FortisBC's Clean Growth Innovation Fund gets greenlight for next phase
BCUC approval ensures ongoing support for innovative energy projects in B.C.
SURREY, BC, June 17, 2025 /CNW/ - FortisBC Energy Inc. (FortisBC) is pleased to announce that it has received approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) to continue its Clean Growth Innovation Fund. The funding will further accelerate efforts to drive innovation in B.C.'s energy sector. The continuation of this initiative, which is part of FortisBC's 2025-2027 Rate Setting Framework, reinforces the company's commitment to help to advance innovation projects that support the transition to a lower carbon energy future for British Columbia.
"We are incredibly excited to continue the momentum of the Clean Growth Innovation Fund and to bring even more innovative projects to life," said Jamie King, director of innovation and measurement at FortisBC. "As a critical energy provider committed to advancing the transition to a lower carbon energy future, this will allow us to support new applications, allowing more organizations to secure funding for projects that will have a real impact in meeting B.C.'s energy needs."
Building on the success of the initial fund, FortisBC remains dedicated to advancing new innovative energy projects and will provide approximately $5.5 million to the Clean Growth Innovation Fund per year from 2025 to 2027 to help it work with academia and industry to learn what reliable and cost-effective solutions may be possible to lower emissions.
Since its launch in 2020, the Clean Growth Innovation Fund has committed funding for more than 65 innovative projects, totalling more than $20 million in funding. These projects, including innovations in Renewable Natural Gas 1 (RNG) and hydrogen research, have provided valuable insights to both the organizations that received funding and FortisBC as the company works to help advance B.C.'s climate goals. Examples include the Simon Fraser University-based Clean Hydrogen Hub, Point 3 Biotech's groundbreaking manure processing innovation for RNG production and research and collaboration with the University of British Columbia (UBC) Okanagan on hydrogen technologies.
Another project is a collaboration with UBC, where Dr. Ryan Ziels and his team are conducting research to stimulate biomethane production from a specialized microbial community using direct application of renewable electricity into an anaerobic digester—unlocking more RNG from the same amount of organic waste.
"We're exploring how to harness beneficial microbial communities in a way that enhances RNG production from existing digesters," said Dr. Ziels, associate professor at UBC. "This collaboration with FortisBC is helping to drive RNG innovation, with the potential to not only produce more RNG from organic waste streams, but to also turn digesters into flexible renewable energy storage systems."
As a provider of critical energy services to nearly 1.3 million homes and businesses across the province, FortisBC plays a vital role in meeting B.C.'s energy needs while helping to advance B.C.'s climate goals. The Clean Growth Innovation Fund is funded by ratepayers as part of the basic charge. It will contribute to the long-term viability of FortisBC's gas system that can provide renewable and lower carbon gas 2 for customers, including to areas that may be difficult to electrify. With more than 51,600 kilometers of gas infrastructure already in place, FortisBC is leveraging this system to offer more renewable and lower carbon gas to its customers. The continuation of the Clean Growth Innovation Fund is a step toward accelerating FortisBC's progress in working towards reducing overall emissions and supporting the province's climate action goals and CleanBC roadmap.
Visit fortisbc.com/cleangrowthfund for more information or to submit an application.
Backgrounder:
FortisBC's Clean Growth Innovation Fund was initially launched in 2020 as part of FortisBC's 2020-2024 Multi-Year Rate setting framework. The 2025-2027 Clean Growth Innovation Fund will prioritize projects that offer impactful solutions to lower emissions. Projects will be evaluated based on key criteria, including co-funding, estimated emissions reductions, cost reductions for customers and the experience of the project team. The company will commit approximately $5.5 million per year from 2025 to 2027 to support projects that enable FortisBC to collaborate with academia, industry and other stakeholders to create reliable, cost-effective solutions for emissions reduction. The Clean Growth Innovation Fund will also receive support from government and industry partners.
FortisBC Energy Inc. is a regulated utility focused on providing safe, reliable and affordable energy, including natural gas, Renewable Natural Gas and propane. FortisBC Energy Inc. employs around 2,143 British Columbians and serves approximately 1,086,500 customers across British Columbia. FortisBC Energy Inc. owns and operates two liquefied natural gas storage facilities and approximately 51,600 kilometres of gas transmission and distribution lines. FortisBC Energy Inc. is a subsidiary of Fortis Inc., a leader in the North American regulated electricity and gas utility industry. FortisBC Energy Inc. uses the FortisBC name and logo under license from Fortis Inc. For further information on FortisBC Energy Inc., visit fortisbc.com. For further information on Fortis Inc., visit fortisinc.com.
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1
Renewable Natural Gas (also called RNG or biomethane) is produced in a different manner than conventional natural gas. It is derived from biogas, which is produced from decomposing organic waste from landfills, agricultural waste and wastewater from treatment facilities. The biogas is captured and cleaned to create RNG. When RNG is added to North America's natural gas system, it mixes with conventional natural gas. This means we're unable to direct RNG to a specific customer. But the more RNG is added to the gas system, the less conventional natural gas is needed, thereby reducing the use of fossil fuels and overall greenhouse gas emissions.
2
FortisBC uses the term renewable and lower carbon gas to refer collectively to the lower carbon gases or fuels that the utility can acquire under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Clean Energy) Regulation, which are: Renewable Natural Gas (also called RNG or biomethane), hydrogen, synthesis gas (from wood waste) and lignin. FortisBC's renewable and lower carbon gas portfolio currently includes only Renewable Natural Gas. Other gases and fuels may be added to the program over time. Depending on their source, all of these gases have differing levels of lifecycle carbon intensity. However, all of these gases are lower carbon when compared to the lifecycle carbon intensity of conventional natural gas. The current burner tip emission factor of RNG is 0.27 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule of energy (gCO 2 e/MJ) and the current renewable and lower carbon gas portfolio lifecycle emissions for stationary combustion are -22 gCO 2 e/MJ. This is below B.C.'s lifecycle carbon intensity threshold of 30.8 gCO 2 e/MJ as set out in the 2024 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Regulation amendments.
SOURCE FortisBC Energy Inc.
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