RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.The Biogas Rush
By Jim Lane, Alternative Energy Stocks.
51 percent? Could renewable natural gas get that big? The rationale behind the Eureka!, and some Caveats for all you Emptors.
A few years back we lived in the era of the National Energy Solution Summed Up in One Word: it was gasoline, then diesel, then ethanol, or biodiesel. Then there was the Two-Word Era: in p[art because of an Inconvenient Truth, the craze was on for cellulosic ethanol, algae biofuels, aviation biofuels, and there was the Hydrogen Economy or the Glucose Economy, depending on who you were talking to.
We seem to have reached the Three-Word Era.
Seems like every day we hear the drums beating for Renewable natural gas and low cost methane. And there’s been a steady newsflow in new natural gas project and technology announcements, posted cellulosic RINs, a surge in investor enthusiasm, and increasing stakeholder acceptance.
Anaerobic Digester Project Starts on Long Island, NY
By Carl Weinschenk, Energy Manager Today.
ew York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the launch of an anaerobic digester facility in the Long Island town of Yaphank.
Anaerobic digestion is a biological process that leads to the release of biogas. The new center will be operated by American Organic Energy at Long Island Compost’s 62-acre facility. It will process more than twice as much food waste than is currently processed at any private facility of the same type that accepts offsite food waste in the state, according to the governor’s office.
Third U.S. City Goes 100% Renewable
By Cole Mellino, Eco Watch.
Aspen is one of three U.S. cities to run on 100 percent renewable energy as of today, according to city officials. The Colorado mountain town is best known for its posh ski resorts, but this beautiful town also has established itself as a leader in environmental stewardship.
The city had been using about 75 to 80 percent renewable energy until Thursday when it signed a contract with wholesale electric energy provider Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, in order “to achieve this final leg of our goal,” David Hornbacher, utilities and environmental initiatives director, told The Aspen Times.
Appalachian State University helps develop North Carolina LFG projects
By Staff, Renewable Energy from Waste.
The Appalachian Energy Center at Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, recently completed a project that began in 2005 to help eight North Carolina counties produce renewable energy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improve their economy.
The project was funded by a grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The ZSR Foundation and the Appalachian Energy Center share the goals of protecting the environment while spurring community development throughout North Carolina.
Because of this recent grant, and previous funding from Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, Golden LEAF Foundation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and the work of the Appalachian Energy Center, there are eight new landfill gas projects in North Carolina producing an average of over 1,700 kilowatt watt hours of electricity per month.
Waste, Energy Firms Partner for Indiana Landfill Gas Project
By Allan Gerlat, Waste 360.
Waste and recycling firm Randolph Farms Inc. and Hoosier Energy are partnering on the construction of a landfill gas to energy facility at the Randolph Farms Landfill near Modoc, Ind.
Bloomington, Ind.-based Hoosier Energy will build the Cabin Creek 4-megawatt landfill gas operation with the Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Randolph Farms at its landfill in rural east-central Indiana.
The companies expect construction of the $12 million operation to begin in the fall of 2016, and power production to begin in early 2017, according to a news release. To reduce risk to member systems and co-op consumers, funding will come from low-cost clean renewable energy bonds.
Obama, EPA Defend Clean Power Plan Against States’ Challenge
By Andrew M. Harris, Bloomberg Business.
The Obama administration has called a multistate effort to delay its 15-year plan to reduce carbon emissions “premature” and “unwarranted.” The states face no irreparable harm from the deadlines proposed in the Clean Power Plan, the government said in court papers filed on Monday.
The new regulations, announced by the administration and the Environmental Protection Agency earlier this month, aim to slow climate change by dropping U.S. power plant carbon dioxide emissions 32 percent below their 2005 levels by 2030.
Fifteen states, led by West Virginia, asked a federal court in Washington to issue an order delaying deadlines for submission of their plans to reach that objective. The new regulations give the EPA authority to impose its own regime on states that fail to comply.
California's climate & low-carbon policies improve public health
By Milton Bosch, Napa Valley Register.
This summer, we’ve been hearing a lot about climate change. In July, the Pope reminded us that preserving the climate is a moral issue with outsized impact on the world’s most vulnerable populations. In August, President Obama unveiled the federal Clean Energy Plan, calling on us all to do better in reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. Here in Napa, the historic drought and punishing fire season have reminded us all what a hotter, drier climate could look like.
One dimension of the climate crisis is a little less obvious: public health. Rising temperatures are placing a heavy burden on the sick, the very young, and the very old, where punishing heat waves can kill tens of thousands as happened in 2003 in Europe. The death toll is estimated at 70,000, with France hit particularly hard.
Brazil launches new incentives for biomass and biomethane energy
By Lucas Morais, SeeNews Renewables.
Sao Paulo's State Energy Secretary announced on Wednesday the Sao Paulo na Rede Eletrica programme, which intends to increase the supply of biomass energy to the state's grid.
The main targets of the programme are power plants running on waste products like straw, sugarcane bagasse and wood chips.
Prior to launching the programme, the state conducted a scoping study and identified ten facilities which have now signed the state's environmental protocol for a pilot project together with power company CPFL Energia SA (BVMF:CPFE3).
EERC to Help Develop New Process to Convert Natural Gas Into Other Usable Liquids
By Derek Walters, Energy & Environmental Research Center.
The University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) announced today it is working with FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL), an integrated stationary fuel cell manufacturer located in Danbury, Connecticut, to develop a durable, low-cost, and high-performance electrochemical cell to convert natural gas and other methane-rich gas into methanol, a major chemical commodity with worldwide applications in the production of liquid fuels, solvents, resins, and polymers.
The EERC's portion of the project is being funded through matching funds from the North Dakota Department of Commerce's Research ND Program. The Research ND award was a first for the EERC.
"This is a fine example of leveraging private sector dollars with state research funds on a technology that could greatly impact North Dakota's economy. This project involves new technologies that produce value-added products from both fossil and renewable methane," said EERC Director Tom Erickson.
Farmers benefit from using methane digesters while helping environment
By Pauline Bartolone, CALmatters.
Not far from the Amish farms of Central Pennsylvania, in the rolling hills southwest of coal mining country, Dennis Brubaker raises 30,000 pigs a year for slaughter. In four enclosed barns, the hogs gain two pounds a day away from predators. That is, until they are shipped away to be processed for supermarkets.
“All they have to do is eat and drink,” says Brubaker, co-owner of Ideal Family Farms in Beavertown, Pennsylvania. “They’re just very comfortable, and that’s what turns into growth.”
After Brubaker and his three brothers bought the farm in 2007, energy costs were spiking. So Dennis started researching renewable energy methods to reduce electricity costs. Wind power and solar energy weren’t the best options. Instead, he chose a system that gave purpose to the seven million gallons of pig waste that run through his farm every year: a million dollar methane digester. The 16-foot deep concrete cauldron in the ground captures the potent greenhouse gas from the manure and routes it to an engine, where the methane combusts, and generates enough electricity every day to power 100 homes and heat half his farm.
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