Landfill Gas Collection Firm Loci Controls Lands Financing

By Waste 360.

Loci Controls, the firm specializing in automated landfill gas collection, announced tthat Turnbridge Capital, a Texas-based private equity firm focused on investments in energy service and equipment providers, has led, alongside the company’s existing shareholders and management team, an equity financing and additional equity commitment to support Loci’s growth and expansion.

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U.S. Gain promotes Bryan Nudelbacher and Hardy Sawall to drive continued growth in renewable natural gas industry

Appleton, Wis. – November 28, 2017 – U.S. Gain, a division of U.S. Venture, Inc., has announced the promotion of Bryan Nudelbacher and Hardy Sawall as directors of business development within the renewable natural gas (RNG) sector of the business.

In their new positions, Nudelbacher and Sawall will pursue partnerships with RNG project developers, seek out projects that U.S. Gain can invest in, and negotiate RNG supply contracts from project developers to service U.S. Gain’s growing compressed natural gas (CNG) dispensing capacity.

Both serve the company as subject matter experts on renewable identification numbers (RINS), and the renewable fuel standard (RFS) and low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) programs.

“Moving Bryan and Hardy into these roles is indicative of the growth of our RNG business and increased focus on sustainability,” said U.S. Gain President Mike Koel. “They are highly invested in meeting with proper agencies to discuss changes in the RFS program as it relates to D3 RINS. We’re excited to have them executing our business strategy, as well as to support them in the next step of their careers.” 

Nudelbacher has worked for U.S. Gain since 2011 and was a part of the team that started U.S. Gain. He worked previously as the business development manager, leading significant growth in U.S. Gain’s CNG business throughout the Midwest in addition to implementing the company’s natural gas pricing and supply strategy for U.S. Gain’s nationwide network of CNG stations. He successfully negotiated contracts with fleets and shippers, resulting in more than $25 million of margin and 50 million gallons under contract. He also implemented the company’s first-ever virtual pipeline project to transport CNG via tube trailers to a mobile asphalt plant. Nudelbacher earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Sawall has been working in the renewable fuels industry for the last 12 years, including biodiesel, ethanol, renewable diesel and renewable natural gas. Prior to joining U.S. Gain in 2012, Sawall served as the president of Fusion Renewables and grew sales from $3 million in 2010 to $67 million in 2011. He has a background in managing terminal operations and biodiesel distribution in the Midwest. Sawall earned his master’s degree in geological engineering and a bachelor’s degree in geoenvironmental engineering from Michigan Tech.

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About U.S. Gain

U.S. Gain, a division of U.S. Venture, Inc. is a leading Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) provider offering fleet operators access to GAIN®Clean Fuel, an environmentally-friendly and cost-effective alternative to traditional fuel options. GAIN® Clean Fuel stations are strategically located for carriers along major shipping corridors and provide easy-access, fast-fill capabilities.

About U.S. Venture

For over 60 years, U.S. Venture, Inc. has been recognized as an innovative leader in the distribution of petroleum and renewable energy products, lubricants, and tires and parts for the automotive aftermarket. Guided by its company vision, “To be the very best value-adding distributor of products that vehicles consume in North America,” they deliver unconventional, creative solutions that give their customers a competitive edge. Headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, the company’s business divisions are U.S. Oil, U.S. AutoForce®, U.S. Lubricants and U.S. Gain.                                             

Baltimore/Washington Airport Introduces CNG-Powered Buses

By AirportsInternational.com

The first of 20-new compressed natural gas-powered buses have entered service Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

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Landi Renzo and Clean Energy Combine Compressor Businesses

New Company Well-Positioned To Take Advantage Of Move From Diesel To Natural Gas

CAVRIAGO, ITALY and NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., U.S.A. – Landi Renzo S.p.a. and Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq: CLNE) announced today that the two companies are combining their compressor manufacturing subsidiaries to form a new standalone company that will immediately become one of the leading suppliers of natural gas compressors and other related products across the entire globe. Landi Renzo’s SAFE, with a strong presence in Europe and Asia, and Clean Energy Compression, which is well established in the North and South America markets, will combine manufacturing and support operations and equip an international sales team with an expanded line of quality compressors featuring the latest technologies.

Upon closing, which is anticipated before the end of the year, Landi Renzo will own 51% of the new company and take over operational management, while Clean Energy will retain a 49% ownership. Andrew J. Littlefair, President and CEO of Clean Energy, will serve as the chairman of the board. The combined company will be headquartered in San Giovanni Persiceto (BO), Italy and retain Clean Energy’s manufacturing operation in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada.

“The world is rapidly waking up to the harmful impact that diesel is having on air quality,” said Cristiano Musi, who is currently Group CEO of Landi Renzo and will also be the CEO of the new company. “Natural gas is an obvious alternative for vehicles because it burns much cleaner, is plentiful around the world and there is a growing engine portfolio to choose from. This newly formed compressor company will be uniquely positioned to take advantage of the trend towards natural gas with a global footprint and a great product offering.”

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Cows to fuel Middlebury College green energy initiative

By the Associated Press, via The Sacramento Bee.

MIDDLEBURY, VT.   Cows are going to fuel Middlebury College's effort to reduce its carbon footprint.

Middlebury announced it's contracting with a 2,200-acre farm with 900 cows that plans to turn waste into gas to provide energy.

David Provost, an executive vice president, says the project will allow Middlebury to further reduce dependence on carbon-based fuels.

The project is currently in the permitting phase.

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UC Riverside Study to Evaluate Best Ways to Achieve California’s Renewable Energy Targets

Study is funded by a $146,000 grant from Southern California Gas Co.By Richard Chang, UCR Today.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (www.ucr.edu) — What are the best ways to achieve California’s renewable energy targets?

That’s the answer Arun Raju, director of the Center for Renewable Natural Gas at UC Riverside, is searching for. Raju recently received a $146,000 grant from Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) to examine the proposed 100 percent Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and explore options that can help achieve emission reduction goals more efficiently and at lower costs.

State officials have approved requirements for the power grid to consist of 50 percent renewable energy by 2030. However, discussions also are underway in Sacramento to further tighten those requirements to 50 percent as early as 2025 and 100 percent by 2045.

“California has some of the most ambitious renewable energy targets in the world,” Raju said. “The good news is that significant progress has been made. But the enhanced targets – if enacted – will require substantial efforts over the next two decades.”

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Greenhouse gas auction results show California cap-and-trade back on track

By David Baker, San Francisco Chronicle.

Its fate uncertain just a few months ago, California’s cap-and-trade system for reining in greenhouse gas emissions appears to have pulled out of its slump.

Results released Tuesday from the latest quarterly auction of cap-and-trade allowances — essentially, permits that allow a business to emit greenhouse gases — showed that all the allowances sold, with a closing price slightly higher than the previous auction’s.

The price for emitting a metric ton of greenhouse gases in California now stands at $15.06, up from $14.75 in the August auction. In the most recent auction, held Nov. 14, 79.5 million allowances were purchased for the program’s current compliance period, while buyers also snapped up 9.7 million allowances that can be used in future years.

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Clean Energy To Supply Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport With Renewable Natural Gas

DFW Becomes First Airport Outside California To Use Redeem™ RNG

Via BusinessWire.

DALLAS – Clean Energy Fuels Corp. announced on November 15 at the Airports Going Green 2017 conference, that host airport Dallas Fort Worth International (DFW) Airport awarded Clean Energy a renewable natural gas (RNG) fueling contract for the airport’s vehicle fleet. The contract calls for Clean Energy to provide the airport with its Redeem™ brand of RNG, the first renewable and commercially available vehicle fuel made entirely from 100% organic waste. The use of RNG has the potential to reduce DFW fleet emissions by approximately 70%.

In addition to the fueling agreement, Clean Energy and DFW extended the current operations and maintenance agreement for the airport’s public natural gas fueling stations. The contract stations dispense approximately 2 million gasoline gallon equivalents (GGEs) each year.

“We continue to see strong interest in our Redeem RNG product,” said Tyler Henn, vice president and general manager of Clean Energy Renewables. “Businesses and municipalities are learning that by fueling with RNG you not only get a cleaner fuel but you get a fuel that is domestically produced and more economical.”

DFW is the only airport in the United States to be certified as Carbon Neutral and the largest airport in the world with that distinction. It will become the first airport outside of California to use Redeem™ RNG.

“DFW has a strong commitment to sustainability, and we will continue to look for innovative ways to reduce our emissions, while improving the customer experience,” said Robert Horton, DFW’s Vice President of Environmental Affairs. “Using RNG for our fleet of vehicles will help us reduce our carbon footprint and our operating costs. It makes good business sense.”

Clean Energy conducted the design, build, operations and maintenance for the airport’s first natural gas fueling station in 2000 and was selected to build and operate the second station in 2011.

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. is the leading provider of natural gas fuel for transportation in North America. We build and operate CNG and LNG vehicle fueling stations; manufacture CNG and LNG equipment and technologies; and deliver more CNG and LNG vehicle fuel than any other company in the U.S. Clean Energy is also the country’s largest supplier of RNG and believes its Redeem™ RNG fuel is the cleanest transportation fuel commercially available, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70%. For more information, visit www.CleanEnergyFuels.com.

UPS Dramatically Increases Use Of Renewable Natural Gas

Via Global NewsWire.

UPS Agreement for 10 Million Gallon Equivalents a Year with Big Ox Energy is its Largest Commitment to Date

ATLANTA, Nov. 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  UPS (NYSE: UPS) today announced an agreement with Big Ox Energy (a wholly owned subsidiary of Environmental Energy Capital LLC) to purchase 10 million gallon equivalents of renewable natural gas (RNG) per year. This is the largest investment in RNG to date for the company, and the agreement runs through 2024. Use of RNG yields up to a 90% reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions when compared to conventional diesel.

In addition to the agreement with Big Ox, UPS signed a five-year agreement earlier this year with AMP energy for 1.5 million gallon equivalents of RNG per year from the Fair Oaks dairy farm in Indiana. The RNG agreements will help UPS reach a key sustainability goal: 40 percent of all ground transportation fleet fuel from sources other than conventional gasoline and diesel by 2025.

“Natural gas is a proven alternative fuel to gasoline and diesel and is a key building block for our goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our ground fleet,” said  Mike Casteel, UPS director of fleet procurement. “These agreements add significantly to our investment in the use of RNG and will help put us on track to nearly triple our annual use of RNG. They are also a direct reflection of our ongoing commitment to help shape the renewable natural gas industry.”

UPS fueling stations in Lexington, Ky.; Louisville, Ky.; New Stanton, Pa.; Richmond, Va.; Roanoke, Va.; West Columbia, S.C.; Horsham, Pa. and Doraville, Ga. will use the Bix Ox RNG to fuel UPS® delivery vehicles and tractors.

RNG, also known as biomethane, can be derived from many abundant and renewable sources, including decomposing organic waste in landfills, wastewater treatment and agriculture. It is then distributed through the natural gas pipeline system, making it available for use as liquefied natural gas (LNG) or compressed natural gas (CNG).

“UPS continues to make investments in renewable natural gas that help move the industry forward,” said Rob Larsen, CEO of Big Ox Energy. “Our agreement with UPS is one of the largest contracts we have signed to date and among the largest ever in the RNG market.”

UPS used 61 million gallons of natural gas in its ground fleet in 2016, which included 4.6 million gallons of RNG and is on track to use 14 million gallons of RNG in 2017. UPS drives more than 5,200 CNG and LNG vehicles in its fleet of alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles. Earlier this year, UPS announced a more than $90 million investment in natural gas vehicles and infrastructure. This investment included an additional six compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations, 390 new CNG tractors and terminal trucks, and 250 liquefied natural gas (LNG) vehicles.

Since 2009, UPS has invested more than $750 million in alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles and fueling stations globally. UPS deploys the more than 8,500 vehicles in its Rolling Lab to utilize technologies that work best depending on the needs of the delivery route. From old-fashioned pedal power and electric-assisted bicycles in dense urban areas like London and Hamburg to electric and hybrid electric vehicles in the U.S., and natural gas, renewable natural gas and propane globally, UPS puts sustainability innovation into action, all over the world.

About Big Ox Energy
Big Ox Energy’s mission is to be a sustainable, scalable, and cost-competitive waste recycling provider. Big Ox Energy converts organic  waste from municipal waste water facilities, agriculture, and food processing into clean-burning, pipeline-grade, renewable natural gas, known as “green gas, and other useful by-products.” Good for the economy, the environment, and the industries it supports, “green gas” is a renewable, domestic energy source.

About Environmental Energy Capital, LLC
Environmental Energy Capital LLC’s (EEC’s) mission is to utilize private capital efficiently to build energy and infrastructure projects that promote sustainability and address energy, climate and environmental challenges.  EEC’s initial focus is on scaling the production of renewable natural gas by developing, owning and operating  facilities that create biogas and other useful products from diverse organic waste streams.

About UPS
UPS (NYSE) is a global leader in logistics, offering a broad range of solutions transporting packages and freight; facilitating international trade, and deploying advanced technology to more efficiently manage the world of business. UPS is committed to operating more sustainably – for customers, the environment and the communities we serve around the world.  Learn more about our efforts at ups.com/sustainability. Headquartered in Atlanta, UPS serves more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. The company can be found on the web at ups.com and its corporate blog can be found at longitudes.ups.com. To get UPS news direct, follow @UPS_News on Twitter.

18 more members of Congress ask EPA for strong Cellulosic RFS Volumes for 2018

On November 16, eighteen additional members of Congress sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt, urging that EPA increase the 2018 Renewable Volume Obligation volumes for cellulosic biofuel and biodiesel in its Final Rule, expected by November 30.

The representatives pointed to negative economic and environmental effects of reducing required volumes for biofuel and biodiesel. Rather, they said that increasing biofuel and biodiesel use would not only reduce air pollution, but also would save consumers money at the gas pump. 

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