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
SOURCE Southern California Gas Company
