State regulators have approved a plan by Roanoke Gas Co. to convert biogas from a sewage treatment plant into natural gas for distribution to customers in the region.
In an order issued Monday, the State Corporation Commission found that the joint project with the Western Virginia Water Authority is in the public interest.
“Roanoke Gas’s project has the potential to achieve a rare combination of increasing local fuel supply, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and increasing a utility’s profit while also lowering rates,” a SCC hearing examiner determined. Plans call for the installation of a large piece of equipment at the authority’s water treatment plant in Southeast Roanoke that will convert biogas created from the processing of sewage into natural gas.
