RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Idaho Gas-to-Energy Project Inches Forward
By Madelyn Beck, Idaho Mountain Express.
A proposal to turn gas at the Milner Butte Landfill in southern Idaho into usable energy is one step closer to reality.
The Southern Idaho Solid Waste Landfill Gas to Energy project has been in the works since October 2014, according to project planners. Most recently, those planners have been giving county commissioners a detailed project overview to help those counties make a decision today, Oct. 26, on whether to move forward or cancel the project.
Josh Bartlome, executive director and CEO of the Southern Idaho Solid Waste District, told Blaine County commissioners last week that the landfill project is expected to produce enough energy to start making money by 2023. By 2038, Bartlome said he expects the project to have produced a net income of between $5 million and $9 million, depending on the choice of generator.
USDA awards $327 million in REAP funding
By Erin Voegele, Biomass Magazine.
On Oct. 25, the USDA announced it is investing more than $300 million to help hundreds of small businesses adopt renewable energy sources or implement more efficient energy options. The investment includes $327 million to support 423 businesses through the Rural Energy for America Program and a $68 million loan awarded to the Pedernales Electric Cooperative of Johnson City, Texas, through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program to fund system-wide energy efficiency improvements to assist a rural portion of the co-op’s service territory.
"Cutting our energy waste is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest ways to help families save money on their energy bills while reducing harmful carbon pollution. Over the course of nearly eight years, the Obama Administration has taken strong actions to advance energy efficiency in our homes and businesses," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Through efficiency upgrades and private-sector partnerships, America has been able to cut its carbon emissions, create jobs and save families hundreds of dollars at the pump and on their utility bills every year. The Rural Energy for America Program alone has helped roughly 15,000 rural small businesses, farmers and ranchers improve their bottom lines by installing renewable energy systems and energy efficiency solutions. When businesses lower their energy costs, they are also able to expand their services and contribute to stronger local economies."
The Trump and Clinton campaigns finally had a substantive climate debate
By Brad Plumer, Vox.
We heard virtually nothing about climate change in the presidential debates this year. The moderators avoided the topic like an ancient Egyptian curse, and Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton rarely delved into energy policy.
So for those interested in the issue, might I suggest an alternative? On Tuesday, the University of Richmond School of Law hosted a wide-ranging debate between the two campaigns’ energy advisers. On Team Clinton: Trevor Houser, an analyst at the Rhodium Group. On Team Trump: Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-ND).
The hour-long debate featured its share of depressing nonsense, like when Cramer waffled on whether humans are causing global warming. (Spoiler: They are.) But the discussion was genuinely substantive, and the advisers delved into issues like the Paris climate deal, nuclear power, and (oh yes) transmission policy. You can watch it all HERE.
Ohio Businesses Urge Lawmakers To Thaw Clean Energy Freeze
By Samantha Williams, National Resources Defense Council.
Ohio’s renewable energy and energy efficiency industry is at a critical inflection point.
As we round the corner on the last few months of the year (and the final weeks that Ohio’s General Assembly will be in session), large multi-national companies are making clear that they want strong efficiency and renewable energy standards to be at the forefront of Ohio’s energy policy.
Back in 2014, lawmakers made the now-infamous decision to freeze the state’s wildly successful clean energy standards, which had been in place since 2009. Now, two years later, the results of the freeze are what you might expect, having become a cautionary tale for other states—and for Ohio’s next move on energy policy.
In California's Methane-Reduction Crosshairs, Dairy Industry Faces Regulation for the First Time
By Georgina Gustin, Inside Climate News.
Despite heavy pushback from the state's livestock producers, California Gov. Jerry Brown last month signed a law aimed at cutting methane emissions from cattle operations, the largest source of heat-trapping methane in the country's biggest dairy-producing state.
More than half of California's methane emissions come from dairy and beef operations, specifically from cow manure and belching, mostly from dairy cows. But the state's powerful dairy industry has successfully blocked methane regulation for the past decade.
Now, as the state works toward meeting the nation's most aggressive greenhouse gas emissions targets, the livestock sector and methane—with its potent atmospheric warming power—will contend with regulation for the first time.
SEAT and Aqualia create biogas-based vehicle fuel from wastewater
By Bioenergy Insight.
Spanish automaker SEAT and water management company Aqualia have joined forces to produce renewable biofuel from wastewater to be used in compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered vehicles.
To kick off the five-year collaboration agreement, both companies have begun performing pilot tests in the wastewater treatment plant located in Jerez de la Frontera in the city of Cádiz.
As part of the joint project, titled Smart Green Gas, SEAT has provided Aqualia with two SEAT Leon TGI vehicles to conduct the necessary testing with the biomethane obtained from wastewater to confirm and verify the entire production chain until the fuel is obtained and used.
Government and Business Leaders Helping Scale Up Renewable Natural Gas as a Powerful Climate Solution are Honored by Energy Vision
Via InvestorIdeas.com.
New York, NY - October 24, 2016 (www.investorideas.com newswire) Leaders in the field of ultra-low carbon renewable natural gas (RNG) gathered at an October 13 awards event hosted by the sustainable energy non-profit Energy Vision, which promotes renewable, low-carbon energy and transportation solutions. The event marked Energy Vision's 10th anniversary.
RNG production and use for transport, electricity generation and heating is scaling up in the United States, with diverse projects coming online across the country. U.S. business and government leaders who are playing a pioneering role in accelerating this process were honored by Energy Vision with awards at the event.
RNG is the lowest carbon fuel available, and a powerful strategy for lowering GHG emissions. It is made from the biogases emitted as organic material in wastewater, agricultural waste, and food and yard waste decomposes. They are captured and refined into an ultra-low-carbon, low-emissions source of energy and transportation fuel. RNG has a fraction of the carbon footprint of diesel, gasoline or other petroleum-based fuels, and even of fossil natural gas. When made from food waste processed in anaerobic digesters and used as vehicle fuel, RNG can be net carbon-negative over its lifecycle.
Washington state proposal tests ability of supporters to rally around a carbon tax
By Zack Coleman.
OCTOBER 24, 2016 WASHINGTON—A debate on whether to tax carbon emissions in Washington State is laying bare divisions on the left about how far to push climate policy.
Perhaps to the surprise of many, a ballot measure to tax carbon is getting a thumbs down from many environmental groups, communities of color, and labor unions.
This opposition comes espite the initiative's appeal as a green issue. Putting a price on carbon dioxide emissions is one of the most basic strategies that’s been touted for years as a way to reduce the buildup of greenhouse gases linked to climate change. The problem: There’s sizable disagreement of what to do with the revenues generated from a carbon fee.
Tapping landfills to generate power is smart, but California's NOx and climate change rules are at odds
By Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times.
Tapping methane produced from decaying garbage in landfills to generate electricity was among California’s earliest experiments in renewable energy.
But in order to comply with a new regional rule to cut another pollutant — the one that often leaves Southern California blanketed in a layer of smog — a Riverside County landfill has decided to shut down its generators and will simply flare the methane, sending tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
US election: Trump outlines plan for first 100 days
By BBC News.
Donald Trump, lagging behind Hillary Clinton in polls, has outlined what he would do in his first 100 days were he to become US president.
With 17 days until the election, much of the recent focus has been on controversies linked to his campaign.
But in a speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, he sought to highlight changes he would introduce.
Among them were restrictions on lobbyists and a renegotiation on trade and climate change deals.
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