Spire and KC Water partners on RNG facility

In Missouri, Spire and KC Water are partnering on Kansas City, Missouri’s first renewable natural gas (RNG) facility, a project that will capture methane emissions from the wastewater treatment process to generate renewable energy.

KC Water selected Spire after an extensive proposal process to construct the RNG facility, which is an extension of a current KC Water project.  The project was approved October 26 by the Kansas City Council and is intended to repurpose biogas generated from the city’s Blue River Wastewater Treatment Plant into RNG. The new facility is expected to be complete in 2025.

Spire plans to include the renewable energy generated at the facility in their natural gas supply for customers to heat homes, fuel businesses and potentially fuel vehicles. Because RNG is fully compatible with conventional natural gas and existing pipeline infrastructure, customers do not need to change their natural gas appliances to reap the environmental benefits of RNG.

By capturing emissions that otherwise would be emitted into the air, the project will assist KC Water with improving air quality near their wastewater facility. KC Water estimates it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 20,000 tons of CO2 equivalent per year. The partnership will also generate approximately $1 million of revenue for KC Water per year.