RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Senate, House will have to resolve differences in Mass. energy legislation
By John Chesto, Boston Globe.
Negotiators for the (Massachusetts) House and Senate will have much to debate when they meet this month to hash out their differences over what could be the state’s biggest energy bill in two decades.
The House version is simple, essentially requiring utilities to buy up to 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydropower and a similar amount from proposed offshore wind farms to make the region’s energy mix more environmentally friendly.
In contrast, the bill the Senate passed Thursday is far broader, involving many forms of energy
Volkswagen Agrees to $15 Billion Diesel-Cheating Settlement
By Margaret Cronin Fisk, Bloomberg.
Volkswagen AG’s $15.3 billion agreement to get a half million emissions-cheating diesel vehicles off U.S. roads sets an auto-industry record that will only go higher as criminal probes and lawsuits on three continents roll ahead.
The German carmaker agreed to devote as much as $10 billion to buy back affected models and compensate drivers. It will also pay $2.7 billion to federal and California regulators to fund pollution-reduction projects, and give $2 billion to be invested in clean technology. Volkswagen also announced a $603 million settlement to resolve consumer and environmental claims with 44 U.S. states.
The settlements mark a swift but partial resolution for VW in the U.S., after the carmaker admitted last September to systematically rigging environmental tests since 2009 to hide that its diesel vehicles were emitting far more pollutants than allowed under U.S. and California law. VW’s widely traded preferred shares closed more than 1.6 percent higher at 107.75 euros in Frankfurt after rising as much as 5 percent Tuesday.
NRG's firm to make CNG vehicle fuel from dairy waste in the US
By Prashant Rupera, TNN, via The Economic Times.
Vadodara: A US-based firm started by a NRG entrepreneur has become the first Indian origin renewable energy company to be selected for waste-to-energy project by California Energy Commission (CEC).
S P Renewable Energy (SPRE) founded by Sanjay Patel, a native of Borsad town in Anand district, has been selected for CEC's Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP). The firm will receive grants worth US $ 100 million per year for the project.
Waging America’s Wars Using Renewable Energy
By Eric Roston and Brian Eckhouse, Yahoo Finance.
A major player in U.S. renewable energy happens to be a five-sided building in Virginia usually associated with deployment of power rather than consumption of it.
The U.S. Department of Defense is the second-largest buyer of renewable electricity through deals meant to lock in long-term supply and provide incentives to developers of wind and solar projects, according to a database of more than 600 corporate power-purchase agreements (PPA) tracked by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Only Google is a bigger buyer. The revelation provides one of the starkest examples yet of the same clean energy imperatives driving companies, cities, universities, and other federal agencies.
Battle lines drawn over clean energy
By John Siciliano, Washington Examiner.
The 2016 election season is drawing a fine line on what should and shouldn't be considered clean energy.
On one side of the argument, the group ClearPath, headed by conservative activist Jay Faison, doesn't want solar and wind to dominate the policy landscape, especially when there are so many other paths to low-emission energy, including natural gas.
But the Obama administration has placed a premium on renewable energy from solar panels and wind turbines to transition the nation off of fossil fuels as part of the president's climate change agenda.
Faison says the White House vision is a "pipe dream." Any plan that relies solely on wind and solar will only raise energy costs and make the electric grid less reliable.
2022: A Cliff for Clean Fuels and the Renewable Fuel Standard?
By David Cox, Biomass Magazine special contributor.
The year 2022 looms large over alternative and clean fuel industries participating in the federal renewable fuel standard (RFS). But not for the reason one might initially think. Every day, fuel procurement, project financing and infrastructure investment decisions are heavily influenced by misinformation. Rumor and myth are embraced over statute and fact. Harmful reports of a 2022 RFS expiration persist.
Remarkably, however, the ominous date that so many have come to fear is easily demystified once the statutory language of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is unpacked. The RFS is, after all, a product of law. With a vote of Congress and the president’s signature, federal policy was set in motion. And while it grows more complex with each U.S. EPA rulemaking, regulators’ hands are tied to the statute.
Massachusetts Senate boosts push for state’s renewable energy path
By The Recorder.
The Massachusetts Senate plans an aggressive approach to bolstering the state’s power supplies with renewable resources like hydropower and offshore wind, proposing legislation Friday.
The proposals would go further than the House to require purchase of 2,000 megawatts of offshore wind and roughly 1,500 megawatts of other clean energy resources.
The bill, scheduled for debate in the Senate next Thursday, would encourage utilities to purchase energy storage systems to maximize the value of the new clean energy generation, and includes provisions to support improved energy efficiency in homes.
Senators issue letter in support of strong RFS
By Erin Voegele, Biomass Magazine.
A group of 39 senators have issued a letter to the U.S. EPA advocating for a strong renewable fuel standard (RFS) that will support U.S. jobs and the economy, reduce the environmental impact of the transportation and energy sectors, and decrease dependence on foreign oil.
According to the senators, when Congress adopted the RFS “it intended to put in place a stable, forward-looking policy to drive innovation and investments in biorefining capacity and distribution infrastructure to bring biofuels to American consumers.”
In the letter, the senators note that the stability of the RFS policy has led to hundreds of millions being invested in the U.S. biofuels sector, with production capacity expanding more than threefold since 2005. The industry supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, reduces the environmental impact the transportation and energy sectors, and reduces reliance on foreign oil. However, the senators stress that the EPA’s consideration of distribution infrastructure when setting RFS obligations—which is contrary to the clearly defined waiver authority granted by Congress—has caused biofuel investment to fall and projects to move overseas.
Possible Upgrade of Biogas System at Walkerton Waste Water Plant
By Robyn Garvey, Bayshore Broadcasting.
Brockton is conducting a cost benefit study on a biogas system upgrade at the Walkerton Waste Water Treatment Plant.
The $30,000 study will determine what the costs would be to retrofit the current system to allow more biogas to be collected and converted into electricity.
The system currently converts sludge into electricity, which helps power the Waste Water Treatment Plant.
Reusing Everything: Phoenix Wastewater Treatment Plant To Net $1.2M From Biogas
By Lauren Gilger, KJZZ.
It’s something we all like to forget about, but, every day, 130 million gallons of wastewater is sent from our sewer system to a treatment plant near 91st Avenue and Broadway Road.
There, it’s broken down, treated, and almost entirely reused.
“Everything here is really re-purposed, we try to be as sustainable as possible,” said Dennis Porter, assistant director for Water Services with the City of Phoenix’s wastewater operations.
When wastewater comes into the plant, a lot of it is turned into fertilizer – not for food – and, after the water is treated, much of it goes to the Palo Verde Nuclear plant, which uses it to cool their reactors.
Don’t miss an update—join our weekly newsletter below.