RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Opinion: GOP considering a half-trillion-dollar tax-reform trick involving tax extenders
By Maya MacGuineas, The Hill.
Washington has a history of budgetary magic tricks — move money around enough, borrow from this to pay that, and it is hard to keep track of spending and easy to claim fiscal victory. Accounting gimmicks have put bottom lines in-line on paper for decades, all while creating huge and damaging deficits.
Tax reform may turn out to be no different.
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have said tax reform should be revenue-neutral, meaning the plan raises as much money as the current tax code.
By Maya MacGuineas, The Hill.
Washington has a history of budgetary magic tricks — move money around enough, borrow from this to pay that, and it is hard to keep track of spending and easy to claim fiscal victory. Accounting gimmicks have put bottom lines in-line on paper for decades, all while creating huge and damaging deficits.
Tax reform may turn out to be no different.
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have said tax reform should be revenue-neutral, meaning the plan raises as much money as the current tax code.
As a strong proponent of pro-growth tax reform, I would completely agree. With debt at near record levels, now is not the time to be adding to it.
Revenue neutrality is more than a preference — budget reconciliation rules that allow a plan to pass with a simple majority in the Senate also require it. No plan can add to the debt outside the 10-year budget window under the rules.
But as is so often the case with budgeting, it all comes down to the baseline, and for tax reform to be revenue neutral, the first question is: compared to what?
Ethanol Industry Joins the RNG Industry in Calling for a Forward Looking 2018 RVO
By Erin Voegele, Ethanol Producer Magazine.
The comment period on the U.S. EPA’s proposed rule to set 2018 renewable volume obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard, along with the 2019 RVO for biomass-based diesel, closed at midnight Aug. 31. More than 44,000 comments were filed on the proposal. The agency will now review those comments as part of its effort to finalize the proposal. Under statute, the EPA is required to issue a final rule setting 2018 RVOs by Nov. 30.
The proposed rule calls for 19.24 billion gallons of total renewable fuel, including 238 million gallons of cellulosic biofuel, 2.1 billion gallons of biomass-based diesel and 4.24 billion gallons of advanced biofuel. The 2.1 billion gallon biomass-based diesel requirement for 2018 was finalized last year. For 2019, the new proposal calls for the biomass-based diesel RVO to be maintained at 2.1 billion gallons.
Industry associations advocate for RNG in feedback to EPA's proposed RFS rule
By Kristin Musulin, Waste Dive.
Dive Brief:
- The Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas (RNG Coalition), Energy Vision, the National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA), Natural Gas Vehicles for America (NGVAmerica), and the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) filed joint public comments to the EPA to advocate for RNG under the proposed Renewable Fuel Volume Standard rule, according to an emailed press statement.
- The comments ask that the EPA set a final 2018 Renewable Volume Obligation that reflects "market reality" and considers all available RIN generation data including fuel from 32 projects scheduled to come online by end of 2018.
- This is the second letter filed to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in the last 10 days from waste industry-related groups calling on the EPA to amend the proposed rules.
Proposed Change to RVO Calculation Concerns RNG Industry
By Arlene Karidis, Waste 360.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a change in how it calculates the renewable volume obligation (RVO) as it pertains to cellulosic fuel. And many investors in renewable natural gas (RNG) worry that if it passes as it is, it would create an oversupply of product and could disincentivize RNG use for transportation.
By Arlene Karidis, Waste 360.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a change in how it calculates the renewable volume obligation (RVO) as it pertains to cellulosic fuel. And many investors in renewable natural gas (RNG) worry that if it passes as it is, it would create an oversupply of product and could disincentivize RNG use for transportation.
The RVO is an assessment, in the form of a draft rule, to set biofuel volumes that parties must purchase for compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which mandates that a percentage of annual fuel consumption come from renewable fuels, advanced biofuels, and cellulosic biofuels. The latter is a subset of advanced biofuel with the most stringent requirements; it must achieve at least 60 percent greenhouse gas emission reduction.
Cellulosic fuel’s inclusion in the RFS has sparked more projects and driven growth of this commodity.
The proposed change would mean beginning Nov. 30, 2017, gas production data from 2016 would be compared to 2017 data to develop growth rate percentage.
Icahn Says he Will Continue Biofuels Fight Concerning Point of Obligation
By Mario Parker & Jennifer Dlouhy, Bloomberg.
Billionaire Carl Icahn says an oil industry push for structural changes to the U.S. biofuels mandate will persist, even if the Environmental Protection Agency rebuffs requests from refiners to relieve them of the regulatory burden.
Icahn’s remarks came as convenience store owners took the fight to federal court and mark the investor’s first public comments since an Aug. 18 open letter announcing his departure as a special regulatory adviser to President Donald Trump.
By Mario Parker & Jennifer Dlouhy, Bloomberg.
Billionaire Carl Icahn says an oil industry push for structural changes to the U.S. biofuels mandate will persist, even if the Environmental Protection Agency rebuffs requests from refiners to relieve them of the regulatory burden.
Icahn’s remarks came as convenience store owners took the fight to federal court and mark the investor’s first public comments since an Aug. 18 open letter announcing his departure as a special regulatory adviser to President Donald Trump.
Independent oil refiners are convinced the design of the Renewable Fuel Standard program is flawed and have a number of tools to pursue changes, including litigation, Icahn said.
That includes a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the Small Retailers Coalition, a trade group representing about 200 convenience store owners and independent fuel retailers. The group is challenging the EPA’s latest slate of annual biofuel quotas, arguing the requirements give an advantage to big refiners and truck stops at their expense.
IGS opens compressed natural gas station at Rumpke
By USGasVehicles.com.
IGS CNG Services and Rumpke Waste & Recycling partnered to build a new compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station at Rumpke's Columbus location on Fields Avenue.
The station began operating on August 7, 2017. Rumpke enlisted IGS CNG Services to build, own and operate a private time-fill station for its fleet of 48 CNG waste and recycling trucks.
"Our trucks play a critical role in providing essential services for more than 300,000 residences and businesses in Central Ohio," said Andrew Rumpke, area president at Rumpke. "As Rumpke continues adding CNG trucks to our fleet, we recognize the need for an on-site CNG station."
Phoenix Aims for New Business Program to Buoy Waste Diversion
By Cheryl McMullen, Waste 360.
The city of Phoenix set some ambitious waste reduction goals in 2013, including achieving a diversion rate of 40 percent by 2020 and reaching zero waste by 2050. In the years since it has launched several initiatives to achieve those goals. The most recent push includes the launch of the Green Business Leader Program, which aims to encourage businesses to establish recycling and waste diversion programs.
So far, 30 businesses including coffee shops, restaurants and law firms to retailers like Whole Foods and manufacturers like McNeilus Truck & Manufacturing, Inc., an Oshkosh Corp., are now certified Green Business Leaders.
By Cheryl McMullen, Waste 360.
The city of Phoenix set some ambitious waste reduction goals in 2013, including achieving a diversion rate of 40 percent by 2020 and reaching zero waste by 2050. In the years since it has launched several initiatives to achieve those goals. The most recent push includes the launch of the Green Business Leader Program, which aims to encourage businesses to establish recycling and waste diversion programs.
So far, 30 businesses including coffee shops, restaurants and law firms to retailers like Whole Foods and manufacturers like McNeilus Truck & Manufacturing, Inc., an Oshkosh Corp., are now certified Green Business Leaders.
While the city’s public works department handles collection and disposal of solid waste and recyclables for more than 350,000 households and some small multi-family units, thanks to a decades-old ordinance, city does not provide solid waste collection service to commercial or industrial establishments or to any building with more than 30 multifamily dwelling units. Some environmental groups and residents of multifamily buildings hope to persuade the city to change the law. In the meant time, the city has put forth the green business program to encourage commercial recycling, and to recognize businesses establishing policies and practices for waste diversion.
Excluding public and private businesses, makes it difficult to gauge how much those companies and large multifamily buildings are recycling, as they are not required by law to report diversion rates. Still, Joe Giudice, the city’s assistant public works director, estimates the city has a 20 percent diversion rate and as programs and efforts continue to build and grow, he expects the diversion rate to improve.
Republic Services Highlights Renewable Natural Gas Use in Latest Sustainability Report
By Waste 360 Staff.
Republic Services Inc. released its newest Sustainability Report, which details advancements the company has made in areas such as fuel efficiency and use of renewable fuel sources, emissions reductions, improvements in recycling and other operational highlights.
“Our customers count on us for simple solutions, the highest reliability and environmental responsibility,” Republic President and CEO Don Slager said in a statement. “Whether it’s helping a customer turn an idea into a sustainable program in Alabama, converting brownfields in Massachusetts into sources for renewable energy or recovering value from exploration and production waste in Texas, we’re enabling greater resourcefulness across America. We’re proud to lead by example, doing what’s best for our customers and our Blue Planet.
As part of its Blue Planet sustainability platform, Republic has set several sustainability goals and continues to make headway on all of them.
California Lawmakers Begin Push for 100% Clean Energy by 2045
By James Rainey, NBC News.
California could solidify its position as a global leader on the issue of climate change in the coming weeks, when the state Legislature considers a bill that would push for the state to obtain all its electricity from renewable sources by 2045.
Hawaii is the only other state in America to have committed to that ambitious goal, but the 50th state is 1/15 the size of California and is home to just 3.5 percent as many people.
By James Rainey, NBC News.
California could solidify its position as a global leader on the issue of climate change in the coming weeks, when the state Legislature considers a bill that would push for the state to obtain all its electricity from renewable sources by 2045.
Hawaii is the only other state in America to have committed to that ambitious goal, but the 50th state is 1/15 the size of California and is home to just 3.5 percent as many people.
If lawmakers approve Senate Bill 100 before the end of their session in September, it would make California the biggest economy on earth committed to getting 100 percent of its power from wind, solar and other clean alternatives.
The sponsor of the legislation, State Senate President Kevin de Leon, began the push for the bill with a telephone press conference Wednesday. The Los Angeles Democrat called S.B. 100 “a wonderful opportunity to reduce our greenhouse gases, clean our air up and put people to work.”
Plans to limit coal and petroleum-powered electricity led to pitched battles in the state capitol just a few years ago. But the new proposal is expected to have a better than 50-50 chance of passage because of the legislature’s big Democratic majorities and the fact that previous carbon reduction goals have been met ahead of schedule.
Study: Human-made fossil methane emission levels larger than previously believed
Via Science Daily.
A team of researchers spent seven weeks in Antarctica collecting and studying 2,000-pound samples of glacial ice cores that date back nearly 12,000 years. The ancient air trapped within the ice revealed surprising new data about methane that may help inform today's policymakers as they consider ways to reduce global warming.
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