RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.An Illustrated Guide to the State of America’s Clean Energy Sector
By Stephen Lacey, Greentech Media.
The U.S. largely depends on fossil fuels to power its economy, but there are signs that the country is getting modestly cleaner.
America has separated oil consumption and electricity consumption from economic growth; energy productivity has increased 11 percent since 2007; non-hydro renewable electricity generation has increased by 4 percent since 2007; wind and solar capacity have grown 2.5 times since 2008; and although carbon dioxide emissions are up 4 percent since 2012 due to an increase in coal generation, they are down 9 percent since 2007.
Those are just a few of hundreds of statistics outlined in Bloomberg New Energy Finance's sustainable energy fact book released this week. Below is a collection of data points from the report that provide insight into how each sector fared in 2014.
New effort launched to connect US businesses with clean energy
By Rory Carroll, Reuters.
Companies struggling to meet their renewable energy goals can now get help from a venture that aims to link up the biggest businesses in the United States with clean power.
Nearly two-thirds of Fortune 100 companies have commitments to shift to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, but many are failing to meet those targets because of high costs and the complexity of large-scale renewables transactions.
Launched on Monday, the Business Renewables Center (BRC) will supply member companies with energy specialists to help them navigate the clean energy markets.
Cost of Methane Capture at Landfills could shut-down current programs
By Tom Johnson, New Jersey Spotlight.
Bill looks for affordable way to fund burning of recovered gas to produce electricity and eliminate lethal greenhouse emissions
With hundreds of old garbage dumps in New Jersey, some of them are seeking to capture methane, a lethal source of greenhouse gas pollution leaking from the landfills and contributing to global climate change.
That effort could be jeopardized, according to some, who say at least five county landfills might have to shut down their operations because they can no longer afford to meet strict air pollution standards set by the state to burn the methane to produce electricity.
Obama budget would slash oil tax breaks while boosting renewables
By Jennifer Dlouhy, FuelFix.com.
President Barack Obama is proposing billions of dollars in government spending to tackle climate change and boost alternative energy sources, even as he makes another plea for Congress to spike tens of billions of dollars in oil and gas industry tax breaks.
The climate ventures include a program to boost the resiliency of coastal communities that could be battered by more intense storms and a $4 billion fund to encourage states to cut greenhouse gas emissions more quickly than federal regulations require.
A Niche Within the NGV Niche: Renewable Natural Gas Examined
By Richard Nemec, Daily Gas Price Index.
For climate change and alternative transportation fuel advocates, renewable natural gas (RNG) may eventually be the fuel of choice, but right now even its advocates note there are challenges to making a reality out of vehicles fueled by a combination of landfill, digester and waste treatment gas supplies.
"There are substantial challenges for RNG," said Harrison Clay, president of Clean Energy Fuels Corp.'s Clean Energy Renewables unit, on a webinar last Tuesday called "Renewable Natural Gas Gets Real." The challenges are particularly telling on the production side, where the cost of production exceeds the price of conventionally produced natural gas in the national pipeline grid, Clay said.
The Renewable Energy Embraced by Traditional Fossil Fuel Industries: Renewable Natural Gas
By Edward Dodge, Breaking Energy.
The Canadian Gas Association, a leading industry trade group, issued a report in December 2014 promoting renewable natural gas in Canada. Titled, “Renewable Natural Gas Technology Roadmap for Canada,” the report offers very aggressive support for biomethane production as a means to both reduce waste and greenhouse gases while developing an underutilized renewable resource.
According the CGA’s report, there is an estimated 1,300 billion cubic feet of RNG supply potential available in Canada, which is equal to 50% of Canada’s 2012 natural gas consumption. While not all of the potential supply is expected to reach markets, the potential is clearly enormous.
Achieving Clean Fuels Success: How to Meet California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard
By Natural Resources Defense Council.
Over the next ten years, California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), a program requiring the oil industry to cut its carbon pollution and to increase the use of clean fuels, could triple the use of alternative fuels from today's levels. That's according to a report by Promotum, California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard: Evaluation of the Potential to Meet and Exceed the Standards, commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). The report provides an evaluation of how the standard will expand the growth of known, existing low-carbon fuels and technologies.
Lawmaker introduces bill to raise state's renewable energy use to 50%
By Debra Kahn, E&E.
A California lawmaker yesterday introduced a bill to raise the state's share of renewable energy to 50 percent by 2030.
State Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia introduced A.B. 197, which would implement Gov. Jerry Brown's inaugural pledge earlier this month to ratchet up the state's renewables target.
The bill would raise the current target of 33 percent renewables by 2020 and would apply it to municipally owned utilities, in addition to investor-owned utilities.
Louisiana solid waste to expand biogas-to-fuel operation capacity
By Katie Fletcher, Biomass Magazine.
Louisiana’s St. Landry Parish Solid Waste District anticipates completion of expansion to its landfill-gas-to-fuel operation in October of this year. The decision to add capacity coincides with a fuel purchase contract that the district received from a waste hauler, who has agreed to purchase and consume most of the renewable natural gas (RNG) produced.
In connection with this contract, the plans are to install an alternate fueling site in Opelousas to make RNG available at a more convenient location, not only for the general public, but to public agencies, who have begun to use RNG as a fuel source for their fleets. “Without a means to provide access to that fuel in a more convenient location, it’s difficult to attract users or consumers to a remote location where the fuel is generated,” said Katry Martin, executive director of the solid waste district.
Aria Energy and Casella Waste Systems to Develop Renewable Energy Project
By Cory Ziskind, Aria Energy.
Aria Energy, a leading provider of baseload renewable energy, today announced that it will partner with Casella Waste Systems, a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, to develop, construct, own and operate a 4.8 MW landfill gas-to-energy project located at the Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town, ME.
The facility, which will utilize methane gas generated through organic decomposition in the state-owned landfill, will potentially meet the power needs of over 4,800 homes with renewable energy. Construction is expected to commence in early 2016 and the facility is expected to be operational in 2017.
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