RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.San Mateo to convert its waste into fuel
City is first to turn biogas into compressed natural gas at wastewater plant.
By Samantha Weigel, The Daily Journal.
Most might not consider that flushing a toilet or running a dishwasher could contribute to fueling a vehicle. But such is the future for thousands of local residents, as San Mateo will break ground on California’s first city-run biogas conversion project to produce compressed natural gas at its wastewater treatment plant.
Officials will break ground Friday, Dec. 11, on a nearly $5 million improvement that will contribute to the city’s sustainability goals by reducing its dependency on gasoline thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
After receiving a $2.45 million grant from the state, the city plans to construct a digester that will capture underutilized biogas, which naturally occurs while treating wastewater, and turn it into compressed natural gas that will be used to fuel new city-owned vehicles.
Obama signs $1.8 trillion funding and tax deal
By Sylvan Lane, The Hill.
President Obama signed a $1.8 trillion deal to fund the government through September 2016 and extend tax breaks Friday afternoon. His signature concludes weeks of negotations between the parties as lawmakers head home for Christmas.
Despite grumblings from some members of both parties, the House passed the $622 billion tax deal on Thursday by a 318-109 vote, and the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill Friday morning 316-113. The Senate passed both in a combined package shortly after in a 65-33 vote.
Obama vetoes bills to nullify CO2 regulations
Washington, 21 December (Argus) — President Barack Obama has vetoed a pair of congressional resolutions to overturn CO2 emissions regulations for power plants.
The resolutions the president vetoed would have nullified the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan for existing power plants and its CO2 emissions limits for new generating units, the White House said on 19 December.
"The Clean Power Plan is essential in addressing the largest source of greenhouse gas pollution in our country. It is past time to act to mitigate climate impacts on American communities," Obama said in a memorandum dated 18 December that accompanied his veto of SJ Res 24, which would have overturned the existing unit standards.
Senate sends $1.8 trillion deal to Obama
By Alexander Bolton, The Hill.
The Senate voted overwhelmingly Friday in favor a $1.8 trillion package of spending bills and tax breaks, sending the legislation to President Obama’s desk for his signature.
The 65-33 vote effectively wraps up the congressional session for the year, with the House and Senate adjourning for the holiday recess.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) hailed the vote as a major accomplishment fulfilling his 2014 campaign pledge to get the Senate back on track if voters gave Republicans control.
Proposed Extension of Tax Credits for Renewable Energy Would Have Uneven Effect
By Diane Caldwell, The New York Times.
After months of taking a beating in the markets, renewable energy companies suddenly seemed to be on firmer footing this week, as lawmakers proposed extending important tax credits in exchange for lifting the decades-old ban on exporting American crude oil.
But even as renewable energy stocks rallied — SolarCity’s shares surged more than 40 percent — and advocates and executives cheered, some sectors of the industry appeared to benefit more than others.
The solar and wind industries got much of what they wanted, energy specialists said, while some technologies, like fuel cell storage and geothermal, were largely left off the table. Biofuels were somewhere in the middle.
Pelosi Questions Support for Deal to Extend Renewable Energy Tax Credits
By Julia Pyper, Greentech Media.
The House of Representatives passed a tax extenders bill this afternoon that includes a two-year extension of wind energy tax credits.
While the vote shows movement on Capitol Hill, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she may not have the Democrat votes needed to pass a budget bill, which includes incentives for both wind and solar.
The omnibus spending bill would fund the U.S. government through 2016, and provide a multi-year extension of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind and the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for solar. These measures are favorable to Democrats, but come in exchange for lifting the 1975 crude oil export ban -- a move championed by Republicans.
House approves $622B tax plan
By Naomi Jagoda and Cristina Marcos, The Hill.
The House on Thursday passed a sweeping $622 billion tax package, the first of two massive end-of-year measures Congress is using to conclude this week.
The "tax extenders" bill was approved in a 318-109 vote, with 241 Republicans joining 77 Democrats in backing the measure.
Only 3 Republicans (Reps. Justin Amash (Mich.), Chris Collins (N.Y.) and Walter Jones (N.C.)) voted against the bill, which permanently renews a range of tax provisions following years of short-term extensions while extending other tax breaks through 2016 or 2019.
Spending deal to lift oil export ban
By Devin Henry, The Hill.
Lawmakers have agreed to lift the four-decade-old ban on crude oil exports as part of a spending and tax package announced by congressional leadership on Tuesday night, according to a GOP lawmaker.
In exchange, Republicans agreed to extend a series of expired or expiring renewable energy tax breaks. Both the wind production tax credit and the solar investment tax credit won five-year extensions in the tax and spending package unveiled on Tuesday, the GOP lawmaker said.
Lifting the crude oil ban was a key goal for Republicans, who have said American oil producers should have expanded access to the international market at a time of low prices and new competition from Iranian oil.
SCS Engineers Awarded Contract by Pinellas County for Environmental Consulting and Construction Services
By PRweb.
The Pinellas Board of County Commissioners has hired SCS Engineers to manage its side slope closure project at the Bridgeway Acres Landfill. SCS will also provide construction quality assurance, construction contract administration services, and geosynthetic materials conformance and field test services.
When portions of a waste site are closed special skills are provided by SCS’s environmental engineers to control leachate formation and landfill gas. The stability of the cover system is ruled by the shearing resistance that develops at the interfaces of various components of the cover systems. The slope angle, slope length, surface roughness of the geomembrane and tensile strength of the veneer reinforcement influence the stability of slopes. The impact of seepage forces also affects long-term stability and safety. The County has chosen to use a geomembrane cover, which with the conformance and in-place testing along with proper installation help to secure the longevity and stability of the slopes in the closed portions of the landfill.
WA State Dollars Flowing To Clean Energy Start-Ups Spurs Debate
By Austin Jenkins, KUOW.org.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee has made clean energy a signature issue of his administration. But some state clean energy grant money is flowing to startup companies staffed by former top state officials.
That’s fueled a larger debate about the value of spending state dollars on emerging technology.
Mukilteo, Washington-based UniEnergy Technologies makes batteries -- giant batteries that can store-up energy from the electric grid.
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