RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Carbon emissions stable for third year in a row, study finds
By Bioenergy Insight.
Global carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels have seen "almost no growth" for three years in a row, despite economic growth, scientists have said.
Emissions did not increase in 2015 and are expected to rise only 0.2% in 2016, according to new data from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the Global Carbon Project.
The figures, which come after a rise of just 0.7% in emissions in 2014, are a clear break from the average 2.3% annual carbon dioxide increase from burning fossil fuels in the decade to 2013.
World Biogas Association officially launches at COP22
By Cole Rosengren, Waste Dive.
Dive Brief:
- The World Biogas Association (WBA) has officially launched at the United Nations Convention on Climate Change COP22 in Morocco this week. The organization will focus on supporting the growth of anaerobic digestion and biogas projects that help meet UN sustainability targets.
- David Newman, former president of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), is the new president of WBA. Representatives of the American Biogas Council, HRS Heat Exchangers, the Italian Compost and Biogas Consortium and the UK's Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association are also among the founding members.
- WBA is open to companies, associations, universities, professionals and any other organizations working on biogas projects.
Trump insider: New administration won't attack renewable energy
By Peter Maloney, Utility Dive.
There has been a lot of angst in the renewable power sector over what the Trump presidency will mean, but according to a Trump insider, renewable energy will not be in the new president’s sights when he takes office in January.
The day after the election, shares of solar power companies like SolarCity, SunPower and Vivint Solar cratered, as did wind turbine maker Vestas, while shares of coal company Peabody Energy jumped more than 50%. But those drastic movements may not prove to be an accurate reflection of the realities the energy sector will face under Trump’s presidency.
“Energy is not one of the top five agenda items” on Trump’s to-do list when he takes office in January, according to a major Trump financial contributor who said he is a member of the transition team and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Here's What's on Donald Trump's Climate Change Hit List
Via Newsweek.
Among climate hawks, the reactions to Donald Trump’s election have ranged from hopeless to Pollyannaish and everything in between. Former Vice President Al Gore expresses hope that Trump will work with the “overwhelming majority of us who believe that the climate crisis is the greatest threat we face as a nation,” while the New York Times’ Andy Revkinargues that the U.S. president doesn’t make a huge amount of difference when it comes to climate anyway.
Going by his campaign promises, though, the Trump era is shaping up as an open season for the fossil fuel industry. Coal stocks are soaring, and there are strong indications that TransCanada might put the Keystone XL pipeline back on the table.
Massachusetts funding aids anaerobic digestion projects
By Erin Voegele, Biomass Magazine.
Massachusetts recently awarded grant funding to two biogas-related projects under development by CRMC Bioenergy LLC and EL Harvey and Sons Inc. The awards were made under the commonwealth’s Recycling Business Development Grant program.
CRMC Bioenergy, a wholly owned subsidiary of CommonWealth Resource Management Corp. was awarded up to $200,000. The company owns and operates the existing BRMC Bioenergy Facility at the Crapo Hill Sanity Landfill in Dartmouth. CRMC aims to use the funding to add the ability to source and accept bulk materials in quantities required to support the planned expansion of the facility, an operating pilot-scale anaerobic digestion project. The grant will, in part, be used to purchase de-packaging equipment that will enable the facility to accept and process bulk organics that are packaged or have some level of contamination into a pump-able, slurried form for anaerobic digestion.
Michigan Senate passes sweeping energy overhaul, 15% renewables mandate
By Jonathan Oosting, Detroit News Lansing Bureau.
Lansing – The Michigan Senate approved Thursday a sweeping package to overhaul state energy policy and rules for electric providers, changes a sponsor said will “keep us in control of our own energy future” amid federal regulatory uncertainty.
The legislation, supported by major utilities, continues to face criticism. It has divided the business community because of proposal regulations for alternative suppliers that offer lower electricity rates to some companies and schools.
The package will “ensure the continued availability of clean, reliable and affordable energy for our citizens and businesses,” sponsoring Sen. Mike Nofs, R-Battle Creek said between the 26-10 and 26-11 votes.
Election result opens door for tax reform legislation
By Naomi Jagoda, The Hill.
Donald Trump’s election victory and the Republican success in holding the House and Senate have opened the door for tax legislation in 2017.
Next year, Republicans will control the White House and both houses of Congress for the first time since 2006. Lowering tax rates has long been a top priority for the GOP, raising anticipation that legislation could be moving early on in the next Congress.
Trump taps climate-change skeptic to oversee EPA transition
By Brady Dennis, The Washington Post.
President-elect Donald Trump has made no secret of his disdain for the Environmental Protection Agency, saying the regulations it has put out under President Obama are “a disgrace.” He has vowed to roll back Obama’s signature effort to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, known as the Clean Power Plan, and to scrap a litany of other “unnecessary” rules, especially those imposed on the oil, gas and coal sectors.
The man planning how a Trump administration can obliterate Obama’s environmental legacy is Myron Ebell, a Washington fixture who has long been a cheerful warrior against what he sees as an alarmist, overzealous environmental movement that has used global warming as a pretext for expanding government. Ebell has argued for opening up more federal lands for logging, oil and gas exploration and coal mining, and for turning over more permitting authority to the states. And he has urged the Senate to vote to reject an international climate accord signed last year in Paris.
Crapo, Brady Will Handle Trump’s Tax, Finance Agenda
By Ryan Rainey, Morning Consult.
Donald Trump has promised a “massive tax reduction” for middle-income Americans, a child care tax benefit, a reduction in the corporate tax rate to 15 percent, and an end to “special interest loopholes.” He has also promised a moratorium on federal regulations that most observers say is leveled squarely at the Dodd-Frank banking law.
The Republican-controlled Senate and the House in the next Congress will have to navigate those proposals. But key leaders on these issues, such as House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), are expected to remain at the helm of some of Congress’ most powerful committees.
One notable change will come to the Senate Banking Committee, where Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) is expected to succeed Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) as the panel’s chairman.
Washington voters reject carbon tax
By King Staff and Associated Press.
Washington voters rejected what would have been the nation's first direct carbon tax on the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline.
With a total of 1,914,833 votes counted Wednesday afternoon, 59 percent of voters rejected Initiative 732.
I-732 would have encouraged businesses to conserve or switch to clean energy by making fossil fuels more expensive, and make the tax system fairer by using the revenues to reduce other taxes, supporters said.
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