initially produce approximately 800,000 therms of energy per year to be used by utility customers. Company officials said the benefits include eliminating the need for the equivalent of nearly 15,000 barrels of imported oil and “reducing greenhouse gases by the equivalent amount produced by 400 cars annually.”
The biogas purification equipment built at Honouliuli will capture and clean sewage waste-derived biogas and process it into a biomethane fuel. An approximately half-mile of pipe constructed at the wastewater treatment plant connects to the company’s existing 22-mile pipeline that stretches from Kapolei to Hawaii Kai to distribute renewable natural gas to its customers.
“The unique thing about this renewable energy project is it’s using existing infrastructure to transport the energy resource. It makes it affordable for our customers,” said Jeannine Souki, director of government affairs and corporate communications at Hawaii Gas.
The company has approximately 35,000 utility customers that include hotels, industrial businesses and residences.
In a news release, Hawaii Gas President and Chief Executive Officer Alicia Moy said the project is “an important step toward Hawaii’s clean-energy goals.”
“Through this project with the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii Gas is delivering even cleaner gas to Oahu pipeline customers for cooking, water heating, clothes drying and outdoor torch lighting. The RNG produced at Honouliuli helps build resiliency and diversity of supply to meet Hawaii’s energy needs.”
Souki said that in a separate partnership with the state Department of Transportation’s Airports Division, the company initiated a yearlong pilot project in September to test buses fueled by compressed renewable natural gas to provide shuttle service between airline terminals and car rental facilities.
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