RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Lawmakers to Finish Highway Funding, Turn to Extenders
By The National Law Review.
With highway funding authorization set to expire on Friday, November 20, House and Senate lawmakers this week will be tasked with conferencing their versions of highway funding legislation. In addition to differences in the transportation provisions, there still remains a key difference between the House and Senate on one major offset: a reduction to the Federal Reserve dividend rate. In lieu of this provision, which was included in the Senate bill, House lawmakers have proposed a drawdown of the Federal Reserve’s capital surplus account. It is presently uncertain which approach will prevail, though lawmakers do not have much time to iron out a compromise.
Notably, rumors continue to circulate in Washington over the possibility of moving forward with international tax reform, which at one time had been discussed as a mechanism for funding the Highway Trust Fund. At this point, however, it would be nearly impossible for such reform to be linked with highway funding. Nevertheless, last week – in addition to continued pressure from Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) – Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) hinted that he would like to see action on international tax reform before year’s end, possibly tied with work on tax extenders. At the same time, Chairman Hatch expressed skepticism that such an ambitious goal is achievable, noting that “[i]t’s going to be tough, during these remaining days for these large ideas.” These remarks echo those of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady’s (R-TX) remarks on this issue, which have essentially ruled out the possibility of international tax reform before 2016.
EPA addresses biomass in Clean Power Plan, plans workshop
By Anna Simet, Biomass Magazine.
Janet McCabe, U.S. EPA acting assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation, has published a blog that addresses the potential role of biomass in the Clean Power Plan, and announced that the EPA will hold a workshop on the topic early next year.
Since the Clean Power Plan was issued, states and stakeholders have shown a strong interest in the role of biomass to help hit targets, McCabe said, and many states are seeking to understand how to craft plans that will be federally approvable under the final CPP guidelines. “To respond to this interest and to support state and stakeholder efforts to incorporate bioenergy in their CPP plans, we will be holding a public workshop in early 2016 for stakeholders to share their successes, experiences and approaches to deploying biomass in ways that have been, and can be, carbon beneficial,” McCabe wrote. “Biomass derived from land that is managed under programs that ensure the long-term maintenance of healthy forests can serve as an integral part of a broader forestry-based climate strategy, so the CPP expressly includes bioenergy as an option for states and utilities in CPP compliance. It reflects the fact that, in many cases, biomass and bioenergy products in the power system can be an integral part of state programs and foster responsible land management and renewable energy.”
Should the U.S. End the Ethanol Mandate?
By Robert Bryce and Margo T. Oge, The Wall Street Journal.
The Renewable Fuel Standard, otherwise known as the ethanol mandate, requires refiners to blend an increasing amount of biofuels into the U.S. gasoline supply each year.
Created in 2005, the standard was meant to help reduce carbon emissions as well as U.S. dependence on foreign oil. But critics question how much it has helped on either score. Some say corn ethanol, the fuel most commonly blended with gasoline under the standard, actually worsens pollution. Others say the domestic oil boom has done far more to wean the nation off foreign oil.
Does Burning Garbage for Electricity Make Sense?
By Nickolas J. Themelis and Jeffrey Morris, The Wall Street Journal.
The amount of garbage produced by the world’s urban dwellers is growing at an astonishing clip. The World Bank has estimated that countries are generating 1.4 billion tons of municipal solid waste each year and forecasts that this number will double by 2025.
What is to be done with all of that stuff?
Governments and businesses have been working to change product packaging and consumer behavior to reduce the materials we throw away. In combination with recycling and composting efforts, these changes have helped significantly reduce garbage being buried in landfills.
Manure From Millions of Hogs Fuels Natural Gas Project
By The Associated Press, via The New York Times.
ALBANY, Mo. — Supporters of a biogas project taking shape in northern Missouri say that manure from about 2 million hogs will be converted into renewable natural gas and sold by summer 2016.
They also say the project will keep tons of methane out of the atmosphere.
The joint venture between Roeslein Alternative Energy and Smithfield Food Hogs Production has an estimated $120 million price tag and is one of the largest biogas projects of its kind.
At Paris climate talks, nations will look to California
By Sammy Roth, The Desert Sun.
California has long led the world in tackling climate change. Now, Golden State leaders hope the rest of the world will follow their lead.
Negotiators from more than 190 countries will gather in Paris two weeks from Monday, in a last-ditch effort to strike a deal that averts catastrophic levels of global warming. Gov. Jerry Brown plans to lead a delegation of eight lawmakers, including Eduardo Garcia, one of the Coachella Valley's representatives in the State Assembly. They'll be joined by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer, and many other environmental advocates who want to see world leaders draw inspiration from California.
California isn't a country, but for the purposes of Paris it might as well be. It's the world's eighth-largest economy, and the federal government often adopts the state's ambitious environmental policies. Brown's administration has worked with national and regional governments in Canada, Mexico, China and elsewhere on programs to slash carbon emissions. The governor has made it clear he wants California to play a prominent role in Paris.
New Department of Energy Report says Clean Energy Technologies are Accelerating in the U.S. Marketplace
Press Release, Energy.gov.
WASHINGTON – Ahead of the International Energy Agency’s Ministerial in Paris, which serves as a lead-up to the COP21 UN Climate Negotiations, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released the 2015 Revolution…Now report, which details the state of several clean energy technologies in the U.S. that provide technology solutions to climate change.
The updated report, which was announced by Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz during a discussion at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, builds upon past Revolution…Now reports that showed a dramatic increase in deployment and a decrease in cost of four transformational technologies: wind turbines, solar technologies, electric vehicles (EVs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
“We are experiencing a clean energy revolution in the United States, and this report confirms it,” Secretary Moniz said. “Today, clean energy technologies are providing real-world solutions – not only to reduce carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming, but they also drive a domestic, low-carbon economy with technologies that are increasingly cost-competitive with conventional technologies. We have the tools for a cleaner and more secure energy future.”
Ontario's Proposed Cap-And-Trade System Comes With An Emissions Target
By Keith Leslie, The Canadian Press.
TORONTO — Ontario is preparing to introduce a cap-and-trade system to put a price on carbon emissions and reduce greenhouse gases, but it will mean extra costs for businesses.
A document circulated to industry and business leaders this fall for comment shows the Liberal government wants to reduce Ontario's greenhouse gas emissions to 15 per cent below 1990 levels by the year 2020.
It says the cap and trade scheme will have to start by Jan. 1, 2017, and would require that the limit on emissions decline by 3.7 per cent each year to achieve the 2020 target. Quebec's cap is scheduled to decline between 3.2 and 3.7 per cent a year between 2015 and 2020, while California's is set to decline 3.1 to 3.5 per cent.
Fuels America launches TV campaign to counter anti-RFS letter
By Fuels America, via Ethanol Producer Magazine.
Fuels America is announcing a significant television campaign today calling out Rep. Peter Welch (VT-AL) for signing on to a Congressional letter that was authored by oil industry lobbyists. The first phase of the campaign includes 250 GRPs in the Burlington media market for one week.
The ad calls out Rep. Welch for protecting oil company profits and criticizes the 96 signers who are climate change deniers, urging viewers to “Remind Peter Welch to stand up for Vermont, not oil companies and climate deniers.” The 184 Members of Congress who signed on have collectively received more than $39 million from the oil and gas industry throughout their careers. Altogether the signers have an average score of 2.74 from the League of Conservation Voters; 154 have an LCV score below 10, 140 have an LCV score below 5, and 76 have an LCV score of 0.
Progressive Waste Solutions earns highest mark to date on carbon efficiency report
By Renewable Energy from Waste Staff.
Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd., Toronto, announced it has received its highest score (96 out of 100) in 10 years of participating in the CDP Report (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project).
The CDP is recognized for its leadership in the quality of climate change data it has submitted to the global marketplace and is the world's only global environmental disclosure system which tracks how the world's largest listed companies are acting in response to a changing climate. The CDP's climate change program is designed to facilitate the management of greenhouse gas emissions and identify the risks and opportunities associated with climate change.
"We are very proud of our work in reducing our carbon footprint which underscores the progressive approach we take towards creating a more sustainable future for our customers, employees and the communities we serve," says Joseph Quarin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Progressive Waste Solutions. "This is an important measure to evaluate our progress towards lowering our greenhouse gas emissions which have been primarily focused on two areas - landfill gas management and the conversion of our collection fleet to natural gas."
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