Hawaii joins four other states that have also adopted these market-based policies which cut emissions while driving investment in cleaner fuels and transportation technologies. Clean fuel programs create additional revenue streams for biogas producers through the generation and sale of low-carbon fuel credits which represent the significant carbon emission savings from making the biogas and using it to displace fossil fuels.
Biogas projects make RNG and electricity by capturing the energy from organic waste -- such as food waste, manure, and wastewater solids – as it breaks down naturally. RNG and electricity generated from biogas for vehicles consistently earn some of the highest-value credits in clean fuel programs because they reduce carbon emissions the most compared to making other vehicle fuels.
“Hawaii’s clean fuel policy will expand markets for low carbon fuels like renewable natural gas (RNG) and biogas-generated electricity,” said Patrick Serfass, Executive Director of the American Biogas Council. “When biogas projects capture methane from organic waste streams such as agriculture, wastewater, and landfills, they produce the lowest-carbon transportation fuel available, while creating jobs, reducing emissions, and strengthening local economies.”
Similar programs in California, Oregon, Washington, and New Mexico have demonstrated the effectiveness of clean fuel standards in reducing emissions while accelerating investment in RNG, electricity from biogas, and other low-carbon transportation pathways. In those states, clean fuel credit markets have helped finance new biogas capture and waste-to-energy projects to fuel RNG buses and trucks and supplying renewable electricity for electric vehicle charging. These programs have also supported cleaner transportation technologies without increasing gasoline prices for existing vehicles.
Hawaii’s effort reflects a multi-year push by state leaders and stakeholders to accelerate the adoption of cleaner transportation while strengthening local energy resilience. The policy will also improve public health outcomes and advance a more circular economy by turning organic waste into valuable energy resources.
For an island state with some of the nation’s highest energy costs, this new policy offers a means to more affordable, locally produced electricity and fuel for transportation while positioning Hawaii as a national leader in transportation decarbonization.
