RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Record: 10,000 km traveled by three cars fueled with hydrogen provided by Air Liquide
By WebWire.
Air Liquide was the exclusive partner for hydrogen solutions in the “2014 Innovation March” that ended last month in China, consisting of a 10,000 km roadshow sponsored by SAIC Motor Corp. featuring new energy vehicles.
Started off in Shanghai and ended in Kunming, the 52 days long roadshow crossed China from North to South, and East to West, passing through 64 cities in 15 provinces.
Warren County landfill expansion design under development
By Steve Novak, The Express Times.
An expansion of the Warren County landfill is still years away, but a concept for how it will happen may be ready in a few months. An engineering firm was given approval this week to develop expansion options. Middletown, N.Y.-based Cornerstone Environmental Group, in a proposal to the Pollution Control Financing Authority of Warren County, estimated it will take six to eight weeks to prepare a draft conceptual design. After the authority reviews it, the firm will need about two more weeks to finalize the plan.
Eventually, the plans will go to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for review. "It's a very thorough process," said DEP spokesman Lawrence Hajna. The department will examine all elements of the plan to make sure that "long into the future, there is no harm to the environment."
Dominion Resources agrees to buy Carolina Gas Transmission
By Peter Bacque, Richmond Times-Dispatch
Dominion Resources Inc. has agreed to buy Carolina Gas Transmission Corp. from SCANA Corp. for $492.9 million, the Richmond-based company announced Tuesday.
Carolina Gas Transmission, based in Cayce, S.C., owns and operates nearly 1,500 miles of federally regulated interstate natural gas pipeline in South Carolina and southeastern Georgia. The company delivers natural gas to wholesale and direct industrial customers.
Options for Reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard
By the Bipartisan Policy Center.
In the time since the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was first passed into law in 2005 and later expanded in 2007, domestic biofuels production has risen and renewable fuels have increased as a percentage of the total U.S. transportation fuels supply. At the same time, persistent challenges in courts and in the implementation of enacted laws, as well as significant changes in the U.S. energy production landscape, have kept the RFS at the forefront of energy policy discussions. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) additional delay of the 2014 rule and the associated compliance volumes is a further indicator that improvements to the RFS are needed.
However, experience with the program has not led to a consensus on what, if anything, should be done. For some time, there have been strong advocates on both sides of the debate calling for either outright repeal of the RFS or holding firm on the existing requirements. The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) chose to explore a middle ground where we think tangible progress can be made to reform—but not repeal—the RFS.
CHARLOTTE HORNETS ADD WASTE MANAGEMENT TO ROSTER IN EFFORT TO GREEN TIME WARNER CABLE ARENA
By the Charlotte Hornets, NBA.com.
December 16, 2014 – Along with the return of purple and teal, the Charlotte Hornets will also be introducing the color green this season after signing a new partnership with Waste Management of Charlotte. As part of the multi-faceted agreement, Waste Management will serve as Time Warner Cable Arena’s waste and recycling partner, helping to minimize the building’s environmental impact.
With this partnership, Time Warner Cable Arena, which hosts more than 150 events each year, will now allow visitors to the facility to flex their green muscles. All 75 trash receptacles throughout Time Warner Cable Arena have been re-branded with the Hornets silhouette and the Waste Management logo. Additionally, Waste Management has donated more than 75 recycling bins that will be paired with the trash bins. The bins will be located throughout the interior of the building, including the concourses, as well as the exterior of the venue, allowing Hornets fans and arena visitors to remain firmly entrenched in the environmental experience while enjoying the entertainment.
Renewable energy-powered vehicles can save lives
By the Economic Times.
NEW YORK: Driving vehicles that use electricity from renewable energy instead of gasoline could reduce the resulting deaths due to air pollution by 70 percent, says a study.
The researchers from University of Minnesota also found that vehicles running on corn ethanol or powered by coal-based or "grid average" electricity are worse for health.
Switching from gasoline to those fuels would increase the number of resulting deaths due to air pollution by 80 percent or more.
Study: Your all-electric car may not be so green
By Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer.
If your all-electric car gets its power from coal, new study says it is dirtier than gasoline.
People who own all-electric cars where coal generates the power may think they are helping the environment. But a new study finds their vehicles actually make the air dirtier, worsening global warming.
Ethanol isn't so green, either.
Vermont's Energy Credits Questioned, Renewable Program Likely To Change
By John Dillon, Vermont Public Radio.
Vermont policy to promote renewable energy is at a turning point. The Legislature will soon debate whether the state should join other New England states and many around the country in adopting a set standard for the amount of renewable energy utilities here must use.
At stake in the debate is how - and how much - Vermonters will pay for renewable energy.
There's a robust market for renewable power produced here in Vermont, and it's not just the megawatts generated by solar, wind or hydro facilities. Vermont utilities sell renewable energy credits -- called RECs -- that are essentially the environmental attributes of the green power. These credits are bought by out of state companies to meet their states goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Those sales amount to about $50 million a year, and have helped reduce electric rates in Vermont by around 5 percent.
Bipartisan Alternative Fuel Vehicle Bill Passes Both House and Senate
By Michael Bates, NGT News.
Late last week, the U.S. Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal-year 2015, which contains a provision addressing a disparity in the federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program that has been disadvantageous to most bi-fuel alternative fuel vehicles.
Existing regulations allow OEMs to earn CAFE compliance credits by producing bi-fuel vehicles (also referred to as "flex fuel" or "dual fuel" by some automakers), subject to a cap in the number of credits an OEM can receive for given vehicle models.
Renewable energy group renamed Aria Energy
By Renewable Energy from Waste.
Energy Investors Funds (EIF), which is the majority owner of the three renewable energy firms, Landfill Energy Systems, Innovative Energy Systems and Timberline Energy, has decided to consolidate the three companies under the name Aria Energy.
Aria Energy’s portfolio of energy projects provides baseload renewable energy to utilities and other customers across the United States. The newly named company is headquartered in Novi, Michigan.
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