Summerland winery group transitions to renewable natural gas
Okanagan’s Crush Pad Winery group have made the switch to 100% renewable natural gas.
Summerland’s Okanagan Crush Pad, Haywire and Garnet Valley Ranch wineries announced the transition to renewable natural gas in a media release from the Thompson-Okanagan Tourism Association today, Nov. 20
Renewable natural gas comes from decomposing organic matter and is compatible with regular natural gas infrastructure, according to FortisBC.
This change will reduce the winery group’s CO2 emissions from 30,000 kilograms to 100 kg.
“There are 300 wineries up and down the valley and I think if we all looked at that and made that commitment it could make a massive difference in overall greenhouse gas emissions in the Okanagan,” Craig Pingle, general manager for the winery group, said in a video accompanying the release.
Pingle says making the switch to renewable natural gas was simple.
“This simple action supports our commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Making the move to renewable natural gas required no new infrastructure and yields an enormous drop in our annual emissions,” Pingle said.
Okanagan Crush Pad has been making organic wine since 2011 and was the first Canadian winery to join the International Wineries for Climate Action. The tourism association says renewable natural gas is an easy way for wineries to reduce their carbon footprint.
“Thompson-Okanagan Tourism Association’s renewable natural gas initiative takes meaningful and measurable steps to reduce the region's carbon footprint. It enables stakeholders like Okanagan Crush Pad to make an immediate change to a more sustainable fuel source, and is a practical step towards a cleaner future for British Columbia,” Ellen Walker-Matthews, the tourism association’s CEO said in the release.
“In the face of escalating climate crises, RNG is a vital tool that businesses and individuals can adopt today to lessen their current carbon footprints.”
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