RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Maryland Senate passes 25% RPS in clean energy jobs bill
By Robert Walton, Utility Dive.
Dive Brief:
- Maryland senators yesterday voted 31-14 to expand the state's renewable energy goals, boosting targets solar and wind targets to 25% by 2020.
- The higher goals would would make Maryland's renewable target the sixth highest nationally, behind Vermont, California, Hawaii, New York, and Connecticut.
- Though lawmakers in the House approved the measure last month, both chambers will need to take final votes to reconcile differences between bill versions before the measure heads to the desk of Gov. Larry Hogan (R). The governor has not taken a public stance on the bill.
EPA chief: Methane regs will allow ‘sustainable’ fossil fuel use
By Devin Henry, The Hill.
New rules regulating methane emissions from the oil and gas sector will help facilitate more "sustainable" fossil fuel development, President Obama’s top environmental regulator said Thursday.
Speaking in Ottawa alongside Canadian officials, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy said rules cutting down on leaks at oil and gas production sites will help the climate and preserve fossil fuels as a viable source of energy in the future.
Moving on [methane] will reaffirm our leadership on climate. It also will happen to make sure that our ability to continue to rely on fossil fuel will be done in a way that is sustainable, as well," she said in a speech.
Disney, Microsoft, PepsiCo lead business charge on biogas
By Heather Clancy, GreenBiz.
The largest U.S. electric holding company, Duke Energy, in March made its first notable commitment to producing power using biogas.
Duke's deal with developer Carbon Cycle Energy could generate up to 125,000 megawatt-hours of energy using methane gas captured from swine and poultry manure sourced in North Carolina. That’s roughly enough electricity to power about 10,000 homes.
"The gas from this project will generate carbon-neutral electricity compared to the emissions that would result if the waste was left to decay naturally," said David Fountain, the Duke Energy executive behind the 15-year-long partnership.
The wait continues on FAA bill tax extenders deal
By Martine Powers and Heather Caygle with help from Lauren Gardner, Esther Whieldon, and Brian Faler, Politico.
PLAYING THE WAITING GAME: After a day of debate over the FAA reauthorization on the Senate floor, chances remain good that Republicans and Democrats will strike a deal on a package of tax extenders that will allow the bill to garner widespread support. But as the Senate won’t be meeting on Friday, don’t count on a deal being nailed down before next week. As Pro Energy's Esther Whieldon writes, "Senate leaders appear to have the outlines of an agreement in place. … But key questions remain to be answered, including how many energy resources would get the extensions and for how long." Sen. Ron Wyden remained cautiously optimistic on Wednesday — “We’ve been making progress,” he said — and Sen. Orrin Hatch proclaimed that he’s fine with a compromise on the bill’s hangers-on, as long as they’ve got some offsets. "They're going to have to meet certain requisites that I'll require" regarding "budgetary standards," he said. Asked if thatmeant the provisions would have to be paid for: "That's right," he said.
Emerald Brand Shifts to Penske Natural Gas Fueled Trucks
SYOSSET, N.Y. , Apr. 05 /CSRwire/ - Emerald is proud to announce its conversion to Penske Truck Leasing compressed natural gas (CNG) fueled trucks. Emerald’s New York based fleet will move to CNG this month, furthering Emerald’s mission of global conservation and mainstreaming sustainability.
Each year, Emerald drivers deliver thousands of tons of its alternatively sourced, sustainable products to clients around the country. This conversion will greatly reduce the company’s environmental footprint by lessening the amount of gas emissions released into the air as compared to traditional diesel fueled vehicles.
“We are always striving to discover new ways to help the environment and reduce our footprint, and the conversion to CNG fueled trucks was the next sustainable step for our company to help deliver our products to clients in the most environmentally friendly way possible,” said Emerald Brand Managing Director, Jaclyn McDuffey. “Penske Truck Leasing has been a great partner by offering options and guidance in this transition to greener vehicles.”
EPA’s 2016 agenda focused on methane, carbon emissions
By Devin Henry, The Hill.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy will go to Ottawa this week for discussions on U.S.-Canadian climate change strategies, one of the many issues on the EPA’s to-do list between now and the end of the Obama administration.
McCarthy outlined her agenda during a meeting with reporters Tuesday, focusing on implementing existing Obama-era regulations, finalizing others and expanding her focus on international issues before Obama leaves office in January.
The EPA is set to finalize a rule on methane leaks from new oil and gas drilling sites "this spring," McCarthy said. The agency proposed the rule last summer as part of Obama's goal to slash methane emissions by up to 45 percent from 2012 levels over the next decade.
How Colorado Is Turning Food Waste Into Electricity
By Luke Runyon, NPR.
Americans throw away about a third of our available food.
But what some see as trash, others are seeing as a business opportunity. A new facility known as the Heartland Biogas Project is taking wasted food from Colorado's most populous areas and turning it into electricity. Through a technology known as anaerobic digestion, spoiled milk, old pet food and vats of grease combine with helpful bacteria in massive tanks to generate gas.
I went to check out the facility. It's located on a rural road in northern Colorado, situated a stone's throw from big beef cattle feedlots and dairy farms and a short drive from the state's populous, waste-generating urban core.
Follow your nose to know you're in the right place. There's no way around it: The place stinks. The odor is a mix of cow poop and expired produce.
Clean Power Plan sees diverse support in court filings, including utilities
By Robert Walton, Utility Dive.
Dive Brief:
- A wide range of groups filed briefs with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in support of the Clean Power Plan last week, including utilities, clean energy companies and tech giants, EnergyWire reports.
- More than 200 current and former lawmakers, most of them Democrats, have filed an amicus brief arguing the CPP, which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector 32% by 2030, is consistent with the Clean Air Act.
- Among large corporations supporting the rule are: Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft, Ikea, Mars Inc. (the candy maker), and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts. A handful of investor-owned utilities are also supporting the rule.
Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon back EPA on Clean Power Plan
By Jacob Kastrenakes, The Verge.
Tech giants are gathering in support of the Obama administration's contested plan to shift the US toward clean energy. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon joined together to file a court brief on Friday, describing their reasons for supporting the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan. "Delaying action on climate change will be costly in economic and human terms, while accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy will produce multiple benefits with regard to sustainable economic growth, public health, resilience to natural disasters, and the health of the global environment," the brief says.
The Clean Power Plan intends to cut carbon pollution 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Accomplishing this will require more than just deployment of renewable energy sources; states will likely have to make their existing coal-fire plants more efficient, or else reduce their usage of them. The rules are currently being challenged in court by 27 states. In February, they were put on hold by the Supreme Court, signaling that the court — as it was then composed — may be leaning in the plaintiffs' direction.
New Reports Show Significant Consumer Savings from California Climate Policies
By Alex Jackson, National Resources Defense Council.
For decades now, the principal argument against taking action to mitigate climate change is that we can’t afford it. While this narrative has always distorted the truth relative to the costs of inaction (what we truly can’t afford), it is seized on time and again by the fossil fuel industry and their political allies to thwart progress on climate – even in a state like California that is leading the way.
But in assessing the impact of California’s climate initiatives under the banner of the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32), now a decade into implementation, two new studies definitively put that notion to rest.
The first, released yesterday by Consumers Union (the policy and advocacy division of Consumer Reports), looks at the cumulative impact of California’s climate policies on household transportation costs. The key finding? Even after accounting for industry compliance costs, California households are projected to save up to $1,500 annually by 2030 thanks to lower annual fuel bills, and low-income households will experience the largest savings (as a share of income). The key reason? As the researchers, ICF International, put it – “focusing exclusively on vehicle and fuel pricing…can be misleading. Ultimately, consumer expenditures on travel are a function of vehicle and fuel pricing, as well as parameters such as vehicle efficiency and vehicle miles traveled.”
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