South Jersey Industries’ Linden Renewable Energy project — one in which an innovative technology will help North Jersey customers turn their organic waste streams into renewable energy while reducing greenhouse gases — is being praised before it even begins operation.

In October, SJI received the 2024 Energy Vision Leadership Award by Energy Vision, which recognizes trailblazers who are spearheading the advancement of an expanding industry.

Steve Cocchi, SJI’s chief financial officer, accepted the award at Energy Vision’s 18th Annual Awards reception.

“Renewable energy development is foundational to our strategic approach at SJI,” Cocchi said. “I thank Energy Vision for this honor and for continuing to promote, educate, and reward waste-to-energy projects and corporations contributing to the nation’s sustainability goals.”

The LRE project, which SJI and its partners, Captona and RNG Energy Solutions, broke ground on earlier this year, aims to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025.

It is anticipated that the LRE project will have the capacity to convert up to 1,475 tons of waste to produce up to 3,783 million BTUs of renewable natural gas —the energy equivalent value of 30,200 gallons of gasoline per day. The renewable natural gas produced at the plant will be injected into a nearby pipeline to heat homes and businesses in the Elizabethtown Gas service area.

The LRE project will offer Northern New Jersey and the broader metro region an opportunity to manage their organic waste streams to comply with state and local food waste regulations that require organic waste to be diverted from landfills. It will create jobs, have the potential to reduce greenhouse gases, and make use of innovative technology.

Through its subsidiaries, SJI is developing and advancing sustainable energy solutions through the ownership, development, construction, and operation of diverse renewable energy projects with a core focus on producing renewable natural gas.

In addition to the LRE project, SJI, in partnership with Opal Fuels, is developing projects at two New Jersey landfills, where the biogas produced from decomposing organic landfill material will be captured by a gas well collection system and processed into pipeline-quality gas.

South Jersey Industries is an energy infrastructure holding company based in Folsom. It delivers energy services to customers through two primary subsidiaries: SJI Utilities and SJI Renewable Energy Ventures.

SJIU houses the company’s regulated natural gas utility operations, delivering safe, reliable and affordable natural gas to more than 725,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across New Jersey via its South Jersey Gas and Elizabethtown Gas subsidiaries.

SJI Renewable Energy Ventures, a non-utility subsidiary of SJI, specializes in the ownership, development, construction, and operation of diverse renewable energy projects.