RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Clean Energy to Build New CNG Stations for Multiple Transit Agencies and Large School District
By Clean Energy, Market Watch.
Clean Energy Fuels Corp.CLNE, +2.99% today announced that it will construct new compressed natural gas (CNG) stations for Arlington Transit (ART) in Arlington County, Virginia; Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) in Long Island, NY; and North Kansas City (MO) School District, which is set to become the largest school district in the U.S. to transition its school bus fleet to CNG.
“Despite lower oil prices, Clean Energy continues to add fueling partnerships across all our transportation markets,” said Andrew J. Littlefair, president and CEO of Clean Energy. “No matter if they are with a school district, municipality or trucking company, managers of large fleets are looking for a cleaner fuel that reliably costs less and does not have volatile price swings. Natural gas continues to meet their needs.”
Additional agreements across transportation market segments of transit, refuse, trucking and the bulk fuel market were also announced.
WASTECON ignited in Orlando
By Kristin Musulin, Waste Dive.
The Solid Waste Association of North America is no rookie when it comes to organizing a grand event. On Monday, SWANA kicked off its 53rd annual WASTECON conference at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, where solid waste industry professionals congregated to discuss hot topics, demonstrate innovations, and swap industry insight.
"As industry leaders, we must continue to adapt to new conditions and challenges while incorporating new practices and technologies into our ongoing efforts," said SWANA President Michelle Leonard in a statement. That's why the 2015 WASTECON theme is "inventing the future of solid waste management." With features such as a student design competition, a Young Professionals program for individuals 35 and younger, and safety summits, this year's conference has a focus on sustaining the future of the waste and recycling industry.
The kick-off energy was pulsing through the convention center on Monday, and Waste Dive was there to capture the excitement. Here are the highlights from WASTECON day one (but don't worry — we'll be here until Thursday, so there's more to come).
FERC Tweaks its Gas-Electric Rule and Seeks Further Comments
By Lindsay Berkstresser, EnergyBiz.
Earlier this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”), the federal agency that oversees interstate natural gas transportation and electric transmission, changed the way shippers on interstate natural gas pipelines nominate and pipelines confirm service.
FERC set an effective date of April 1, 2016 to implement the changes in the daily transportation nomination cycles, which FERC hoped would ease the inherent coordination that occurs between interstate pipeline transportation scheduling and electric transmission scheduling.
But the implementation timing in Order No. 809 was not clear, according to three major trade associations, who filed requests with FERC to clarify the ambiguity. On July 31, 2015, FERC resolved the implementation question and called for new comments on an additional transitional issue the associations had raised.
Africa’s first grid-connected biogas plant opens
By Jacqueline Echevarria, Energy Live News.
Kenya has officially opened Africa’s first grid-connected biogas plant.
The AD plant is located in Nakuru, northwest of Nairobi and has a capacity of 2.2MW.
The energy generated will be transferred into the local grid to power farms and industries in the area.
Rumpke to build landfill gas-to-energy plant in Georgetown, Ohio
By Daniel Karell, News Democrat.
Rumpke is finally taking advantage of a free source of energy that’s been right under their noses.
Rumpke Waste and Recycling announced plans to build a gas-to-energy plant at their Georgetown landfill, which will take gas produced from the landfill and convert it into electricity. Rumpke is partnering with multi-national company Energy Development’s Limited for the project.
The plan is for EDL and Rumpke to build a 4.8 megawatt plant that they claim will produce enough electricity to power 3,000 homes, according to a press release. The plan is to produce the electricity and sell it back to the grid, where electric companies can use it.
RWE fires up power-to-gas energy storage plant
By Brad Allen, Edie newsroom
Germany's largest power producer has unveiled a €R2m power-to-gas energy storage plant in the Westphalia region.
WE's new plant uses electrolysis to convert excess electricity from renewable sources into hydrogen.
This hydrogen can then be stored within the natural gas network and converted back into electricity when needed. The waste heat from the electrolyser is also utilised via a connection with the local district heating network.
Western States urge dismissal of Oregon LCFS suit
By Argus Media
Portland, 18 August (Argus) — Oregon and the other Pacific coast states yesterday asked a federal judge to kill an industry lawsuit against its low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS), arguing the case is premature and contrary to recent court decisions.
Oregon, Washington and California in their briefs said the case should be dismissed in light of last week's decision by a federal judge in California to dismiss the remaining arguments in a refining industry lawsuit against that state's LCFS.
Diageo raises glass to biogas
By reNEWS
UK company Clearfleau has commissioned a 1MW on-site bio-energy plant at Diageo’s Glendullan distillery in Scotland.
The plant converts distillery co-products from whiskey production into biogas.
The biogas then feeds a boiler to supply renewable energy to the distillery, with 1,000 cubic metres of co-products resulting in 1MW of energy.
Clearfleau’s in-house design, installation and commissioning engineers worked with engineers at Diageo on the project.
Bio-fuel start-up sells biogas for cooking by the rucksack
By James Jeffrey, BBC News
Inside a large ramshackle shed a struck match is held to the end of a metal pipe, and a faint blue flame springs into life.
Zenebech Alemayehu smiles, puts her finger tips to her lips, then towards the flame, a symbolic kiss for her new biogas business.
A single mother with a nine-year-old son to look after, Ms Zenebech, 32, recently bought a local franchise from a company called B-Energy, which aims to provide households across Ethiopia with cheap, portable biogas for cooking.
That Blend Wall Buster, renewable natural gas: The Digest’s 2015 8-Slide Guide
By Jim Lane, Biofuels Digest.
If the outlook on cellulosic biofuels is relatively bullish in 2015 compared to 2014 — Last year, there were 33.0 million RINs generated for cellulosic biofuels; this year 36.9 million RINs and we’re only in summer — credit Renewable Compressed or Liquified Natural Gas — last year 32.6 million RINs in all, and 95% of the volume for this year.
It all got underway just a while ago, when the EPA approved a rule that allows LNG and CNG produced from biogas to qualify as cellulosic biofuel along with biogas-powered electricity for electric vehicles. Other rules including those relating to the use of crop residue as feedstock as well as smaller refineries were released.
Why a blend wall buster? Right now, there’s more CNG demand than renewable CNG or LNG supply, and there’s no change in vehicle design or fueling infrastructure to deliver renewable gas than fossil. It’s a drop-in replacement.
Based on this presentation from EcoEngineers, which advises on RINs and renewable natural gas projects, here’s a look at “busting the blend wall” via renewable natural gas. More about EcoEngineers, here at their website and here in our story “Biogas! The Cellulosic Fuel Breakthrough?”
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