MONTREAL, June 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Énergir
(Canada), SoCalGas (US), and
French utilities GRDF and GRTgaz today shared a global discussion
and their visions on viable solutions for fighting climate change.
The presentation was part of the Movin'On Summit and brought
together executives from each of the utilities. The theme for this
year's summit is "Solutions for Multimodal Ecosystems" and examines
decarbonization and air quality, urban transit and society,
innovative technologies, goods movement and the circular
economy.
Some of the highlights from the event, moderated by
Énergir CEO Sophie Brochu, included discussion on the role of
renewable gas and its growth potential, renewable energy
technologies such as power-to-gas and effective ways to reduce
transportation emissions through the deployment of natural gas
vehicles fueled with renewable gas.
"It's time to move from deliberation to action. Now more than
ever, renewable natural gas has a role to play in the energy
transition," said Sophie Brochu, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Énergir. "We need to capitalize on the experiences of
our partners to continue and accelerate the development of this
sector in Québec with a renewed commitment to resolve issues in the
fight against global warming."
"We appreciate the collaboration we have built with Énergir,
GRDF and GRTgaz because international dialogue and cooperation is
how we will achieve global environmental goals," said Maryam Brown, president for SoCalGas. "We must
all work together on ways to reduce emissions and minimize waste,
that is why SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20 percent of our
traditional natural gas supply with renewable natural gas by
2030."
"The collaboration between our four companies focuses on the
development of solutions supporting low-carbon and circular
economy," said Edouard Sauvage,
chief executive officer of GRDF. "We joined our efforts in order to
speed up the development of renewable gas and bioNGV as they are
mature technologies which massively contribute to lowering CO2
emissions and improving air quality."
"And it is this combination: the environmental advantage and
economic and operational performance which now allows the actors to
'go ahead' and explains this take-off of gas mobility," said
Pierre Duvieusart, Deputy CEO of
GRTgaz.
The Movin'On Summit marks the first time executives from this
association of innovative energy utilities have presented publicly
as a group since announcing a collaboration between the
four companies last year. All four utilities share a common
goal of advancing policies to combat climate change while providing
customers with reliable and affordable energy solutions. As part of
the collaboration, representatives from each company speak
regularly to learn about research and development initiatives and
ways to achieve policy initiatives.
In the last year, the group has visited the innovative
demonstrator GRHYD in the North of France which is testing injection of hydrogen
into the GRDF grid, a biomethane injection plant and GRTgaz'
Jupiter 1000 power-to-gas demonstration project in southern
France, SoCalGas funded research
and development projects in California and will visit a biomethane project
in Quebec hosted by Énergir this
month.
About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los
Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest natural
gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable,
reliable, clean and increasingly renewable natural gas service to
21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of
Central and Southern California, where more than 90 percent of
residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying
clothes or other uses. Natural gas delivered through the company's
pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to
Californians— about 45 percent of electric power
generated in the state comes from gas-fired power
plants.
SoCalGas' vision is to be the cleanest natural gas utility in
North America, delivering
affordable and increasingly renewable energy to its customers. In
support of that vision, SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20
percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable
natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from
waste created by dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment
plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its natural gas
system infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for our
customers. From 2014 through 2018, the company invested
nearly $6.5 billion to upgrade and modernize its natural
gas system to enhance safety and reliability. SoCalGas is a
subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy
services holding company based in San Diego. For more
information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with
SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas)
and Facebook.
About Énergir
With more than $7 billion in
assets, Énergir is a diversified energy company whose mission
is to meet the energy needs of its 520,000 customers and the
communities it serves in an increasingly sustainable way. In
Québec, it is the leading natural gas distribution company and also
produces, through its subsidiaries, electricity from wind power. In
the United States, through its
subsidiaries, the company operates in nearly fifteen states, where
it produces electricity from hydraulic, wind and solar sources, in
addition to being the leading electricity distributor and the sole
natural gas distributor in Vermont. Énergir values energy efficiency and
invests both resources and efforts in innovative energy projects
such as renewable natural gas and liquefied and compressed natural
gas. Through its subsidiaries, it also provides a variety of energy
services. Énergir hopes to become the partner of choice for
those striving toward a better energy future.
Twitter: @Energir_
About GRDF
GRDF is the operator of the main natural gas distribution
network in France, GRDF
distributes natural gas each day to more than 11 million customers
to ensure that they have gas when they need it, regardless of their
supplier. This convenient, affordable, comfortable, and modern
source of energy enables people to heat their homes, cook, and get
around.
To provide this public service, GRDF builds, operates, and
maintains the largest transmission network in Europe (200,715 km) and develops it in more
than 9,500 municipalities while ensuring the safety of people and
property, as well as high-quality distribution.
Twitter: @grdf
About GRTGaz
GRTgaz is a world expert in gas transmission networks and
systems and a leading European gas transmission system operator. In
France, GRTgaz owns and operates
more than 32,500 km of buried pipes and 26 compression stations
used to ship gas between suppliers and consumers. GRTgaz is
committed to ensuring security of supply to consumers, connecting
territories and communities with great care for the environment.
GRTgaz delivers innovative and accessible solutions to accelerate
and secure a successful energy transition by connecting the
energies of tomorrow, driving the growth of renewables and new uses
for gas while fostering synergy between electricity and gas
systems. For more information, go to www.grtgaz.com
Twitter: @GRTgaz
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SOURCE Southern California Gas Company