RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Global Green to Expand Outreach & Food Waste to Biogas Infrastructure Program to Two Southern California Cities
(LOS ANGELES, March 20, 2018) Non-profit, Global Green today announced it will select two Southern California cities as partners to participate in a new food waste recycling program, using an Eco-Ambassador resident outreach model. The two cities will be chosen based on existing access to food-waste-to-biogas production, or an interest in investing in biogas production infrastructure, as well as their focus on underserved communities. Global Green resource recovery experts have nearly a decade of expertise in waste and biogas.
This free assistance is being provided under an Environmental Champions grant from Southern California Gas Co.. (SoCalGas). The estimated dollar value of this technical assistance is approximately $7,500 per city, and will be offered at no expense to the two cities selected for the program. No matching funds are required.
(LOS ANGELES, March 20, 2018) Non-profit, Global Green today announced it will select two Southern California cities as partners to participate in a new food waste recycling program, using an Eco-Ambassador resident outreach model. The two cities will be chosen based on existing access to food-waste-to-biogas production, or an interest in investing in biogas production infrastructure, as well as their focus on underserved communities. Global Green resource recovery experts have nearly a decade of expertise in waste and biogas.
This free assistance is being provided under an Environmental Champions grant from Southern California Gas Co.. (SoCalGas). The estimated dollar value of this technical assistance is approximately $7,500 per city, and will be offered at no expense to the two cities selected for the program. No matching funds are required.
“SoCalGas is proud to support Global Green in this effort to help California meet its air pollution and climate goals by taking methane from organic waste and using it to make renewable natural gas,” said Trisha Muse, community relations director at SoCalGas. “More than 80 percent of California’s methane emissions come from agriculture, wastewater and landfills. When we divert organic waste from our landfills, we can convert it into renewable fuel that can be used to fuel trucks, generate electricity or heat our homes.”
Over a four-month implementation period, Global Green will guide each city in creating a sustainable resident outreach program that is specific to the city’s needs and objectives. The programs will address the interconnected issues of food waste and clean, renewable energy (i.e. biogas) in underserved communities. Global Green will train city staff to implement the program as a city-led program that continues beyond the four-month period of technical assistance, and will host a stakeholder workshop with city leaders focused on expanding the adoption of food-waste-to-biogas infrastructure.
Global Green will additionally assist in recruiting Eco-Ambassadors and implementing up to two training workshops. The group will also install and administer waste data and engagement tracking strategies, such as waste bin sensor technologies and participant surveys. The cities selected to receive this technical assistance will be activated with a base of motivated Eco-Ambassadors that expand the city’s capacity for outreach and impact, as well as waste data, to optimize waste operations and cut costs.
The Eco-Ambassador program addresses urban infrastructure planning, local clean energy opportunities, and the long-term success of state policy goals, including AB-1826. It also engages resident participation, amplifies outreach efforts and resources, and empowers communities through waste education and resource recovery. The objective of this program is to increase awareness about food waste prevention and recovery, as well as to increase the adoption and implementation of food scrap collection programs.
Cities within SoCalGas’ service territory with access to food scrap collection services through their waste hauler(s) are eligible to apply for this opportunity. To be considered or for more information, please contact Madisen Gittlin at: mgittlin@globalgreen.org by May 1st, 2018.
About Global Green
Global Green is a national leader in advancing sustainable and resilient communities to green cities, schools, and affordable housing to help protect human health, improve livability, and support our planet’s natural systems in an effort to stem climate change. Global Green is dedicated to helping the people, places, and the planet in need through catalytic projects, transformative policy, and cutting-edge research. For more information, visit globalgreen.org.
For more information, please contact:
Madisen Gittlin
tel: 310.581.2700 ext. (119)
GLOBAL GREEN
Waste from Cows is Helping us Make Cleaner Energy
Extracting methane from biogas creates fuel without fracking.
By Marlene Cimons, Popular Science.
During the summer of 2016, chemical engineer David Simakov took a leisurely drive through the farmlands of southern Ontario. During his trip, he stopped at a farm that was producing biogas from manure, then burning it to create electricity. Ever the scientist, Simakov began to wonder. Would it be possible to take that biogas one step further and refine it into natural gas?
Extracting methane from biogas creates fuel without fracking.
By Marlene Cimons, Popular Science.
During the summer of 2016, chemical engineer David Simakov took a leisurely drive through the farmlands of southern Ontario. During his trip, he stopped at a farm that was producing biogas from manure, then burning it to create electricity. Ever the scientist, Simakov began to wonder. Would it be possible to take that biogas one step further and refine it into natural gas?
Natural gas, though a significant contributor to climate change, is the cleanest-burning fossil fuel. Turning cow manure into natural gas would have three big advantages. First, it would turn animal waste, a major source of carbon pollution, into a useful fuel. Second, it would provide a new source of natural gas, which could be used to replace dirtier fuels like coal and oil. Third, it would reduce the need for fracking, the environmentally-destructive practice that extracts natural gas from the earth.
Arizona regulators move to place gas infrastructure moratorium on utilities
By Robert Walton, Utility Dive.
Arizona regulators have refused to acknowledge the 15-year Integrated Resource Plans (IRP) filed by the state's investor-owned utilities, pushing them instead to consider more renewable energy and less natural gas-fired power.
The Arizona Corporation Commission also moved to place a moratorium on new gas plants 150 MW or larger through the end of this year, requiring utilities to consider energy storage and clean energy options first.
The IRP denials come as Arizona utility regulator Andy Tobin pushes a proposal for utilities to source 80% of their electricity from renewables and nuclear by 2050 and deploy 3,000 MW of energy storage by 2030.
Anaerobic digester project being planned near Yuma, Colorado
An anaerobic digester plant that would covert animal waste into a usable energy source, among other things, is being planned for south of Yuma.
The planned location is on County Road 34, approximately one mile east of Highway 59.
Sheldon Kye Energy and Harvest Operating LLC are teaming up to develop the digester. Both companies are headquartered in the metro Denver area. Brian Johnson is heading up the project for Sheldon Kye Energy, and Alan Nackerud is the Harvest Operating representative.
By the Yuma Pioneer.
University of New Hampshire & Waste Management Team Up to Pump Landfill Gas for Energy
The partnership between Waste Management and UNH enables UNH to heat and power 75 to 85 percent of the campus and make money selling surplus energy to the grid.
By Arlene Karidis, Waste 360.
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) has powered its Durham campus on renewable energy for years. And when it was looking to expand in the space, it just so happened to be at a time when Waste Management was trying to figure out how to manage excess gas produced at its Rochester, N.H., landfill.
Trillium CNG wins innovation award for natural-gas fueling program
The Public-Private Partnership (P3) Compressed Natural Gas Fueling program recently was awarded Project of the Year by the Beaver County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers. The fueling station is located at the Beaver County Transit Authority.
By Melina Druga, Transportation Today.
Closed-Loop Waste Management & RNG Fuel System Opens in Surrey
March 9, 2018 - Surrey’s Biofuel Facility officially opened today in the Port Kells industrial area. The $68 million facility is the first fully integrated closed-loop organic waste management system in North America. The facility will convert curbside organic waste into renewable biofuel to fuel the City’s fleet of natural gas powered waste collection and service vehicles. Under this closed loop system, waste collection trucks will literally be collecting their fuel source at curbside. Excess fuel will go to the new district energy system that heats and cools Surrey’s City Centre.
“Surrey has established a new sustainability benchmark in Canada with a state of the art facility that converts organic waste into renewable energy,” said Mayor Linda Hepner. “The Biofuel Facility will be instrumental in reducing community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 49,000 tonnes per year, which is the equivalent of taking over 10,000 cars off the road annually. This reduction in greenhouse gas emissions will also completely eliminate the City of Surrey’s corporate carbon footprint of 17,000 tonnes per year.”
National Grid: Low carbon gas and Carbon Capture clarity needed to support clean growth
Gas will "play a crucial role for many decades to come" in the UK's energy mix and can help to decarbonise heating, transport and industry, but clear policy direction is needed if the sector is to remain compatible with the government's clean growth goals.
By Michael Holder, Business Green.
By Michael Holder, Business Green.
Gas will "play a crucial role for many decades to come" in the UK's energy mix and can help to decarbonise heating, transport and industry, but clear policy direction is needed if the sector is to remain compatible with the government's clean growth goals.
That is the conclusion of a major new report from grid operator National Grid, which sets out its vision for the role of gas in the energy market as the UK works towards meeting its decarbonisation targets.
Published on Friday, the Future of Gas report emphasises the urgent need for "national policy clarity" and a clear strategy for decarbonising the UK's gas infrastructure.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation Report advises that North America needs an organics policy
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has released a new report that estimates more than 256 million metrics tons of organic waste is generated in North America each year. Approximately 75 million metrics tons are processed via composting or anaerobic digestion.
By Cole Rosengren, Waste Dive.
By Cole Rosengren, Waste Dive.
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has released a new report that estimates more than 256 million metrics tons of organic waste is generated in North America each year. Approximately 75 million metrics tons are processed via composting or anaerobic digestion.
Per this research, the U.S. and Canada divert 32% of organics, while Mexico diverts 7%. The CEC estimates diverting 50% of organic material in the U.S. alone could generate $7 billion in revenue and create more than 160,000 jobs.
Proposed solutions include better reporting and standardization, the creation of a North American organics database, raising disposal tip fees, expanding markets for finished compost and other products, increasing engagement of non-residential sectors, improving public education and finding more opportunities for cross-border collaboration.
Read more...
Bankrupt Philadelphia refiner settles biofuel obligation with EPA: court filing
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted a bankrupt Philadelphia oil refining company a reprieve from complying with the nation’s renewable fuel laws, according to a settlement agreement filed on Monday.
By Jarrett Renshaw.
By Jarrett Renshaw.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted a bankrupt Philadelphia oil refining company a reprieve from complying with the nation’s renewable fuel laws, according to a settlement agreement filed on Monday.
The refiner, Carlyle Group-backed Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES), filed for bankruptcy protection in January and asked a judge to waive some $350 million in compliance costs under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS.
The EPA and PES agreed on Monday that the refiner would only have to satisfy about half those costs, but would face more scrutiny moving forward, court documents showed.
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