Selecting and Deploying Monitoring Technologies

Methane monitoring technologies are an integral part of the MiQ Standard and play an important role in informing and validating the mitigation efforts taken by MiQ-certified operators. The detection of unintended or previously unknown emissions event must inform the operator’s methane emissions inventory, thereby increasing both the completeness and accuracy of their methane emissions intensity.

drone on methane plume

MiQ Equivalency Determination Resources

Effective deployment of methane monitoring technology requires thoughtful consideration of each available technology’s capabilities (detection limit, scalability to asset etc.) and relevant characteristics of the operator’s asset (current emissions profile and environmental characteristics including average wind speed, snow cover, and terrain). Each asset’s case may justify slightly different monitoring programs as a result. To promote a flexible but credible approach to technology deployment, MiQ maintains a list of deployment programs that includes the use of handheld, aerial-based, satellite-based and continuous methane monitoring technologies in its Equivalency Table. These programs can be used by operators as evidence during the certification to demonstrate equivalency to one of the levels detailed in the Performance Scoring Table of the MiQ Standard. Alternatively, operators can perform their own equivalency determinations following Section 3.2.3 of the MiQ Standard.

Known providers of equivalency modeling services include Highwood Emissions, Arolytics, and UT Austin’s Energy and Emissions Modeling Data Laboratory EEMDL.

Equivalency Table Equivalency Table Methodology

MiQ Resources for Monitoring Technologies

MiQ is technology-agnostic allowing operators to use a wide range of available methane monitoring technologies that suit their needs. However, methane monitoring technologies used as part of MiQ emissions certification must meet some minimum requirements, including:

  • Single-blind, third-party testing of their monitoring method in realistic conditions
  • Establishing a detection curve based on these test results
  • Demonstrating the ability to attribute detected emissions to a single site spatial boundary

To help operators and auditors navigate the sometimes-complicated world of methane monitoring technologies and technology performance MiQ has published compatibility assessments for certain methane monitoring technologies. The companies owning each technology have provided the information published in the compatibility assessments to MiQ and the information has been vetted by MiQ. Each technology with a published compatibility assessment meets the basic requirements of monitoring technologies set under the MiQ Standard. Proper deployment of the technologies still must be verified by the auditor.  Other technologies and other vendors may be used to meet MiQ’s monitoring technology requirements provided the technology also complies with the minimum requirements of the MiQ Standard.