RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.From hog to RNG in North Carolina
By Bioenergy Insight.
An innovative power plant in Charlotte, North Carolina, is taking renewable biogas from hog farms in the state and using it to generate electricity.
According to a statement, it is the first time the technology has been applied from in-state farms.
The Optima KV project, in Duplin County, is capturing methane gas from the hog waste of five local farms, and transporting it through more than 42,000 feet of in-ground piping to a central location. There, the gas is cleaned and converted to pipeline-quality natural gas.
How Corporate Fleets Can Go Carbon-Negative Now with RNG
By Thomas Lawson, via CleanTech.
Many corporate leaders committed to supply chain sustainability are waiting for a full range of electric vehicles to hit the market to achieve zero emissions from their heavy-duty truck fleets. But there’s no need to wait: With a new model natural gas engine now in commercial production, fleets can meet their heaviest-duty needs using carbon-negative renewable natural gas (RNG) in near-zero-emission natural gas trucks.
Early-adopter fleet operators such as UPS and Waste Management have already embraced RNG, but others could be forgiven for not having it on their radar. The conversation about achieving zero emissions from transportation has focused almost exclusively on electric vehicles. But policies that look only at tailpipe emissions are leaving out a vital part of the transport supply chain: fuel production. It’s there that RNG shines.
Clean Energy Introduces $1 a Gallon ZERO NOW Renewable Natural Gas Offer
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq: CLNE) today introduced ZERO NOW, a fueling solution that combines the world’s cleanest engine technology with the cleanest fuel at a price of $1 per gallon for one year. Heavy duty trucks that are powered by the new ultra clean Cummins Westport (CWI) ISX12N engine purchased this year will be eligible for Clean Energy’s Redeem™ renewable natural gas (RNG) at its California stations for the low price of $1 per gallon for an entire year.
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq: CLNE) today introduced ZERO NOW, a fueling solution that combines the world’s cleanest engine technology with the cleanest fuel at a price of $1 per gallon for one year. Heavy duty trucks that are powered by the new ultra clean Cummins Westport (CWI) ISX12N engine purchased this year will be eligible for Clean Energy’s Redeem™ renewable natural gas (RNG) at its California stations for the low price of $1 per gallon for an entire year.
Heavy duty truck fleets are under pressure to meet stricter emissions standards and Clean Energy’s ZERO NOW solution does that – today. The new CWI natural gas engine achieves the lowest emissions levels in North America, yet delivers diesel caliber performance with reliability and durability. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board certified these engines in December 2017 at CARB’s optional Low NOx standard of 0.02 g/bhp-hr, 90% lower emissions than the current EPA NOx standard. In fact, the new engines were tested at 0.01 g/bhp-hr, achieving virtually zero tailpipe emissions. Clean Energy’s Redeem is made entirely from organic waste and is up to 70% cleaner than diesel, making it the cleanest fuel available in North America.
Big Blue Bus is Upgrading its RNG Fleet
Santa Monica, Calif.-based Big Blue Bus (BBB) has announced the next phase of upgrades for its fleet of 100% alternative fuel vehicles.
Serving Santa Monica and the Los Angeles area since 1928, BBB operates a fleet of 200 vehicles transporting more than 54,000 customers daily across a 58-square-mile service area. In 2015, BBB became one of the country’s first municipal transit agencies to convert its entire fleet to renewable natural gas (RNG).
By Betsy Lillian, NGT News.
Waste 360: Advances in Compressed Natural Gas technology have made it more economical than making Liquefied Natural Gas from landfills
Do you ever wonder why you hear so much about compressed natural gas (CNG) made from landfill gas but rarely hear of landfill projects involving liquefied natural gas (LNG)? It’s likely because almost all LNG is made from fossil fuel. There’s only one plant in the U.S. making LNG from landfill gas, and these projects are scarce for a few reasons.
The main driver for landfills to clean their gas to be made into transportation fuel is monetary, and CNG can cost as much as 50 percent less to produce than LNG. With both renewable fuel types, owners capitalize on renewable identification number (RINS) credits or, in California, low-carbon fuel standard credits (LCFS).
By Arlene Karidis, Waste 360.
Reuters: EPA gives giant refiner a 'hardship' waiver from regulation
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Environmental Protection Agency has exempted one of the nation’s largest oil refining companies, Andeavor, from complying with U.S. biofuels regulations - a waiver historically reserved for tiny operations in danger of going belly up, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The exemption, which applies to the three smallest of Andeavor’s ten refineries, marks the first evidence of the EPA freeing a highly profitable multi-billion dollar company from the costly mandates of the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard. The law requires refiners to blend biofuels such as ethanol into gasoline or purchase credits from those who do such blending.
By Jarrett Renshaw and Chris Prentice.
In North Carolina, lots of hog waste — but can it scale as an energy source?
A new project is helping Duke Energy meet a mandate to generate a small portion of its power from pig waste.
The molecules combusted at a North Carolina power plant now include some that originated not from fossil deposits locked deep in the earth’s crust, but from a group of nearby hog farms in Duplin County.
By Elizabeth Ouzts.
Organics recycling legislation doesn't make the cut in New York state budget
A proposed commercial organics recycling mandate was not included in the final FY19 budget passed by New York state legislators over the weekend. That language was cut in the third and final amended version of the budget bill.
Sources indicate that restaurant and institutional opposition was likely a key factor. In January, Politico reported that the Healthcare Association of New York State was still against this proposal even with more open-ended language added since 2017.
By Cole Rosengren, Waste Dive.
Reuters Exclusive: Trump weighs dropping personal efforts on biofuel reform - sources
NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is seriously considering abandoning efforts to remake the nation’s biofuel laws after wading deep into an issue that divides some of his core constituencies, according to three sources familiar with the administration’s thinking.
Advisers have urged Trump to instead let Congress tackle the biofuel reforms, but use the threat of administrative action to help rival lawmakers come together and solve the intractable issue.
By Jarrett Renshaw.
Duke Energy using North Carolina-based renewable natural gas in first-of-its-kind project
- Innovative effort producing pipeline-quality biogas from North Carolina hog farms
- OptimaBio's project in Duplin County to spur more renewable energy
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A Duke Energy power plant is using renewable natural gas from North Carolina-based hog farms to produce electricity – the first application of the technology from in-state farms.
"This is a major breakthrough for renewable energy in North Carolina," said David Fountain, Duke Energy's North Carolina president. "This project allows for the capture of emissions from hog operations and converts the renewable natural gas to electricity for customers. We look forward to continuing our work on future projects."
- Innovative effort producing pipeline-quality biogas from North Carolina hog farms
- OptimaBio's project in Duplin County to spur more renewable energy
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A Duke Energy power plant is using renewable natural gas from North Carolina-based hog farms to produce electricity – the first application of the technology from in-state farms.
"This is a major breakthrough for renewable energy in North Carolina," said David Fountain, Duke Energy's North Carolina president. "This project allows for the capture of emissions from hog operations and converts the renewable natural gas to electricity for customers. We look forward to continuing our work on future projects."
Sometimes called directed biogas, the Optima KV project in Duplin Countycaptures methane gas from the hog waste of five local farms. Using more than 42,000 feet of in-ground piping, the methane is moved to a central location where the gas is cleaned and converted to pipeline-quality natural gas.
The project injects the renewable natural gas into the Piedmont Natural Gas system which transports it to Duke Energy's Smith Energy Complex in Richmond Countywhere it is used to produce electricity. Optima KV completed its interconnection to Piedmont Natural Gas last week.
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