America will need 500 TWh more energy in 2028. This simple solution can help.

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We all know that methane emissions pose a serious challenge to the climate. At the same time, there is a huge growing demand for power. However, few realize that there is one solution to these two growing problems.

North American Electric Reliability Corp. is forecasting 78 GW of winter peak demand growth over the next 10 years. Two years ago, that number was about 40 GW of projected growth. Individual reports from utilities and grid operators also indicate accelerating growth.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the Texas grid operator, recently released a long-term demand forecast showing a 62 GW increase in peak summer demand by 2030. PJM Interconnection, the grid operator for 13 mid-Atlantic states and Washington, D.C., forecasts a 25 GW increase in summer peak demand by 2034 . In the Pacific Northwest, 8.5 GW of peak summer demand growth is expected, representing a 30% increase over 10 years. Summary: Americans will need much more electricity than we thought just a few years ago.

Meanwhile, landfills, agricultural waste, food waste and sewage emit methane, which has been responsible for almost 30% of global warming since the Industrial Revolution.

Both of these problems are serious and have a relatively simple solution: build more biogas systems to convert our waste into renewable electricity. Biogas systems direct organic waste into anaerobic digesters, creating a stop in the existing waste treatment process where biological decomposition and methane release can be controlled. Methane is captured and the remaining material is recycled.

But the benefits don’t stop there. Methane captured by biogas systems is an energy source. Methane, the same fuel that can power your hot water heater or furnace, can be used instead of conventional natural gas, reducing the amount of fossil fuels we use. It can also power trucks to deliver goods, heat manufacturing plants and generate renewable electricity that is fed back into the grid. Biogas plants are an effective way to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and produce renewable fuels and electricity.

To help solve our grid load dilemma, the United States could produce at least 166 terawatt-hours of renewable energy solely from methane obtained from biogas projects and recycling our organic waste.

Moreover, biogas provides the flexibility of natural gas except for low, zero or even negative carbon dioxide emissions over the entire life cycle, depending on how much methane emissions the biogas system has prevented. And because methane can be stored in our pipeline system indefinitely, biogas can provide both valuable baseload energy to meet ongoing grid energy demands and the ability to be rapidly deployed to meet peak demand.

There should be no doubt that more biogas projects are needed and needed now. We have a lot of waste and emissions and we need more renewable energy. To maximize implementation, every end-use of biogas should be incentivized, from renewable fuel programs and hydrogen production to renewable electricity generation. There are countless tax incentives currently being considered for these end uses, and almost all of them underestimate or ignore the multi-faceted benefits of this resource. Additional incentives supporting agricultural systems under the Farm Bill could also be implemented on a larger scale. Biogas projects have bipartisan support in Congress, providing benefits to rural farming communities as much as climate and capital benefits.

In the fight against climate change, in the face of rapidly growing demand for electricity, there is rarely a solution as simple, elegant and cost-effective as biogas systems.