Energy Sources

Biogas

Also Known As Renewable Natural Gas · Biomethane

Renewable

Citation Formats

General Reference

Energy Atlas. "Biogas." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://dev-energy.interactiveatlas.org/energy-sources/biogas.

APA Style

Energy Atlas. (n.d.). Biogas. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://dev-energy.interactiveatlas.org/energy-sources/biogas

BibTeX

@misc{energyatlas-biogas,
  author = {Energy Atlas},
  title = {Biogas},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://dev-energy.interactiveatlas.org/energy-sources/biogas},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

An energy-rich gas of mostly methane and carbon dioxide, produced when anaerobic bacteria digest organic matter in landfills, manure digesters and waste treatment plants. Cleaned up to renewable natural gas it is fully interchangeable with fossil natural gas, so it can be injected into ordinary gas pipelines or fuel natural gas vehicles.

Facts

Source Class

Renewable 1

First Commercial Year

1895 2

Biogas from a sewage treatment facility was used to fuel street lamps in Exeter, England, in 1895, the first known practical energy use of biogas; an earlier 1859 digestion plant at a leper colony in Bombay, India, treated waste without capturing the gas for fuel.

Cross-Tradition Connections