RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Biogas plant from Xergi wins award for best process optimisation
Xergi has solved a serious challenge in the biogas industry, namely how to produce biogas from 100 per cent chicken litter. The proof is Tully Biogas in Northern Ireland, which won an award for best process optimisation at an international biogas conference this summer.
Big Name Industries Helping Biomethane and RNG Become Mainstream
While renewable natural gas (RNG) is nothing new to agriculture, particularly around areas of large concentrations of confined animal feeding, biomethane is getting some high profile converts from big name tech companies as a tool to reduce carbon emissions.
Over the past year, L’Oreal USA, Apple and Microsoft have all taken steps involving natural gas and RNG to reach “carbon neutral” goals.
By Dan Crummett, Farm Equipment.
Southern California Gas Company Issues Request for Offers to Purchase RNG
RNG Coalition member Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) is issuing a Request for Offers (RFO) to Purchase Firm Renewable Natural Gas for up to three years to be used as Compressed Natural Gas dispensed to motor vehicles.
To request a complete copy of the RFO and Offer Form, please email your contact information to SCG-GasAcqNotices@semprautilities.com. All offers must be submitted by 5:00pm on October 12, 2018.
For more information on SoCalGas’ Renewable Gas programs, please visit: www.socalgas.com/smart-energy/renewable-gas.
Washington, DC releases updated sustainability plan with waste reuse goals
By Katie Pyzyk, Waste Dive.
The city of Washington, DC has released a draft of its updated sustainability plan, Sustainable DC 2.0, containing several waste-centric goals. The plan furthers the waste goals from the last Sustainable DC plan, and aims to realize real-world benefits for individuals, neighborhoods and the city as a whole.
The three goals are:
Goal 1: Reduce the volume of waste generated per capita in the District. Target 1: By 2032, reduce per capita waste generation by 15%.
Goal 2: Facilitate local reuse and recovery of materials to capture their economic and social value. Target 2: By 2032, reuse 20% of all waste produced in the District.
Goal 3: Achieve "zero waste" citywide. Target 3: By 2032, achieve 80% waste diversion citywide.
The public has until September 30 to comment on the draft.
New Study Shows Natural Gas Engine Can Dramatically Reduce Smog from Heavy-Duty Trucks
Simulated on-road testing shows the new Cummins Westport engine maintains near-zero emissions during all duty cycles
RIVERSIDE, Calif., Aug. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of California, Riverside College of Engineering Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) and Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced the results of a new study on ultra-low emission natural gas heavy-duty engines, showing a new 11.9-liter engine achieved California's lowest smog-forming emissions standard, and maintained those emission during all types of driving. The study results underscore the ability of the near-zero truck engines to clean the air: most heavy-duty vehicles on roads today are predominantly diesel-powered and represent one of the largest sources of nitrogen oxide (NOx), or smog-forming, emissions and fuel consumption in North America. By contrast, the new near-zero emissions 12-liter engine, made by Cummins Westport, is the only heavy-duty engine in the category to not only meet, but exceed, the California Air Resources Board's cleanest optional low-NOx standard of 0.02 g/bhp-hr.
Kent Johnson, assistant research engineer at CE-CERT, led the tests on the near-zero emissions natural gas engine. The evaluation included regulated and non-regulated emissions, ultrafine particles, global warming potential, and fuel economy. The testing was performed during in-use testing on a dynamometer that simulated various types of driving conditions, from pulling into a loading dock to regional hauling. Johnson performed similar testing on an 8.9-liter near-zero natural gas engine last year. Those results found the smaller engine had even lower emissions than California standards will require in the near future—in some driving conditions, almost zero.
Xebec Chosen for City of Toronto’s Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) Facility
MONTREAL, (QC), August 30th, 2018 – Xebec Adsorption Inc. (“Xebec”), a global provider of clean energy solutions, announced today that it has been selected by Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc (Enbridge) to be the supplier for the turn-key biogas upgrading system for the City of Toronto’s first Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) facility, located at the Dufferin Solid Waste Management Facility.
Xebec’s upgrading solution provides high performance and reliability along with low operating costs. Thanks to this leading technology, Xebec has been gaining worldwide market share, and is now making strong inroads into the North American market.
MONTREAL, (QC), August 30th, 2018 – Xebec Adsorption Inc. (“Xebec”), a global provider of clean energy solutions, announced today that it has been selected by Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc (Enbridge) to be the supplier for the turn-key biogas upgrading system for the City of Toronto’s first Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) facility, located at the Dufferin Solid Waste Management Facility.
Xebec’s upgrading solution provides high performance and reliability along with low operating costs. Thanks to this leading technology, Xebec has been gaining worldwide market share, and is now making strong inroads into the North American market.
This announcement follows the recent announcement that the City and Enbridge will build and install equipment at the Dufferin Solid Waste Management Facility that will turn Toronto`s organic waste into clean energy.
The project provides a perfect example of a truly circular economy – where Green Bin organic waste is collected, cleaned and conditioned to become carbon-neutral renewable natural gas, and then injected into the gas grid to fuel the collection trucks that pick it up.
Expected to be completed in 2019, the project will allow the City to reduce fuel costs for its fleet of collection trucks and significantly reduce its carbon footprint.
"Xebec, as a Canadian Cleantech company, is proud to be part of this high profile Canadian project. Our technology perfectly supports the City of Toronto’s commitment to climate change action goals, using renewable energy which is the cornerstone of the global energy transition. It is gratifying to see our country’s momentum building on climate change initiatives, particularly as it relates to Renewable Natural Gas.” - Kurt Sorschak, President and CEO, Xebec Adsorption Inc.
How Policy Impacts RNG Project Development
By Arlene Karidis, Waste360.
The U.S. renewable natural gas (RNG) industry is growing fast, with 78 projects up and running in North America (72 in the U.S.) and 54 more in the works across the U.S. The RNG Coalition, a trade association supporting the development and deployment of these projects, is pushing to see that number double by 2025.
If the growth trajectory happens, it could mitigate methane while bringing business opportunities to landfills, which produce most of the RNG sold in North America.
Gassy cows? Facts about beef’s carbon emissions
By Sara Place, GreenBiz.
Let’s clear the air on something up front. All those "cow farts" you’ve heard about? It’s actually cow burps. Having spent much of my life around cows and conducting research measuring methane emissions from cattle (I’m sure most readers are jealous), I can confirm the vast majority of methane emissions emanating from cattle come out the front end. Also, despite the sensory experience "gassy cows" may evoke, methane itself is an odorless gas.
Methane emissions from cattle get attention because methane is 28 times (PDF) more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over a 100-year time frame. Additionally, methane from cattle represents nearly half (PDF) of the carbon footprint of U.S. beef when emissions over the entire life cycle, from feed production to the consumer, are considered. However, methane also can be viewed as the necessary tradeoff for the upcycling services that cattle provide.
Philadelphia Food Scraps to Become Gas to Power Trucks and Buses
Philadelphia’s food scraps may become fuel for buses and trucks, under a plan to build a $120 million anaerobic digester to produce natural gas.
RNG Energy Solutions LLC will develop the project at a Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining & Marketing LLC site, according to an emailed statement Monday.
The Point Breeze Renewable Energy plant will process as much as 1,100 tons per day of grocery, restaurant and food processing waste in eight bioreactors at the PES refinery complex in Philadelphia. Permitting and construction could take as long as three years.
Midwest Utility Turning to Cows, Landfills for a Gas Alternative
By Naureen Malik, Bloomberg.
CenterPoint Energy Inc. wants to introduce a pilot program in Minnesota offering customers access to a renewable form of natural gas recovered from dairy farms and landfills.
It’s the first such program in the Midwest, mirroring the push by utilities to offer electricity powered by wind or solar. Methane produced by everything from manure to rotting garbage is the second-largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide, and environmentalists have long been looking for ways to reduce its emissions.
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