Delivering Sustainable Fuels and Accelerating the RNG Transition

Alex Rivera 4

Welcome back to Digest This: Unpacking Our Sustainable Future. I'm Alex, here with my co-host as always, Emily. Emily, you ready to break down how RNG and sustainable fuels are shaping the energy transition?

Emily Nguyen 4

Absolutely, Alex. And I have to say, this week’s IEA report really feels like a roadmap for where sustainable fuels could take us—if we get the right pieces in place. The headline is clear: sustainable fuels, like biofuels, biogases, and especially renewable natural gas, aren't just add-ons—they’re pivotal in sectors that can't ditch fuels overnight, like aviation, shipping, and heavy transport.

Alex Rivera 4

Yeah, the report really brought that home for me. Y’know, it’s easy to focus on electrification, which gets all the hype, but there are these massive chunks of our economy—planes, ships, big rigs—where you just can’t flip a switch and go electric. Having sustainable fuels in the mix means we don’t put all our eggs in one basket. Plus, we're talking energy security here. Producing these fuels domestically reduces our reliance on imported oil and gas, which has huge implications for global stability—especially with markets as, uh, jumpy as they’ve been lately.

Emily Nguyen 4

Exactly, and that local production piece is so important, not just for reliability but also for economic growth. For emerging countries and rural areas, projects in biogas or RNG create jobs, train local workforces, and boost development. Think about how Brazil’s basically become a leader here. The IEA report nods to Brazil’s role in COP30, and their national approach—almost 10% of their energy coming from renewables like biofuels—sets a great example.

Alex Rivera 4

Totally. And the policy piece is huge, right? The IEA laid out six core actions governments and, really, the private sector need to think about—roadmaps, support policies, predictable demand, transparent carbon accounting, innovation, infrastructure, and financing, all while keeping things technology-open. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I guess, bottom line: without well-designed policies and actual international cooperation, we’re never gonna close the cost and availability gap with fossil fuels. Where was I going with this? Oh yeah… let’s dig into how RNG, in particular, is produced—because it’s not quite as simple as flipping a switch, either.

Emily Nguyen 4

Yeah, let’s get into the nuts and bolts. So, RNG—or renewable natural gas—starts as biogas. You get that from the decomposition of organic matter, whether it’s at a landfill, a livestock farm, ag waste, or an industrial food processor. But if you’re just capturing raw biogas, it’s can range from about 45 to 65 percent methane, so there’s some significant upgrading to be done before it can be injected into a natural gas pipeline or used as a true fossil gas alternative.

Alex Rivera 4

Right. That upgrading process removes moisture, carbon dioxide, and various trace chemicals. Once it’s clean and up to spec—usually above 96% methane—you basically have fuel you can use the same way you’d use conventional natural gas. I always get questions about, like, whether this is just a niche thing, but the sheer growth tells a different story. Check out what the EPA’s tracked: in 2005, there were just over a dozen landfill RNG sites in the U.S. and a couple on the ag side. By 2023, we're looking at 102 landfill projects and 135 agricultural operations making RNG. That’s wild.

Emily Nguyen 4

That’s exponential. And, honestly, it reflects the policy and tech improvements we’ve seen since the mid-2000s, not to mention growing pressure for better waste management. Also, let’s not leave out food waste and wastewater—those are feedstocks too, and we're starting to see more urban projects coming online, like the urban farming and RNG campus in Chicago, which gets talked about in EPA’s recent profiles. The key is: diverse feedstocks, multiply your local benefits.

Alex Rivera 4

I might be wrong about this, but doesn't the upgrading process also help with local air quality, since you’re banking up gas that's way cleaner than what you’d get with diesel or coal? And plus, it means you can use existing pipelines. That’s kind of a theme—making what we have work, not always starting from scratch.

Emily Nguyen 4

Yeah, that’s right, Alex. RNG really pulls its weight on a lot of fronts. First is fuel diversification. The more we integrate RNG, the less tied we are to single-source fossil fuels, and the more resilient our entire system becomes—especially for regions looking to reduce import dependence. The IEA even pointed out that, in 2024, biofuels alone reduced some countries’ need for imports by up to 15%.

Alex Rivera 4

And on the dollars-and-cents side, RNG projects often bring in investment and create local jobs. Those kinds of stories repeat all over—the construction, operations, and even in supporting industries like vehicle conversions or pipeline work.

Emily Nguyen 4

Right, but maybe my favorite part is the environmental impact. Capturing methane that would’ve entered the atmosphere is a massive win. Methane’s, what, 28 times more potent a greenhouse gas than CO2? RNG projects are one of the fastest ways we have to cut those short-term climate forcers. Plus, swapping diesel trucks for RNG vehicles drops not just carbon but also local pollutants like nitrogen oxides and particulates.

Alex Rivera 4

You know, we’ve circled this in past episodes—whether you’re talking about landfill diversion, decarbonizing transport, or just making use of what we already call “waste.” It’s classic circular economy thinking. RNG is maybe the best embodiment of that: capture value, reduce pollution, and create something that powers homes or fleets. Food waste becomes gas, then the leftover becomes fertilizer. It’s like, if you squint, waste streams are energy streams in disguise.

Emily Nguyen 4

Exactly, and that’s not just idealism—companies are baking this into their ESG strategies. Biogas can be documented through origin guarantees, so businesses can report this progress in their ESG data and show stakeholders they’re making meaningful reductions, not just offsets on paper.

Alex Rivera 4

This connects super neatly to the challenge that’s become the elephant in the boardroom: Scope 3 emissions. We get a lot of questions from companies confused about Scope 1, 2, and 3. So, real fast: Scope 1 is direct emissions from activities you own or control. Scope 2 is purchased power. Scope 3 is... pretty much everything else—your whole value chain, partners, the logistics for your goods, even end-of-life disposal.

Emily Nguyen 4

And Scope 3 is usually the biggest chunk, but it’s hardest to affect directly because so much of it sits outside your immediate operations. That’s where RNG becomes powerful. If a food processor, say, partners with a hauler to use RNG-trucks, or sets up anaerobic digesters on-site to turn waste into fuel, they're directly impacting those up- and downstream logistics emissions. Same for manufacturers or retailers who contract RNG-powered fleets or turn their own organic waste into usable energy.

Alex Rivera 4

That Cummins report we were talking about earlier? They show RNG use in transport rising over 90% in just five years. That’s tens of millions of tons of CO2e avoided—almost 7 million, if my math is right—which is basically the equivalent of taking 784 million gallons—wait, maybe it’s 784 thousand? No, million—gallons of gasoline out of the mix. That's a tangible impact, not something you just report and forget. Companies meeting tough sustainability targets are often doing it by greening their logistics network, not just where they flip their own switches.

Emily Nguyen 4

Exactly. And the beauty of RNG? Companies can make measurable cuts to their value chain footprint, support innovation, and encourage broader industry adoption—just by choosing partners or fleets that use alternative fuels. Plus, as more of these investments happen up and down supply chains, the price comes down, and access gets easier for everyone. It’s contagious sustainability, in a way.

Emily Nguyen 4

Looking ahead, the IEA didn’t mince words: policy needs to get a lot more strategic and layered. They have six priorities: build regional roadmaps, make sure there’s data for demand predictability, adopt robust carbon accounting, keep innovation flowing, update infrastructure, and unlock financing—especially in emerging economies. It’s not a single lever; it’s an all-the-levers situation.

Alex Rivera 4

And honestly, innovation can take so many forms. It’s not just developing new digesters or smarter gas upgrading. We're seeing entirely new RNG feedstocks—think about urban organics, wastewater, and now even decentralized community-scale RNG for more resilience. And a lot of it’s about getting the economics right so these projects scale, not just survive off a single pilot or subsidy.

Emily Nguyen 4

Building on what we’ve discussed in previous episodes, 3 Rivers Energy Partners is smack in the middle of all of this. We're out there deploying best-in-class solutions. We focus on fostering partnerships and guiding projects from conception through operations. Whether it’s getting fertilizer to a local farm or helping a Fortune 500 meet its sustainability goals, it’s all about making sustainable projects a reality—not just theory.

Alex Rivera 4

We’re always hunting for those win-wins—where capturing value from waste also cuts pollution, boosts resilience, and makes business sense. And if we do our part right, the future isn’t just less fossil fuels but more community development, better jobs, and an energy system that works for everyone. Emily, if we didn’t answer every question listeners might have, at least we hopefully gave a lot to chew on today. I’m looking forward to next time—always more ground to cover.

Emily Nguyen 4

Same here, Alex. That’s it for today’s deep dive. If you’re a regular, thanks for coming back. And if you’re new, stick around—this transition is only just getting started. We’ll catch you next time on Digest This: Unpacking Our Sustainable Future. Bye, Alex!

Alex Rivera 4

See you next time, Emily. Bye everyone!