RNG NEWS
Nation’s largest anaerobic digestion firm endorses biogas opportunities roadmap
By Agri-View
DVO, Inc., the nation’s largest designer of anaerobic digestion systems, announced its support for the Biogas Opportunities Roadmap, a report issued earlier this month by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Energy and Environmental Protection Agency.
“We are encouraged by the very existence of this Roadmap,” said Steve Dvorak, president of DVO. “It will help educate government agencies, the dairy industry and the public on the numerous economic and environmental benefits of anaerobic digestion.”
Waste-to-Energy Could Supply 12% of US Electricity
By Environmental Leader.
If all of the municipal solid waste (MSW) that is currently put into landfills each year in the US were diverted to waste-to-energy (WTE) power plants, it could generate enough electricityto supply 12 percent of the US total, according to a study conducted by the Earth Engineering Center (EEC) of Columbia University.
According to the study, this shift also could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 123 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year.
California bill to delay cap-and-trade expansion finished for year
By Jeremy B. White, Sacramento Bee
Avoiding an election-year legislative debate over how California’s cap-and-trade program could affect gasoline prices, the leader of the state Senate has sidelined a bill that would have delayed a key aspect of California’s landmark emissions law.
Several years have passed since California enacted AB 32, a 2006 law meant to reduce heat-trapping emissions and which requires industries to purchase permits for the carbon they pump into the air. But transportation fuelssuch as gasoline have not yet come under the program. That is scheduled to change in January, prompting moderate Democrats and an oil industry-funded campaign to warn about a spike in prices and argue for a delay.
Assemblyman Henry Perea, D-Fresno, warned that the change would hurt residents of inland districts where unemployment hovers above the state average and long commutes are commonplace. His Assembly Bill 69 would have delayed bringing transportation fuels under the cap-and-trade program. Numerous moderate Democrats signed a letter supporting the concept.
Consumers can’t afford a delay in cap-and-trade
By Shannon Baker-Branstetter, Special to the Sacramento Bee.
There’s no harm in “honest discussion” about fuels, as The Sacramento Bee says in its editorial,“Pump prices will rise, and Senate should air details” (Aug. 17). But honesty involves getting the premise right – and honesty isn’t what the oil industry is offering. The question isn’t one of how much gas prices are going to go up. In fact, Assembly Bill 32 is written so that oil companies need not increase prices at all. If they do, that is something they are choosing to do.
Microsoft Leaves ALEC Amid Split Over Renewables
By Ari Natter, Bloomberg.
Microsoft Corp. has left the American Legislative Exchange Council because of concerns about the lobbying group's opposition to renewable energy, a coalition of activist investor groups said.
“Microsoft is a leader on carbon issues—in 2012, it committed to becoming carbon neutral, and is one of the largest corporate purchasers of renewable energy,” the Boston-based groups said in a news release. “Thus, we believe that its affiliation with ALEC, which is actively fighting policies that promote renewable energy, was incongruous. In addition, there were numerous other ALEC actions that conflicted directly with Microsoft's values.”
Arlington, Va.-based ALEC has drafted model legislation for use in state legislatures to roll back renewable fuel standards across the country. Its members include ExxonMobil Corp., Peabody Energy Inc., American Electric Power Co. and Koch Industries Inc., according to the Checks and Balances Project, a nonprofit watchdog group that supports the use of clean energy.
Don't let oil industry delay clean air rules
By Nile Malloy, SF Gate.
Few places in the United States are as deeply afflicted by dirty air as West Oakland. One area that comes to mind is Fresno, which has California's dirtiest air. You can understand my dismay when I read that Assemblyman Henry Perea, D-Fresno, is now going to bat for the oil industry to help it derail AB32, California's popular climate change and clean energy law.
Perea, after accepting tens of thousands of dollars in oil industry campaign contributions, is working hand-in-hand with those very same oil interests to advance legislation to exempt the oil industry from California's cap-and-trade program, the centerpiece of AB32.
First Anaerobic Digester to Turn Manure into Biogas in CA
By John Davis, Domestic Fuel.
California gets its first anaerobic digester that will turn manure from a dairy farm into biogas. Wisconsin-based DVO, Inc. announced it has nearly completed work on the anaerobic digester scheduled to open at Calgren Renewable Fuels on September 30, 2014 in Pixley, Calif.
The DVO anaerobic digester, built by Andgar of Ferndale, Washington, is designed to hold approximately 1,400,000 gallons of manure and organic waste. Each day, the digester will receive 55,000 gallons of solid and liquid waste from Four J Farm Dairy, a nearby dairy farm with approximately 2,000 head of cattle.
Why Hawaii Wants Liquefied Natural Gas From the Mainland
By Denver Nicks, TIME.
The Aloha state needs to say goodbye to its reliance on petrol and coal, but isn't quite ready to say hello to renewables.
The Hawaiian archipelago is among the most isolated places on earth—it’s farther away from a major landmass than any other island chain on the planet. Lacking substantial indigenous fossil fuel resources, any nuclear power sector, or a robust renewables sector, the state is forced to import almost all of the energy it consumes in the form of petroleum and coal, which are easier to transport than other fossil fuels.
Court Upholds Federal Rule That Will Ease Transition from Fossil Fuels to Clean Energy
By ENEWSPF.
Washington, D.C.—(ENEWSPF)—August 18, 2014. U.S. Court of Appeals on Friday upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) landmark Order No. 1000, which breaks down longstanding barriers to modernizing the grid and hastening a shift away from dirty fossil fuels to clean energy.
Order 1000, which was finalized in July 2011, creates common-sense requirements for transparent, inter-regional planning—both to enable more efficient, cost-effective investment in transmission upgrades and to help ensure that the necessary infrastructure is in place to meet state clean energy mandates (for instance, renewable portfolio standards) and other important public policies.
NYC to Convert Food Waste Into Renewable Natural Gas
By Boruch Shubert, Jewish Political News & Updates.
As revealed by Capital New York, New York City will expand a pilot program this fall that takes unconsumed food from the waste stream and converts it into pipeline-quality natural gas. If it turns out to be successful, the Department of Environmental Protection hopes the unique program will generate valuable information to the renewable energy industry while also stimulating a significant reduction in the city’s carbon output.
According to city officials, the process of converting the waste will reduce truck traffic, landfill pollution and reliance on traditional fossil fuels for energy. ”We’re looking at avoiding approximately 90,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide which is equivalent to 19,000 vehicles being taken off the road,” projected Anthony Fiore, director of the D.E.P.’s Office of Energy.