The Southern Ute Indian Tribe in La Plata County voluntarily captures and processes methane emissions from underground coal beds, distributing it via pipeline for use as natural gas. This project, verified with Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), eliminates 23,000 to 60,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions every year.
‍
Natural gas’s primary component is methane, a greenhouse gas 34 times more powerful than CO2 as a greenhouse gas. 1 CH4 molecule can warm the planet as much as 34 CO2 molecules. It’s formed during the creation of coal deep within the earth over millennia, and released from shifting tectonic plates within the Rocky Mountains. This project captures methane, which is 34 times more powerful than CO2 as a greenhouse gas and then uses the gas as a fuel resource. Similar to landfill methane capture and a dairy biogas reactor.