Smart Energy projects reduce, or prevent the release of, greenhouse gas

See Smart Energy at work.

Your Smart Energy enrollment helps fund projects that reduce, or prevent the release of, greenhouse gas.

Smart Energy renewable natural gas projects

Currently, for customers with service in Washington, the Smart Energy program purchases renewable thermal certificates (RTCs) from the Wasatch Resource Recovery Facility in Utah and retires them on participants’ behalf.

Renewable natural gas is derived from biogas, which is produced from decomposing organic waste from landfills, agricultural waste and wastewater from treatment facilities, that has been captured and cleaned for the pipeline.

For every dekatherm (10 therms) of renewable natural gas produced and used at qualifying facilities, an RTC is created. An RTC represents the environmental attributes of the generation and use of the dekatherm of renewable natural gas, similar to renewable energy certificates for wind and solar electricity generation. RTCs are currently tracked, validated and retired via the Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System (M-RETS), which ensures the validity and integrity of RTC creation and retirement. For more information on RTCs, please visit the M-RETS Renewable Thermal Tracking System Website.

Smart Energy carbon offset projects

Your enrollment helps Smart Energy purchase carbon offsets from projects like biodigesters on dairy farms that can turn waste into an on-demand renewable energy source. The Average Home[1]Based on the average annual natural gas use of NW Natural residential customers of 630 therms (or 3.7 tons) enrollment option will prevent more than 20 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere every day.

Bear Creek Watershed

Bear Creek Watershed - Astoria, OR

By extending the time between timber rotation, this Forest Stewardship Council-certified watershed forest sequesters atmospheric carbon and helps provide clean drinking water.

B6 Dairy

B6 Dairy - Gooding, ID

Captured methane from the anaerobic digestion of manure at this family farm generates about 1 million kilowatt-hours of renewable electricity every month.

Castelanelli Brothers Dairy

Castelanelli Brothers Dairy - Lodi, CA

This family-owned dairy uses captured methane from diverted manure to generate renewable electricity for the farm.

Davis Landfill

Davis Landfill - Layton, UT

Captured methane is piped to Hill Airforce Base, where it is used to generate renewable electricity.

Farm Power Lynden

Farm Power Lynden - Lynden, WA

Captured methane from an anaerobic digester was used to generate renewable electricity. The resulting heat waste heated commercial greenhouses.

Farm Power Misty Meadow

Farm Power Misty Meadow - Tillamook, OR

This family-owned dairy diverts manure from a 14-million-gallon lagoon to a 1-million-gallon anaerobic digester, where captured methane is used to generate renewable electricity.

Farm Power Rexville

Farm Power Rexville - Mt. Vernon, WA

The digester sits between two dairies and generates electricity with the captured methane from manure and municipal food waste.

Farm Power Tillamook

Farm Power Tillamook - Tillamook, OR

Five family-owned dairy farms pipe manure from about 2,500 cows to a central digester, where captured methane is used to generate renewable electricity.

Great Bear Initiative

Great Bear Forest Carbon Project - British Columbia

The Great Bear Forest Carbon Project works to reduce the number of trees cut in the Rainforest, which helps increase the amount of stored carbon. Coastal First Nations then sells carbon credits that represent these increased volumes, and buyers use the credits to offset their own greenhouse gas emissions.

Lochmead Farms

Lochmead Farms - Junction City, OR

This family-owned dairy turned waste from about 1,100 cows into renewable electricity.

Moses Lake

Moses Lake - Moses Lake, WA

This ENERGY STAR^®-rated facility diverts organic waste and potato trim from lagoons to an anaerobic digester. Captured methane is used on-site as a source of renewable natural gas.

Oak Lea Dairy

Oak Lea Dairy - Aumsville, OR

This small family-owned dairy uses captured methane to generate renewable electricity—enough to power about 300 homes in Oregon each year.

Roseburg LFG

Roseburg LFG Energy - Roseburg, OR

This project captures methane emitted from the Roseburg Landfill municipal waste facility. The captured methane is then refined and sent to a 1.6-megawatt energy plant to generate renewable energy.

Shaan Seet

Shaan Seet Improved Forest Management Project - Prince of Wales Island, AK

This project sequesters atmospheric carbon by preventing commercial timber harvesting activities from occurring on this 8,891 acre area of old-growth forest. Owned by Shaan Seet Inc., an Alaska Native Claims Settlement Corporation that provides economic development for the community of Craig (Shaan da) on the west side Prince of Wales Island, this project will also improve wildlife habitat, protect biodiversity, and protect water quality for local fisheries.

TMF Biofuels

TMF Biofuels - Boardman, OR

Captured methane from co-digested organic waste and cow manure generates about 4.8 million megawatts of renewable electricity annually.

Van Warmerdam Dairy

Van Warmerdam Dairy - Galt, CA

Manure from roughly 1,400 cows power a 600 kilowatt-capacity generator, which produces peaking power for Sacramento Municipal Utility District.

Whiteside Dairy

Whiteside Dairy - Rupert, ID

Captured methane heated farm buildings and generated renewable electricity.

Winston Creek

Winston Creek Forest Carbon Project - Lewis County, WA

This project sequesters carbon by extending the rotation time between timber harvests on a 10,088-acre plot of commercial forest. Made up primarily of Douglas fir, the project protects valuable habitat for local wildlife, including the spotted owl and marbled murrelet.

We have three children and all three have a passion for the dairy industry. We think it's a great move, and a great future for the farm.

Rita Hogan

Misty Meadow Dairy

How we select carbon offset projects for Smart Energy

We contract with third-party organizations to procure verified carbon offsets on behalf of Smart Energy. Smart Energy has retired carbon offsets on the public registries of several voluntary carbon offset programs. These programs have developed standards for quantifying and verifying GHG emissions reduction projects, overseeing independent third-party verification bodies, issuing carbon credits generated from such projects and tracking the credits over time. Recognized standards from these programs help ensure environmental integrity.

Climate Action Reserve (CAR)

American Carbon Registry (ACR)

Verified Carbon Standard (VCS)
BC Registry

All Smart Energy carbon offset projects meet quality standards and ensure environmental integrity. Projects must:

Ensure greenhouse gas emission reductions are in addition to business-as-usual activities.
Apply quantification protocols that generate a conservative volume of emission reductions.
Be monitored and third-party verified.

We also prefer Smart Energy projects that contribute to sustainable development goals, such as protecting water quality and creating jobs.

Carbon offset project selection criteria

Verified offsets

Additionality

Additionality is an essential determinant of an offset project quality. Additionality is a term by which an assessment is made regarding whether or not a project's emissions reductions are in addition to a business-as-usual scenario. To prove additionality, a project must meet the requirements that demonstrate the project faces barriers to implementation such as it is not required by any law, statute or rule, and it is not common practice in the project area. These barriers can be institutional, technological or financial.

Monitoring and Verification

Emissions reductions from projects must be accurately and conservatively quantified. Each project must have a monitoring plan that defines how, when and by whom the quantification will be done. All emissions reductions must be verified by an independent third party. Furthermore, all reductions must be based on realistic emissions baselines.

Permanence
Offset project emissions reductions and removals must be considered permanent in the context of efforts to stop and reverse climate change. Projects sequestering and storing carbon that can be reversed (re-released into the atmosphere) are subject to long-term contractual obligations with offset registries and contribute offsets to a buffer pool. If reversed, an equivalent amount of offsets will be retired from the buffer pool to ensure greenhouse gas emissions do not increase.

Ownership of Credits
Reductions generated by offset projects must have clear and defensible rights to ownership and may only be allocated, awarded or counted one time, at any given time, against the greenhouse gas emissions of a single entity.

NW Natural criteria

Type:

NW Natural purchases offsets from six project types on behalf of Smart Energy participants. Here they are in order of preference:

1. Dairy manure methane capture

Anaerobic digestion captures the methane, and the resulting biogas is used as renewable energy.

2. Organic waste methane capture

Anaerobic digestion captures the methane, and the resulting biogas is used as renewable energy.

3. Wastewater methane capture

Anaerobic digestion captures the methane, and the resulting biogas is used as renewable energy.

4. Landfill gas methane capture

The resulting biogas is used as renewable energy.

5. Forestry

The CO2e emissions that are avoided or newly stored through Improved Forest Management (IFM), Afforestation/Reforestation (A/R), or Avoided Conversion (AC).

6. Organic waste composting methane avoidance

Avoids methane emissions entering the atmosphere through the diversion and aerobic processing of organic waste.

Geography:

NW Natural identified two geographical regions for project locations:

1. Pacific Northwest (PNW)

Projects located in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, with a state order of preference of Oregon, Washington and then Idaho.

2. West

Projects located in Alaska, California, Montana, Nevada, Utah and British Columbia (Canada).

Carbon offset criteria

NW Natural uses criteria established by recognized standards, listed above, to ensure that Smart Energy dollars are going to credible projects that have a positive impact on the climate. Smart Energy offset projects must:

Meet a credible third-party certification body's additionality standard (e.g., Climate Action Reserve, VERRA or American Carbon Registry) that clearly demonstrates how carbon finance helps the project overcome financial, technological or institutional barriers, or how it is not common practice.
Have a credible monitoring plan in place that quantifies emissions reduction performance and subject it to third-party verification.
Permanently reduce or avoid emissions.
Demonstrate clear title to the emission reductions to guarantee that offsets have clear and defensible ownership rights and are not subject to double counting.

See Smart Energy at work.

Smart Energy renewable natural gas projects

Smart Energy carbon offset projects

Bear Creek Watershed

Bear Creek Watershed - Astoria, OR

B6 Dairy

B6 Dairy - Gooding, ID

Castelanelli Brothers Dairy

Castelanelli Brothers Dairy - Lodi, CA

Davis Landfill

Davis Landfill - Layton, UT

Farm Power Lynden

Farm Power Lynden - Lynden, WA

Farm Power Misty Meadow

Farm Power Misty Meadow - Tillamook, OR

Farm Power Rexville

Farm Power Rexville - Mt. Vernon, WA

Farm Power Tillamook

Farm Power Tillamook - Tillamook, OR

Great Bear Initiative

Great Bear Forest Carbon Project - British Columbia

Lochmead Farms

Lochmead Farms - Junction City, OR

Moses Lake

Moses Lake - Moses Lake, WA

Oak Lea Dairy

Oak Lea Dairy - Aumsville, OR

Roseburg LFG

Roseburg LFG Energy - Roseburg, OR

Shaan Seet

Shaan Seet Improved Forest Management Project - Prince of Wales Island, AK

TMF Biofuels

TMF Biofuels - Boardman, OR

Van Warmerdam Dairy

Van Warmerdam Dairy - Galt, CA

Whiteside Dairy

Whiteside Dairy - Rupert, ID

Winston Creek

Winston Creek Forest Carbon Project - Lewis County, WA

How we select carbon offset projects for Smart Energy

Carbon offset project selection criteria

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