RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Wind, Solar Credit Phaseout Said to Be Under Consideration for Broader Tax Deal
By Ari Natter, Bloomberg BNA.
Nov. 24 — A phaseout of both the wind production tax credit and the solar investment tax credit are said to be under consideration by congressional leaders in both the House and Senate as part of a broader deal to extend dozens of expired tax credits, a Democrat leadership aide and lobbyists briefed on the issue told Bloomberg BNA Nov. 24.
Details of the proposal were still fluid, but talks were said to focus on gradually ramping down the 2.3 cent per kilowatt-hour production tax credit and the 30 percent solar investment tax credit in exchange for Democrats making permanent some temporary tax credits backed by Republicans.
“It's still in the paper exchanging stage right now. There hasn't been anything agreed to,” said the Democrat aide.
Getting to be extenders time
By Bernie Becker, with help from Elena Chiriboga, Toby Eckert and Brian Faler, Politico.
REST UP NOW: Because it appears that things are really going to heat up on the 50 or so tax extenders after lawmakers get back to Washington from their own food coma-inducing Thanksgiving break. At least Congress avoided a replay of last year’s Thanksgiving week roller coaster of killing an emerging deal to make some extenders permanent just as details were leaking out.
BUT … As our Brian Faler points out, the central obstacles to a deal that would permanently revive some business incentives (for Republicans) and tax breaks for working families (for Democrats) haven’t gone anywhere over the past year. To make matters even hairier, those problems just happen to be caught up in the scalding hot realm of immigration politics.
New OR Clean Fuels Standard Creates Revenue Opportunity for RNG Transportation Fuel Producers
Oregon's Clean Fuels Standard goes into effect in January, creating a unique new revenue opportunity for Oregon clean fuels producers and refueling infrastructure providers.
For example, do you import or produce biogas in Oregon for transportation fuel? Own equipment to dispense qualifying Compressed Natural Gas or Liquefied Natural Gas transportation fuels?
If you answered yes to either of these, you can qualify for benefits under the Oregon Clean Fuels Program. Private sector and governmental fleets can participate. Register at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) here.
Questions? Contact Cory-Ann Wind, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, at OregonCleanFuels@deq.state.or.us or at (503) 229-5388.
Obama set to issue ethanol fuel mandate
By Devin Henry, The Hill.
The Obama administration is poised to update a controversial standard for ethanol levels in gasoline after months of sparring over the future of the fuel between pro-ethanol groups and the oil industry.
The White House has until Nov. 30 to finalize a rule that sets the amount of ethanol that oil refiners are required to blend into their fuel.
Groups on both sides of the issue were unhappy when the Environmental Protection Agency proposed the updated Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in May, and they've fought over it openly since then.
BioCNG to build $1.6M facility in California, expand in Wisconsin
By Arlene Karidis, Waste Dive.
- BioCNG is using biogas to fuel cars without putting it in a pipeline. With several systems in seven U.S. locations, the company is now building a $1.6 million facility for the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District near San Rafael, CA, to launch by the end of the year.
- A $200,000 upgrade is also slated for Dane County Landfill in Wisconsin to increase storage, and over the next 10 years the county will convert most of its fleet to CNG, likely calling for further expansion of the BioCNG system. Overall, the Wisconsin State Energy Department reports that by the end 2014, 5,770 vehicles used 8.3 million gallons of CNG.
- The system pumps biogas from a landfill or anaerobic digester. Volatile organic compounds and chemicals and carbon dioxide are then removed to create a clean CNG, which is piped a short distance to storage tanks and a fueling system.
Gov. Cuomo May Order 50% Renewable Energy In NY By 2030
By Jake Richardson, Clean Technica.
Governor Andrew Cuomo is reportedly planning to order state regulators to mandate that 50% of all electricity in New York come from renewable sources. Two nuclear power plants will probably be shut down at some point, so the electricity they generate will need to be placed, and it only seems sensible to replace it with clean, renewable electricity, given the cost of new nuclear power. (One of the nuclear plants has also been losing about $60 million a year.)
Rhone Resch, president and chief executive officer of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has made two statements about the possibility that Governor Cuomo may make the 50% renewable energy goal a requirement, saying “Governor Cuomo’s plan to implement a 50 percent renewable portfolio standard (RPS) represents a strong endorsement for solar power as part of a responsible approach to a clean energy future. Solar is a job-creating American economic engine that will bring affordable and clean electricity to the Empire State for many decades to come.
Plasma: A clean energy game changer?
By Anmar Frangoul, CNBC.
To many, the concept of plasma being used to transform waste into energy is science fiction. Yet one British company is using it to do just that.
Advanced Plasma Power (APP) has developed a process called Gasplasma, which combines gasification and plasma treatment to convert waste into two products: a hydrogen-rich synthesis gas and an inert product it calls Plasmarok. The firm says it has applications as a high value construction material.
According to the company, the process involves several steps. After waste has been processed to recover any materials that can be recycled, the remainder is turned into what APP class a refuse derived fuel, or RDF.
Here Comes The Hydrogen: $125 Million For “Transformational” Energy Includes Power-To-Gas
By Tina Casey, Clean Technica.
Fans of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in the US got a pleasant surprise yesterday, when the Department of Energy announced that a company called Dioxide Materials is getting a slice of the agency’s new $125 million round of funding for “transformational” energy projects. Among its areas of expertise, Dioxide Materials is developing a low cost system that uses renewable energy to produce hydrogen fuel from water.
The new round of $125 million in funding for 41 clean energy projects comes through the Energy Department’s ARPA-E division, known to CleanTechnica readers for its work in the exploding diaper market and many other cutting edge energy adventures.
We’re zeroing in on the $2 million award to Dioxide Materials for a couple of reasons, mainly because we’re very interested in the emergingpower-to-gas field (the gas being hydrogen gas), and partly because among all 41 awardees, the Energy Department highlighted only seven in its announcement, and Dioxide Materials is the one selected to lead off the agency’s press release.
Renewable NatGas Benefits From California Low Carbon Fuels Standard
By David Bradley, NGI's Daily Gas Price Index.
California officials are encouraging alternative fuel fleets, including those switching to renewable natural gas (RNG), to take advantage of the low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) and cap-and-trade program created under the state's 2006 climate change law (AB 32).
A state greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction fund administered by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has $230 million available for low carbon transportation. The money comes from proceeds of CARB cap-and-trade auctions selling emission credits.
The program funds zero- and near-zero emission passenger vehicles rebates, heavy duty trucks/buses, freight demonstration projects and pilot programs in car sharing, financing, etc., according to state officials. Funds are also available for high-speed rail and public transit systems.
Clean Energy Investment in Emerging Markets Eclipses Activity in Rich Countries for the First Time
By Julia Pyper, Greentech Media.
Emerging economies attracted record levels of clean energy investment last year, surpassing investment in wealthier nations for the first time ever, according to a new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).
In 2014, the 55 developing nations studied in the Climatescope reportbrought in $126 billion in clean energy investment -- up $35.5 billion, or 39 percent, from 2013 levels.
These countries installed a total of 50.4 gigawatts of new clean energy capacity last year -- up 21 percent from 2013. In another first, renewable energy capacity deployed in emerging markets surpassed the amount deployed in wealthier OECD countries.
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