California utility PG&E Corp said on Thursday it is looking for partners to develop and operate a biomethane facility as it looks to increase its use of renewable energy sources. Biomethane is pipeline-quality gas derived from organic material such as agricultural crops, manure or wood wastes. PG&E already has contracts to buy some natural gas captured from cow manure.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California utility PG&E Corp said on Thursday it is looking for partners to develop and operate a biomethane facility as it looks to increase its use of renewable energy sources.
Biomethane is pipeline-quality gas derived from organic material such as agricultural crops, manure or wood wastes. PG&E already has contracts to buy some natural gas captured from cow manure.
In a statement, PG&E said new technologies may be able to improve the quality of biomethane and increase the efficiency of feedstocks' conversion into the gas.
The utility said it hoped its planned facility would speed up the commercial availability of those technologies. It did not specify what it planned to spend on the facility, and a spokeswoman said the company was still seeking information about biomethane from various sources.
!ADVERTISEMENT!"We are looking to understand the technology and see what the potential is," PG&E spokeswoman Jennifer Zerwer said.
California regulators have directed PG&E and other utilities to make renewable energy such as wind, solar and geothermal at least 20 percent of their electricity supplies by 2010. PG&E said that currently, 12 percent of its power comes from renewable sources.
(Reporting by Nichola Groom)
