RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.PG&E Announces New Clean Fuel Rebate for CNG Customers
By Lauren Tyler, NGT News.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) has launched a new Clean Fuel Rebate program for customers driving compressed natural gas-powered vehicles.
The new rebate is made possible thanks to California’s statewide Low Carbon Fuel Standard initiative, which aims to reduce transportation-related greenhouse-gas emissions by encouraging the adoption of clean vehicle fuels.
Alton, IL may further study income-generating resource recovery facility
ALTON — The city may authorize a more thorough study into potential costs, revenues and risks of building a bio-solid, resource recovery facility, pending aldermanic approval.
Mayor Brant Walker said he expected the City Council to refer the resolution allowing the Phase II survey and related work to committee Wednesday night. The Committee of the Whole meets next on July 10.
This more in-depth phase would involve consultants from EcoEngineers of Des Moines, Iowa preparing a preliminary design of the facility — modules that could be increased in number over the years if waste supplies increase — finalize size, cost and utility, and procure feedstock (waste) sources. If the city progresses with the plan, the facility would be built on the wastewater treatment plant property, 19 Chessen Lane.
By Linda N. Weller, Alton Telegraph.
ALTON — The city may authorize a more thorough study into potential costs, revenues and risks of building a bio-solid, resource recovery facility, pending aldermanic approval.
Mayor Brant Walker said he expected the City Council to refer the resolution allowing the Phase II survey and related work to committee Wednesday night. The Committee of the Whole meets next on July 10.
This more in-depth phase would involve consultants from EcoEngineers of Des Moines, Iowa preparing a preliminary design of the facility — modules that could be increased in number over the years if waste supplies increase — finalize size, cost and utility, and procure feedstock (waste) sources. If the city progresses with the plan, the facility would be built on the wastewater treatment plant property, 19 Chessen Lane.
Some city officials say they are interested in learning more about feasibility of building and operating a resource recovery facility (RRF) in order to develop a new revenue source for the city, which has lost industry and population — and therefore taxes — over the past few decades. Revenues from Argosy Casino also have dropped dramatically that bolstered Alton’s General Fund.
At the April 12 City Council meeting, senior engineer Brad Pleima and chief executive officer Shashi Menon, of EcoEngineers described how a bio-solid RRF operates, turning sewage, food waste from restaurants and grocery stores and other, commercial high-strength wastes into dewatered solids for fertilizer — for sale and for environmental credits — plus ammonia sulfate struvite, and renewable natural gas, with the latter blended into bio-fuels. Alton would sell the gas and also receive environmental attributes credits simply for its production.
UPS Commits to More Alternative Vehicles, Fuel and Renewable Power by 2025
June 27, via MarketWatch.
UPS today announced aggressive new sustainability goals to add more alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles to its fleet while increasing its reliance on renewable energy sources. The goals, available in the company's 2016 Corporate Sustainability Report, support UPS's commitment to reduce its absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from global ground operations 12 per cent by 2025, a goal developed using a methodology approved by the Science Based Targets initiative.
"Because of our size and scale, we know our commitments can shape markets, advance technologies and be a catalyst for infrastructure investments," said David Abney, UPS Chairman and CEO. "We rely on the ingenuity of our employees, suppliers and technology partners to help us reach goals that will transform the shipping industry and spur innovation."
June 27, via MarketWatch.
UPS today announced aggressive new sustainability goals to add more alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles to its fleet while increasing its reliance on renewable energy sources. The goals, available in the company's 2016 Corporate Sustainability Report, support UPS's commitment to reduce its absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from global ground operations 12 per cent by 2025, a goal developed using a methodology approved by the Science Based Targets initiative.
"Because of our size and scale, we know our commitments can shape markets, advance technologies and be a catalyst for infrastructure investments," said David Abney, UPS Chairman and CEO. "We rely on the ingenuity of our employees, suppliers and technology partners to help us reach goals that will transform the shipping industry and spur innovation."
UPS has a goal that 25 per cent of the electricity it consumes will come from renewable energy sources by 2025, a dramatic increase from the 0.2 per cent in 2016. In addition, by 2020 UPS plans that one in four new vehicles purchased annually will be an alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicle, up from 16 per cent in 2016. The company also set a new goal that by 2025, 40 per cent of all ground fuel will be from sources other than conventional gasoline and diesel, an increase from 19.6 per cent in 2016.
UPS operates more than 8,300 alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles worldwide. The company's fleet includes electric, hybrid electric, hydraulic hybrid, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), propane and lightweight fuel-saving composite body vehicles. In addition to its use of alternative vehicles, UPS uses millions of liters of lower-carbon footprint renewable diesel and renewable natural gas (RNG) in its fleet each year.
Kennedy Leads Legislative Approval of 'Cow Power' Bill
By Mona Kazour, Bradford Patch.
From the Senator: Connecticut farmers will now have the opportunity to join the green energy revolution, thanks to legislation championed by Senator Ted Kennedy, Jr. (D-Branford). Senate Bill 943 promotes the use of cow manure and food waste as a renewable energy source through the process of anaerobic digestion. The bill also creates an easier, cheaper and faster regulatory permitting process for farmers who are interested in adopting this technology.
Gov. Hogan Reverses Maryland's 'Zero-Waste' Plan, 85% Landfill Diversion Goal
On June 27, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced a reversal of previous Governor Martin O'Malley's 'zero-waste' plan, which included goals of 60% organic waste diversion from the state's landfills by 2020 and 85% by 2040.
Hogan said that the state will instead focus on more "achievable" recycling goals. He reasoned that the "last minute" and "poorly devised" plan "usurped local authority" concerning their waste streams. Maryland's secretary of the environment added that Maryland will remain focused on reduction, reuse and recycling, but no new rule will be issued.
Milwaukee Metro Sewage approves 20-year biogas deal with Waste Management at Wisconsin landfill
By Don Behm, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Landfill gas from the Metro landfill in Franklin will begin flowing to the Jones Island sewage treatment plant in the summer of 2019, as part of a revised agreement approved Monday by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District's commission.
Waste Management of Wisconsin will be the district's second supplier of landfill gas — a lower cost fuel than natural gas — to power the plant and dry Milorganite fertilizer, after connections are completed in two years.
By Don Behm, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Landfill gas from the Metro landfill in Franklin will begin flowing to the Jones Island sewage treatment plant in the summer of 2019, as part of a revised agreement approved Monday by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District's commission.
Waste Management of Wisconsin will be the district's second supplier of landfill gas — a lower cost fuel than natural gas — to power the plant and dry Milorganite fertilizer, after connections are completed in two years.
Metro is across S. 124th St. from the district's first supplier, Advanced Disposal Service's Emerald Park landfill in Muskego. The landfill is north of County Line Road.
Contaminants will be removed from Metro's landfill gas before it is piped to Emerald Park and blended with the fuel supply there, officials said. Concentrations of water vapor, hydrogen sulfide and silicon particles in the gas must be reduced before the fuel is burned at Jones Island.
MMSD will be responsible for designing, constructing and operating the landfill gas treatment plant, compressors and meters to be built on Metro property, under the agreement. Cost of the plant is estimated at $11 million, officials said.
Waste 360: Five Trends Shaping How the Waste & Recycling Industry Manages Food Waste
Mallory Szczepanski, Waste 360.
Waste360 has identified five key trends that are shaping how the industry is managing food waste.
With awareness of food waste spreading like wildfire, it's no surprise that the waste and recycling industry has developed a number of different ways to keep both edible and inedible wasted food out of landfill.
Each year, $218 billion worth of food is thrown away, 72 billion pounds of food is lost each year, 21 percent of landfill volume is comprised of food waste and 21 percent of fresh water is used to produce food that is discarded, according to nonprofit Feeding America.
ExxonMobil and Stephen Hawking Agreed to the Same Climate Fix
By Eric Rolston, Climate Changed, via Bloomberg.
Less than three weeks after President Donald Trump pulled the United States from the 195-nation Paris Agreement on climate change, there's a new ragtag group of underdogs supporting carbon-cutting.
ExxonMobil Corp., Total SA, Raymond Dalio, Laurene Powell Jobs, Stephen Hawking, Ratan Tata, and Michael Bloomberg, the founder and owner of Bloomberg LP, among others, have signed on as "founding members" of a months-old group called the Climate Leadership Council. The organization is the brainchild of Ted Halstead, a serial think-tank entrepreneur, who set out to craft traditionally conservative ideas into a potential climate fix.
By Eric Rolston, Climate Changed, via Bloomberg.
Less than three weeks after President Donald Trump pulled the United States from the 195-nation Paris Agreement on climate change, there's a new ragtag group of underdogs supporting carbon-cutting.
ExxonMobil Corp., Total SA, Raymond Dalio, Laurene Powell Jobs, Stephen Hawking, Ratan Tata, and Michael Bloomberg, the founder and owner of Bloomberg LP, among others, have signed on as "founding members" of a months-old group called the Climate Leadership Council. The organization is the brainchild of Ted Halstead, a serial think-tank entrepreneur, who set out to craft traditionally conservative ideas into a potential climate fix.
The Council has developed a draft policy that taxes climate pollution and redirects the money to taxpayers. The idea was first unveiled in February, when former Treasury secretaries James Baker and George Shultz presented it to the president's top economic adviser, Gary Cohn.
"When major fossil fuel producers are supporting a tax that will bear on fossil fuels," said former Treasury Secretary [and CLC member] Lawrence Summers, "it's hard to believe that it isn't a good idea."
The plan is made up of four parts:
Biofuel Credit Prices Surge As The White House Hemorrhages Political Capital
By Tristan R. Brown, via Seeking Alpha.
Renewable Identification Numbers have rebounded strongly since early May, making it likely that merchant refiners' reported RIN expenditures in Q2 will be higher than originally expected.
The rise in RIN prices has coincided with the Trump administration's weakening political position, with some of the largest daily increases following news of branching investigations into White House activities.
Whereas RIN prices fell sharply following the election on the expectation that Carl Icahn would overhaul the RFS2 as regulatory reform czar, investors now believe that the changes won't happen.
Democratic lawmakers raise pressure on EPA over Icahn's biofuels role
By Valerie Volcovici, Reuters.
U.S. Democratic lawmakers asked Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt on Wednesday to disclose procedures to prevent billionaire Carl Icahn from influencing U.S. biofuels policy for personal gain.
The letter is the latest in a string of missives from Democrats concerned about Icahn's dual role as a special adviser to President Donald Trump on regulation and as a major investor
in heavily regulated industries.
Icahn has an 82 percent stake in oil refiner CVR Energy Inc. He has also recommended the White House change the biofuels program that would reduce costs to CVR and other refining companies.
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