Biogas Benefits
The benefits of biogas are similar to the benefits of natural gas: increasing energy security, paving the way for fuel cell vehicles, and improving public health and the environment through reduced vehicle emissions. The following are additional potential benefits of biogas:
It is a domestic, renewable resource; using it offsets the use of non-renewable resources such as coal, oil, and fossil fuel-derived natural gas, with corresponding emission reduction and energy security benefits.
It directly reduces greenhouse gas emissions by preventing methane release into the atmosphere (methane is 21-times stronger as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide).
Its production creates jobs and benefits the local economy.
For landfills, it reduces the cost of complying with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency landfill gas combustion requirements.
Anaerobic digestion systems (non-landfill) treat waste naturally, require less land area than aerobic composting, reduce the amount of material that must be landfilled, reduce waste odors, and produce sanitized compost and nutrient-rich liquid fertilizer.