RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Gas from closed landfill powers Valley facilities
By The Business Journal (Fresno).
For the first time in Fresno County, a privately held company is harnessing landfill gas and converting it into electricity. The landmark project supplies 100 percent of the power required to operate many of the Caglia family-owned facilities.
Caglia Environmental facilities now operate using renewable energy generated by the gas from the closed Orange Avenue Landfill.
Gas from landfills is produced during the natural process of waste decomposition over time. When not harnessed for power, the filtered gas is burned off into the atmosphere. By capturing the gas before it is expelled, it can be used as a fuel, which is a sustainable alternative to an atmospheric release.
Senate to take up energy reform, spending bills
By Timothy Cama, The Hill.
The Senate is planning to take up and vote on its previously stalled energy reform legislation and appropriations bill for energy and water programs.
The energy reform bill is the result of nearly a year and a half of work by Sens. Lisa Murkowski(R-Alaska) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). It's a bipartisan bill that mostly avoids hot-button issues but aims to modernize policy touching the electrical grid, renewables, energy efficiency, natural gas exports and more.
Days ago, the outlook seemed grim for the bill. But Democrats agreed to drop their demand to attach a $220 million aid package for the water crisis in Flint, Mich., allowing the bill to move forward.
Ohio lawmakers cite Clean Power Plan in push for RPS ‘freeze’ extension
By Kathiann M. Kowalski.
Backers of a move to keep Ohio’s renewable and energy efficiency standards frozen and weaken them further say they’re motivated by litigation challenging the Clean Power Plan.
That concern is dismissed by leaders in clean energy industry and environmental organizations, who say continuing the freeze will put Ohio at a further disadvantage if the EPA climate rules are upheld.
“The bill on its face is something that’s going to halt innovation and the new energy economy that’s emerging pretty much all around us,” said Ted Ford, president of Ohio Advanced Energy Economy.
California Appeals Court Questions Don't Bode Well For Cap-And-Trade
By Amy Quentin, Capital Public Radio.
A state appeals court is considering a challenge to the constitutionality of California’s cap-and-trade system for reducing greenhouse gases. Some legal experts say the questions the court is asking in a recent document could imply a ruling against the state.
The California Chamber of Commerce and Morning Star Packing Company filed a suit that claimed that the auction portion of the state’s cap-and-trade program is an unconstitutional tax.
The cap-and-trade system forces polluters to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions or pay for carbon emission allowances at auction.
Air Liquide boosts development of biogas purification units
By Bioenergy Insight.
French industrial gas group Air Liquide has announced the commissioning of 12 biogas purification units in the last 12 months in Europe.
With these new units, Air Liquide triples its biogas purification capacity on the European continent.
Overall, Air Liquide has designed and deployed worldwide 50 biogas purification units in order to transform biogas into biomethane and inject it into the natural gas networks.
Energy And The 2016 Presidential Candidates
By James Conca, Forbes.
With the New York presidential primaries just a day away, it is enlightening to hear what each candidate thinks about the controversial issues surrounding energy and power. Energy is far more important to our future, our economy and our national interest than immigrant walls or bathroom gender tests.
Of the five presidential candidates, two believe in some form of “all-of-the-above” strategy as we ramp down fossil fuels, particularly coal. The other three candidates don’t have a well-reasoned energy policy and rely more on the ideology of their base voters.
Senior Nuclear Engineer Jim Hopf provides an excellent comparison amongst the candidates, especially on nuclear energy, in the ANS Nuclear Cafe. The oil industry’s views are captured at OilPrice.com, and the Council on Foreign Relations presents a discussion for each candidate on energy and climate change.
Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul to launch biomethane incentives programme
By Lucas Morias, SeeNews Renewables.
April 15 - Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state government announced on Thursday it intends to launch a biomethane incentives programme during the first half of 2016.
The goal of the programme is to meet demand in regions that are not currently served by the Brazil-Bolivia natural gas pipeline. Also, it will diversify the state energy mix and provide an extra source of income for the agribusiness, the government said.
The programme envisages setting up special credit lines for projects of this type with Brazil's Far South Regional Development Bank (BRDE) and development agency Badesul, as well as the creation of public-private partnerships to develop the biomethane chain.
Renewable Portfolio Standards Drive 60% of US Clean Energy Boom
By Katherine Tweed, GreenTech Media.
The renewable portfolio standards that many states have enacted are responsible for 60 percent of the growth in non-hydro renewable energy generation, according to a new study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Most of the additional capacity to meet RPS requirements has come from wind, but in recent years, solar energy is gaining traction. Renewable portfolio standards call for a certain percentage of power generation to come from renewable resources, although what qualifies as renewable and which power generators have to meet the obligations varies by state.
The U.S. has been emitting a lot more methane than we thought, says EPA
By Chris Mooney, The Washington Post.
The Environmental Protection Agency has released a major upward revision to its estimates of total emissions of methane, a hard-hitting if short-lived greenhouse gas, in an annual inventory that the agency submits to the United Nations. The revisions will further up the stakes in a political battle over regulations that the agency is preparing to issue that could affect operations at thousands of oil and gas wells.
“Data on oil and gas show that methane emissions from the sector are higher than previously estimated,” said the agency in a news release upon the report’s release. “The oil and gas sector is the largest emitting-sector for methane and accounts for a third of total U.S. methane emissions.”
Biodigesters benefit ag communities
By Whitney Beadle, For USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.
Sit back and think of cow products for just a moment … visions of gooey cheese curds, dripping ice cream and mouthwatering hamburgers cooked just right. But does renewable energy come to mind? It should.
Agricultural operations have long provided a base for our nation’s economy and stomachs; however, they also serve as a vastly-untapped resource for continuous clean energy production, contribute to nutrient management plans, create organic products and overall further the sustainability of rural communities, when paired with anaerobic digestion systems.
Similar to a cow’s stomach breaking down feed into energy to produce dairy and beef products, anaerobic digestion systems break down organic materials into energy products.
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