WM Invests $825 Million to Power Communities Across North America by 2026

WM (Waste Management), a waste management and environmental services company, From 2022 to 2025, expects to invest $825 million in renewable energy by extending its renewable natural gas (RNG) infrastructure.

WM's network of RNG plants, landfill gas-to-electricity plants, and other beneficial use projects are expected to deliver enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of 1 million households across North America by 2026, enabling the business to fuel its entire natural gas fleet with RNG. With its increased RNG investment, WM is on track to meet its original aim of fueling 50% of its natural gas fleet by 2025.

With an expanding network of RNG plants and the largest landfill gas-to-electricity plants in North America, WM is the industry leader in beneficial waste gas reuse.

WM services, including landfill gas and recycling, prevent more than three times the amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated by its operations. The corporation generates five times the amount of renewable electricity it uses in its operations from its landfills.

Tara Hemmer, chief sustainability officer, WM, said:

"We are committed to sustainability through our actions and investments and are proud to transform yesterday's waste to fuel our future with renewable energy. As an end-to-end vertically integrated environmental services provider, WM is uniquely positioned to expand our RNG footprint within our business. Renewable energy from WM landfill sites is an excellent source of alternative energy that beneficially uses existing landfill gas for communities. In addition, it provides an opportunity to close the loop with WM's natural gas fleet, which is the largest fleet of its kind in North America. With this new investment, we are excited to increase projected production at WM-operated RNG facilities by approximately 600 per cent in the next four years."

Through a combination of WM factories and third-party developers, WM has 16 plants in North America. By 2026, the business expects to add 17 new RNG projects to its network in states such as Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania in the United States, as well as Quebec and Ontario in Canada.

By 2026, WM estimates the increased RNG generation from the new investments to result in the displacement of about 1.3 million metric tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of 3 billion miles driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle.

Mayor David Holt, Oklahoma City, said:

"We appreciate this innovation that derives value from waste, and we're grateful to WM for this unique effort. Investments like this new plant are ultimately positive for our local environment, and a fitting thing to celebrate during Earth Month."

WM is looking for ways to improve energy efficiency in its facilities by applying a variety of technologies and best practices that will reduce environmental impacts, increase operational efficiencies, and save money.

In addition, the company continues to support renewable energy initiatives to encourage broader adoption by others, such as ultra-low-carbon intensity dairy projects, in which methane gas is captured from dairy operations to fuel WM's fleet, and is piloting zero-emission electric trucks at multiple locations to help commercialise the technology. At its closed landfills, WM has 100 megawatts of wind power and 53.9 megawatts of solar electricity.

Source: WM