RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.World Gas Conference highlights increased focus on renewable natural gas
Two speakers from the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas and release of a new whitepaper are helping highlight the increased focus on biogas-derived renewable natural gas at the recent 27th World Gas Conference, in Washington, DC.
RNG Coalition CEO and co-founder Johannes Escudero spoke June 28, on “Renewable Natural Gas as a Global Opportunity.”
U.S. EPA provides $699 million for San Francisco wastewater infrastructure upgrades
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission receives funds for its innovative Southeast Treatment Plant Biosolids Digester Facilities Project
San Francisco—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today issued a $699 million loan to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to help finance its innovative Southeast Treatment Plant Biosolids Digester Facilities Project. This is the largest loan issued under EPA’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program to date.
Renewable portfolio standards spark debate at New Mexico committee meeting
FARMINGTON — Over the past decade, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power have seen steady growth. But that trend was questioned Friday by some Republican state lawmakers.
Michael McDiarmid, a consulting energy engineer who has worked with the New Mexico Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Department, told the state Legislature's Water and Natural Resources Interim Committee during its meeting Friday at the San Juan College School of Energy that roughly half the growth in renewable energy nationwide since 2000 can be attributed to legislative actions such as the adoption of renewable portfolio standards.
By Hannah Grover, Farmington Daily Times.
EPA chief looks to distinguish himself from Pruitt in agency-wide memo
The new head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday sent a staff-wide memo laying out steps the agency is taking to increase transparency, a move that's seen as an effort to differentiate himself from his predecessor.
Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler wrote in a memo, obtained by The Hill, that the EPA is reaffirming "a commitment to transparency" by making Wheeler's appointment calendar easily available online and ensuring the agency is available to the press. He said the media "performs a vital role in informing the public about the EPA’s actions."
By Miranda Green, The Hill.
USDA provides aid for farmers, biofuel groups call for RVP relief
The USDA has announced it will authorize up to $12 billion in aid to assist farmers who have been impacted by retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods. The ethanol industry also called on the Trump administration to provide Reid vapor pressure (RVP) relief for E15 as a way to aid the farm community.
The USDA made its announcement July 24, noting that President Trump directed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue “to craft a short-term relief strategy to protect agricultural producers while the Administration works on free, fair, and reciprocal trade deals to open more markets in the long run to help American farmers compete globally.” The $12 billion in aid is in line with the estimated $11 billion impact of the retaliatory tariffs and is expected to assist agriculture producers to meet the costs of disrupted markets.
By Erin Voegele, Ethanol Producer Magazine.
Michigan State University Converts Detroit Zoo Waste to Energy
The anaerobic digester is the first at a zoo in North America.
Michigan State University has teamed up with the Detroit Zoo in order to convert the facility’s waste into energy. The research team will implement an aerobic digester at the zoo, marking the first time such technology will be implemented at such a facility in all of North America.
The Michigan State University research team was led by Dana Kirk, who saw an opportunity to utilize the significant amount of animal and food waste produced by the zoo in order to produce methane gas that could be captured and repurposed to power different parts of the facility. The Detroit Zoo’s digester powers its animal hospital, which uses anywhere from 100 to 150 kw of power per hour.
Portland, Oregon regional government approves commercial organics mandate
UPDATE: July 30, 2018: The Metro Council voted in favor of the ordinanceon Thursday. A Metro representative told Waste Dive in an email that the council voted 7-0 to pass the measure.
- Establishments that generate 1,000 pounds or more of organics per week would have to comply by March 2020. Generators of 500 pounds or more would be phased in by March 2021, followed by those with 250 pounds or more by Sept. 2022.
- Metro is budgeting $400,000 for technical assistance to local governments in the upcoming fiscal year and is also prepared to make offset payments to service providers in the event that transfer or processing sites for organics are farther than existing refuse facilities. Metro is also in negotiations with Waste Management to open a pre-processing facility to prepare material for anaerobic digestion at Portland’s Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Facility.
By Katie Pyzyk, Waste Dive.
Pig Poop’s Starring Role in the Biofuel Movement
Farmers are turning a stinky problem into a solution. What’s next: making it more affordable and even cleaner.
LYNDSEY GILPIN, The Daily Beast.
07.21.18 9:13 PM ET
When Tom Butler switched his North Carolina farm from tobacco to 8,000 hogs two decades ago, he was appalled at the amount of waste the hogs produced, quickly filling massive lagoons with more hog manure than he knew what to do with.
“We decided to look into any kind of innovation to see if we could lessen the impact on community,” he said.
TruStar Energy Hires Former TECO Peoples Gas Transportation Fuel Expert Juan Reina as Director of Biogas
New Hire is a Strategic Move for the Company to Start Supplying Compressed Natural Gas Sourced from Biogas to Customers.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TruStar Energy, one of the nation's leading developers of compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations, announced today that the company has hired Juan Reina as Director of Biogas. Reina will be tasked primarily with sourcing and delivering renewable natural gas (RNG) for the company’s growing customer base. CNG sourced from renewable natural gas allows companies to reduce their carbon footprint while adding to their bottom line. Reina will work closely with Fortistar, TruStar Energy’s parent company, Senior Vice President Dave Unger, who was hired earlier this year to help develop an RNG supply chain—from landfill to customer. Reina will be assisting in other TruStar Energy business development activities, including new fuel station development and the consolidation of existing individual or regional stations that want to be part of a larger national program.
Acting EPA Chief Wheeler Says He Aims to Bring Stability to RFS, RINs
By Jarrett Renshaw, Reuters.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s acting administrator said on Tuesday he would follow up the work of his predecessor to overhaul the nation’s biofuel policy, including pursuing changes strongly opposed by the powerful corn lobby like counting ethanol exports toward annual biofuels quotas.
The biofuel industry had been hoping that Andrew Wheeler would drop some of former Administrator Scott Pruitt’s overhaul efforts, which were aimed at helping the oil industry, and instead prioritize the interests of farmers in the U.S. heartland to expand domestic markets for corn-based fuel.
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