Renewable Natural Gas
GPT RNG—a renewable natural gas option for your home or business.
Our Green Power Tomorrow (GPT) renewable natural gas (RNG) option is an easy way to offset your greenhouse gas emissions from your use of natural gas. MGE is the first utility in the state of Wisconsin to offer this type of RNG option to customers. RNG offers customers an easy way to advance sustainability in their household or business operations.
Enrollment form
What is RNG?
Unlike pipeline natural gas that is extracted from deep underground deposits, RNG is a processed biogas derived from organic waste material, such as food waste, yard and crop waste, and animal waste. It also can be produced from degradable carbon sources, such as paper, cardboard and wood.
The RNG process
What are the benefits of RNG?
Green energy 24/7: RNG combines the environmental benefits of renewable energy with the reliability of natural gas. RNG helps to lower methane emissions. When methane is burned—instead of being released directly—it is converted into water and carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a less potent greenhouse gas than methane.
Carbon-neutral: RNG is carbon-neutral because it comes from the natural breakdown of organic sources instead of from fossil fuels.
Multiple uses: RNG can be used for heating, cooking, fueling vehicles and generating electricity, among other uses.
What is GPT RNG?
GPT RNG is MGE's voluntary program that offers customers the opportunity to offset their emissions from their use of natural gas. MGE purchases Renewable Thermal Certificates (RTCs) on behalf of the customer to offset the emissions associated with the customer's monthly usage.
How can I participate?
MGE customers may choose from two subscription options to participate in GPT RNG:
- Set number of therms—You select the number of therms you would like to be offset each month. RTC units will be added as an incremental energy charge of $1.78 per therm to your monthly natural gas bill.
- Percentage of your usage—You select a percentage of your total natural gas usage each month that you would like to be offset with RTCs. An incremental energy charge of $1.78 per therm will be applied to the percentage you choose and added to your monthly natural gas bill.
MGE then purchases RTCs on the customer's behalf, offsetting the emissions associated with the customer's use of natural gas.
MGE does not set the price of the RTCs—it is a pass-through cost set by the market. We apply a small administrative fee to cover administration costs associated with the GPT RNG program. The purchase of RTCs is tracked by M-RETS, a nonprofit organization that tracks environmental attributes.
To sign up for GPT RNG, complete the enrollment form and an MGE representative will be in touch.
Enrollment form
Targeting emissions from MGE's natural gas distribution system
Building upon our long-standing commitment to providing safe, reliable, affordable and sustainable energy, MGE has set a goal to achieve net-zero methane emissions from our natural gas distribution system by 2035. Learn about our strategies.
Frequently Asked Questions
RNG is a biogas that has been upgraded to replace natural gas derived from fossil fuels. It is produced from existing waste streams and a variety of renewable and sustainable biomass sources, including animal waste, crop residuals and food waste. Organic waste from dairies and farms can be repurposed into biogas. The most common source of biogas is the naturally occurring biological breakdown of organic waste at facilities such as wastewater treatment plants and landfills.
A Renewable Thermal Certificate (RTC) is the unique representation of the environmental attributes associated with the production of RNG. One RTC is associated with the production of one dekatherm of RNG.
Natural gas consists largely of methane. Methane comes from the decomposition of organic matter.
Biogas typically consists of methane and carbon dioxide, with traces of other elements. The biogas is cleaned and conditioned to remove or reduce non-methane elements to produce RNG. The RNG is processed so it's interchangeable with traditional pipeline-quality natural gas to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the pipeline network and the distribution system serving customers.
Collecting, processing and converting organic materials into pipeline-quality gas is an expensive process today. As demand for RNG grows, we would expect that these costs will go down over time. Your participation in MGE's GPT RNG program can help the market mature.
The M-RETS Tracking Platform is an industry-leading renewable resource tracking system that tracks and manages the activity of a variety of environmental attributes and other energy commodities.
