RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.12 Things to Know About How the Latest Landfill Disposal Study Stacks Up
By Allan Gerlat, Waste360.
A new report which estimates that Americans are disposing of more than double the amount of waste in landfills than data estimated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in step with the recent Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF) study, the group’s president says.
The latest study, authored by academics from Yale University and the University of Florida, aimed to analyze current landfill gas collection with regard to potential landfill methane emissions, according to a report published in Nature Climate Change Journal. The study was compiled by Jon Powell and Julie Zimmerman of Yale University and Timothy Townsend of University of Florida.
The Yale study supports the EREF report on recycling discussed earlier this month at the Waste360 Recycling Summit, which stated that both the amount of waste generated and the tonnage of of recyclables processed is significantly higher than estimates by the EPA.
North Dakota regulators extend, toughen gas flaring mandate
By Blake Nicholson, Associated Press.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota regulators have given the oil industry an additional 10 months next year to cut down on the reduction of wasteful flaring of natural gas but also implemented a stiffer long-term benchmark.
The decision Thursday by the state Industrial Commission pleased neither the industry nor environmental groups, but regulators said it’s a give-and-take aimed at putting more natural gas on the market to the benefit of both energy companies and consumers.
"I'm interested in the end game — where do we wind up," said Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, who sits not he commission with Gov. Jack Dalrymple and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, all Republicans.
Maximizing Biogas Project Value
By Amanda Bilek, Biomass Magazine.
One of the greatest attributes of biogas is the flexible nature of the resource. It can be generated from a variety of organic feedstocks such as food waste, livestock manure, crop residues, biosolids, or solid waste in a landfill. Its utilization is also flexible, as biogas can be burned for electrical generation or heat, cleaned and used as a replacement for natural gas or compressed for use as a vehicle fuel. There is even early stage research being performed to figure out how biogas can be a feedstock for biobased chemical production to displace petroleum in materials and products we use every day. The flexibility of biogas offers many advantages, but the flexibility of the resource also presents several challenges.
Given the multiple project configurations for biogas projects, it can be difficult to design policy initiatives aimed at taking advantage of biogas utilization. Biogas is much more than a low-carbon energy resource. It can be a more effective tool in managing organic waste feedstocks because biogas generation relies on anaerobic digestion to produce the gas. Biogas projects can also result in other positive environmental benefits such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved air and water quality. Oftentimes, to make biogas projects economical, monetization of additional environmental benefits is required. However, not all U.S. markets offer the ability to monetize nonenergy benefits.
China to Announce Cap-and-Trade Program to Limit Emissions
By Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Coral Davenport, The New York Times.
WASHINGTON — President Xi Jinping of China will make a landmark commitment on Friday to start a national program in 2017 that will limit and put a price on greenhouse gas emissions, Obama administration officials said Thursday.
The move to create a so-called cap-and-trade system would be a substantial step by the world’s largest polluter to reduce emissions from major industries, including steel, cement, paper and electric power.
The announcement, to come during a White House summit meeting with President Obama, is part of an ambitious effort by China and the United States to use their leverage internationally to tackle climate change and to pressure other nations to do the same.
Southwest Power Pool reaches out to state air regulators
By Rod Kuckro, E&E News.
The Southwest Power Pool on Tuesday hosted what amounted to an online mixer for the air regulators from the 14 states in which SPP ensures electric system reliability and operates electricity markets.
The webinar was more than an occasion toget acquainted for the regional transmission organization and the group of regulators that will be drawing up state plans to comply with the U.S. EPA Clean Power Plan.
It was the start of a consultative process SPP hopes to engage in with states as they prepare their plans to comply even as some political leaders pursue litigation or a "just say no" response.
Low carbon fuel standard is a boon for California
By John Chiang, Special to The Sacramento Bee
As our state’s investor-in-chief, my job is all about smart investing for the future and for the benefit of all Californians. That’s why I support our low carbon fuel standard and look forward to its re-adoption by the California Air Resources Board this week.
California has grown accustomed to pioneering energy policies ahead of the rest of the nation and the world. Since we rank among the 10 largest global economies, the standards we incubate here often influence decisions by other states, the federal government and other countries. When California gets it right, jobs are created, the economy grows and we enjoy a cleaner environment.
We are getting it right with the low carbon fuel standard.
EPA Hears Widely Different Views on Methane Emission Threat
By Emily Schmall, The Associated Press, via The New York Times.
DENVER — Over-regulating methane emissions could discourage the use of environment-friendly natural gas, an energy industry representative told the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday.
However, a former Colorado air quality official countered that such controls would be a cost-effective way to fight climate change.
The EPA heard radically different views as it opened public hearings in Denver on its proposal to slash allowable methane emissions from oil and gas production. Sessions were also scheduled in Dallas on Wednesday and in Pittsburgh on Sept. 29.
Biogas Powered Fuel Cells are a Trending On-site Power Option
More and more big-name companies are installing fuel cells, some powered by biogas and some marketed as such, for on-site power production.
By Ron Kotrba, Biomass Magazine.
About 40,000 people pass through IKEA’s 274,000-square-foot furniture store in Emeryville, California, every week, but what few of them know is that the power to run the hopping San Francisco-area retail wonderland is produced on-site from rooftop solar arrays and a newly installed fuel cell system tucked away behind the building. “We really haven’t gotten too much response from customers about it,” says Lisa Ciccoli, IKEA Emeryville’s local marketing specialist. “Some of them see it in the back of the parking lot. It just looks like a generator. We’re going to work on a better PR campaign this fall to talk about all the things we are doing here.”
IKEA’s investment in fuel cell technology at the Emeryville location—one of 40 retail stores in the U.S. and, according to Ciccoli, one of the smaller locations—reflects the company’s goal to be energy-independent by 2020 and complements other IKEA renewable programs in the U.S., including solar presence at nearly 90 percent of its locations, a geothermal heating and cooling system at two stores, and two wind farms totaling 104 turbines.
Senate Democrats Would Take Some Small Steps To Clean Up Energy Tax Breaks
By Howard Gleckman, Forbes.
A group of 28 Senate Democrats has proposed a major new energy bill that includes what they call significant reforms in the dozens of tax breaks aimed at encouraging the production and use of clean energy.
I’ll let real energy policy experts speak to the broader bill, but the tax provisions are worthy of note. Some are ideological—for instance, the bill would repeal tax incentives for major integrated oil companies. Others take a modest step in the direction of sensible tax policy, but don’t go nearly far enough.
To put it another way: Let’s say you agree that encouraging clean energy is an important policy goal. And you also agree that tax policy is a useful lever to accomplish this aim. Is this the way you’d do it?
Natural Gas Vehicle Market Penetration Continues to Gain Momentum
By Richard Nemec, NGI Daily's Gas Price Index.
While national and global market penetration is still modest, advocates for natural gas vehicles (NGV) could be heard at recent energy conferences in Chicago and Denver adding more fuel to the fire of enthusiasm among major fleet operators for natural gas as a transportation alternative.
At the LDC Mid-Continent Gas Forum in Chicago (Sept. 14-16), Chris Shorts, the gas supply/customer support director for Spectra Energy Corp.'s Union Gas Ltd., said NGVs in the long-haul trucking sector are part of Union's demand growth strategies. It's an extension of the Ontario-based utility's industrial growth initiatives, he said.
"We have a whole group that is working on the transportation sector, focused on long-haul trucking," Shorts said. "There are lots of roads in Ontario and we have to transport stuff long distances, so we're looking at using compressed natural gas [CNG] or liquefied natural gas [LNG] in that sector."
Don’t miss an update—join our weekly newsletter below.