Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) has begun injecting biomethane into its distribution network from a CR&R Environmental Inc. production facility in Perris, CA.

A SoCalGas spokesperson said it is the first renewable natural gas (RNG) to be produced in the state and transported through local utility pipelines.

CR&R’s RNG is used to fuel about 400 of the waste hauling firm’s trucks.

Last year, CR&R and SoCalGas kicked off the program to establish a distribution link in Southern California.

The 1.4-mile pipeline links CR&R’s anaerobic digestion facility 60 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in Perris with the distribution pipeline system.

CR&R produces RNG using organic waste that is processed in an anaerobic digester billed as the largest and most automated in the world. The biogas is upgraded to the same standards and specifications as natural gas.

RNG sources can vary among landfills, wastewater treatment plants, food processing plants and dairies. The collection of escaping methane is considered essential to California’s efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change.