California Gov. Gavin Newsom last month signed legislation to turn the biomass from forest waste and dead trees into renewable natural gas (RNG).

According to the California Forestry and Fire Protection Department, aka CalFIRE, the state has nearly 150 million dead trees. Studies have pinpointed sources throughout the nation for producing RNG, including woody forest waste. The Illinois-based Gas Technology Institute has estimated that more than 75 Bcf/year of RNG could be produced from dead trees over a 30-year period.

Southern California Gas Co. spokesperson Christine Detz said California is joining neighboring Oregon in “turning an organic waste problem into an affordable, renewable energy solution. The dead and decaying trees are not only a threat for wildfires, they also...