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Arizona Senate puts utility-written renewable energy plan on ballot

By Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services.

PHOENIX — State senators voted Thursday to put a measure crafted by the state’s largest electric company on the November ballot to compete with a far more stringent initiative on renewable energy.

The 16-11 party-line vote in the Republican-controlled chamber came over objections from Democrats who said the House measure, dubbed the “Clean and Affordable Energy for a Healthy Arizona Amendment,” is designed solely to confuse voters with the “Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona Amendment” being financed by California billionaire Tom Steyer.

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EPA waiving biofuel quotas spurs rebuke

By Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Mario Parker, Boston Globe.

The Environmental Protection Agency has given more than two dozen small refiners permission to ignore the nation’s renewable fuel mandate, angering competitors and farm-state lawmakers who say the exceptions undermine the program.

Roughly 30 refineries are seeking waivers from the Renewable Fuel Standard for the 2017 compliance year, and so far at least 25 have won them, according to two people familiar with the process.

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14 States Sue EPA Head Over Alleged Clean Air Act Violations

By Courtney Platt, OPB.

Washington and Oregon have joined a lawsuit alleging U.S. Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt is violating the Clean Air Act. The lawsuit says the government needs to limit methane emissions from existing oil and gas facilities.

The suit, filed by 14 states, Chicago and Washington, D.C., says Pruitt and the EPA are ignoring an Obama-era methane rule.

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RNG Coalition Issues Statement on EPA's Use of Small Refiner Exemption

April 5, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas CEO, Johannes Escudero, issued the following statement today on the U.S. EPA's recent and increasing use of the Small Refiner Exemption in the Renewable Fuel Standard Program:

"The Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas is concerned that EPA is granting 'hardship waivers' to Fortune 500 corporations under the Small Refiner Exemption (SRE) of the Renewable Fuels Standard, and America should be disturbed by the lack of transparency or notice and comment through which it is occurring. It is poor policy implementation and a clear attempt to undermine a statute put in place by Congress.

We strongly urge EPA to cease granting these waivers immediately and request a moratorium on any further exemptions. Additionally, we urge EPA to create a public process for any future waiver considerations that does not retroactively reduce annual renewable volume obligations, and that has predetermined deadlines when petitions must be received and determinations made."

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US targets waiver letting California steer emissions limits

By The Associated Press, via WTOP.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Scott Pruitt, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, turned his sights this week on a nearly half-century-old federal waiver that allows California to pursue its own, tough tailpipe emission standards, and allows other states to opt in to California’s standards rather than federal ones if they choose.

The waiver has allowed California, the U.S. state with the most people and the biggest economy, to steer the rest of nation toward tougher limits on car and truck emissions that pollute the air and change the climate.

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Groups Condemn Agency for Non-Transparent Use of RFS Exemptions for Refiners

By Chris Clayton, DTN Ag Policy Editor.

OMAHA (DTN) -- The Environmental Protection Agency has opened its own "back-door waiver" to the Renewable Fuel Standard by granting retroactive exemptions to RFS obligations to more than a dozen small refiners, including some that are part of highly-profitable refining conglomerates.

By Chris Clayton, DTN Ag Policy Editor.

OMAHA (DTN) -- The Environmental Protection Agency has opened its own "back-door waiver" to the Renewable Fuel Standard by granting retroactive exemptions to RFS obligations to more than a dozen small refiners, including some that are part of highly-profitable refining conglomerates.

"I smell a rat. I smell a rat," said Scott Irwin, an agricultural economist at the University of Illinois who studies the Renewable Fuel Standard.

In examining how EPA is granting exemptions to RFS obligations, Irwin said, "This is real and there are large uncertainty on the market impacts."

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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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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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.

RNG NEWS