RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.SoCalGas Announces New Truck Loan Program for Fleets Interested in Switching from Diesel to Natural Gas Trucks
Program allows qualified fleets to test a near-zero emissions truck for up to two weeks
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced the launch of the new SoCalGas Truck Loan Program. The program allows qualified fleet owners the opportunity to try out the latest in heavy-duty natural gas truck technology by test driving a 12-Liter near-zero truck. This "try before you buy" program provides fleet owners with the opportunity to haul loads with the new truck for up to two weeks. Operators will experience the similarities between natural gas trucks and diesel trucks with respect to power, drivability, fuel range and fuel availability. Additionally, fleet owners will see the advantages natural gas trucks have over diesel, including lower fuel costs.
Program allows qualified fleets to test a near-zero emissions truck for up to two weeks
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced the launch of the new SoCalGas Truck Loan Program. The program allows qualified fleet owners the opportunity to try out the latest in heavy-duty natural gas truck technology by test driving a 12-Liter near-zero truck. This "try before you buy" program provides fleet owners with the opportunity to haul loads with the new truck for up to two weeks. Operators will experience the similarities between natural gas trucks and diesel trucks with respect to power, drivability, fuel range and fuel availability. Additionally, fleet owners will see the advantages natural gas trucks have over diesel, including lower fuel costs.
SoCalGas is working in partnership with the truck's owner, Rush Truck Centers, the only company with a 12-Liter near-zero natural gas truck equipped with a Cummins Westport ISX12N engine and Momentum Fuel system available for rent in Southern California. As part of the rental program, customers will participate in a "pre-rental" and "post-rental" survey of their natural gas vehicle driving experience. The survey will include topics such as truck performance, fueling availability, grants and incentives and purchase decision.
"More fleet owners have switched to natural gas trucks over the last few years, due in part to available incentive funding," said Sharon Tomkins, vice president of customer solutions and strategy for SoCalGas. "However, some are unfamiliar with the technology and are hesitant to make the switch. The SoCalGas Truck Loan Program is the perfect way to put natural gas trucks to the test on routes driven every day."
"We had the opportunity to be one of the first participants in the Truck Loan Program," said Gordy Reimer, president of Southern Counties Express. "Our drivers were able to successfully test the newest 12-Liter renewable natural gas engine on trade lanes they current operate their own trucks on and discover for themselves the advances in natural gas engine technology."
This loan program is just one tool SoCalGas is using to get more drivers behind the wheel of the cleanest heavy-duty truck commercially available. SoCalGas account executives have assisted dozens of fleet owners with incentive funding applications to purchase more than 350 near-zero natural gas trucks and build five new CNG fueling stations since the beginning of the year. Replacing 350 diesel trucks with near-zero natural gas trucks is the equivalent of taking more than 20,000 passenger cars off the road.
For more information on the Truck Loan Program or to inquire about upcoming funding programs, please contact Wendell Peoples at WPeoples@semprautilities.com.
About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest natural gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable natural gas service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California, where more than 90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Natural gas delivered through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to Californians—about 60 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants.
SoCalGas is committed to investing in its natural gas system infrastructure, while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2013 through 2017, the company spent nearly $6 billion to upgrade and modernize its natural gas system to enhance safety and reliability. The company is also committed to being a leader in the region's clean energy future, and is working to accelerate the use of renewable natural gas from dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants and the development of renewable energy storage technologies. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroomor connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook.
2018 Energy Vision Awards Honor Leading Adopters and Advocates of Renewable Natural Gas
NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- At its awards reception in Manhattan this week, the NGO Energy Vision honored business and government leaders and advocates who are speeding adoption of renewable natural gas (RNG) made from organic waste. RNG is the lowest–carbon fuel available, and net carbon-negative as a transportation fuel.
The awardees include:
Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, Director of the Global Public Health Program at Boston College's Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, who advocates adopting clean alternatives to diesel vehicles to improve public health. "Diesel exhaust is nasty stuff," he said. "It's a complex mix of gases and particulates, potent respiratory irritants, and metabolic toxins. They waft through the urban air and make us all sick. The alternative New York City proposes is 'cleaner diesel' but that's like proposing 'safe asbestos' – there's no such thing. Getting rid of diesel in New York City is the right thing to do."
The City of Toronto, which collects residential food waste and processes it into RNG to power its refuse trucks. "Since 2002, we have been quietly working to harness the green energy potential of the biogas from Toronto's source separated organic waste," said Carlyle Khan, Director of Infrastructure Development and Asset Management for Toronto's Solid Waste Management Services Division. "Our vision is to reduce our impact on the planet by creating a renewable resource."
LA Metro Increases RNG Sourcing
LA Metro’s plan is to reach a 2030 zero emission target and retain environmental attributes by selling credits earned by dispensing and using RNG.
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) is now sourcing nearly half its fuel from renewable natural gas (RNG). The large transit operation’s aggressive move from fossil-derived natural gas to RNG comes one year after putting RNG to the test at one bus division.
Last month, LA Metro exercised a four-year option in its contract with Clean Energy Renewable Fuels, a subsidiary of Clean Energy Fuels. Through that option, RNG now flows into four more of its 11 bus divisions.
By Arlene Karidis, Waste 360.
ACT research say there’s been a 28% reduction in sales of Class 8 (heavy-duty) trucks in the U.S. this year
Interest in looking at diesel alternatives could be on the wane in the U.S., at least temporarily, with truck sales data showing a big slowdown in natural gas-powered trucks.
ACT research say there’s been a 28% reduction in sales of Class 8 (heavy-duty) trucks in the U.S. this year.
The steep decline in natural gas-powered heavy-duty trucks in the U.S. comes after a 13% increase in the sale of the diesel-alternative vehicles in the market in 2017.
SoCalGas' Innovative Natural Gas Capture System Conserves More Than 2.5 Million Cubic Feet of Natural Gas to Date
Methane-reducing technology reduces emissions and saves enough natural gas to fuel more than 12,500 U.S. homes
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced the utility had achieved a new milestone with its innovative natural gas capture system, conserving a total of more than 2.5 million cubic feet of natural gas – the equivalent to what more than 12,500 homes use each day on average in the U.S. – since first deploying the technique in August 2016. When crews perform work on a pipeline, some natural gas inside the pipe must be released for safety. Instead of being released into the atmosphere, the natural gas is captured, compressed, and reinjected back into the utility's pipeline system for use by SoCalGas customers. The innovative process reduces emissions and eliminates noise and odor that typically occur in the traditional venting process during pipeline replacement or inspection work. The methane capture technique was one of the best practices included in the utility's Leak Abatement Compliance Plan approved on October 12 by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Photos from one of the natural gas capture projects are available here.
Trump administration wants to make food waste great again
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have launched a new initiative called "Winning on Reducing Food Waste." The respective heads of each agency signed a joint formal agreement to tackle the issue on Oct. 18.
According to that agreement, the purpose is to affirm a "shared commitment to reducing food loss and waste and commit to developing a strategic plan for coordination and communication among the EPA, FDA and USDA that will leverage government resources more efficiently, saving taxpayer dollars while effectively addressing issues where the Parties have common issues and goals.”
By Cole Rosengren, Waste Dive.
House lawmakers ask EPA to stop issuing RFS waivers
By Erin Voegele, Ethanol Producer Magazine.
On Oct. 15, a group of 19 democratic members of Congress sent a letter to the U.S. EPA expressing concern over the Trump Administration’s widespread issuance of waivers to the Renewable Fuel Standard.
“We are concerned that these actions have effectively cut blending targets by 2.25 billion gallons, contributing to higher gas prices and elevated levels of harmful emissions, especially in communities of color,” they wrote. “We therefore urge you to halt the issuance of any additional waivers and to instead consider steps that could help unlock the full health and economic benefits of biofuels.”
Regulators' Approval Clears Way for Construction of NC RNG Plant
N.C. regulators have approved Piedmont Natural Gas’ agreement to allow Optima BioEnergy to connect a proposed swine-waste biogas plant in the town of Tar Heel.
The approval issued Monday by the N.C. Utilities Commission clears the way for Wilmington-based Optima to start construction on its second biogas plant in eastern North Carolina. Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK), which owns Piedmont, intends to buy the gas from the OptimaTH natural gas plants at both its utilities in the Carolinas.
$35 Million Biogas Plant Coming to Southeastern North Carolina
ORRUM — Construction will begin soon on a $35 million biogas plant in Orrum that will convert waste to energy while employing more than a dozen people in high-paying jobs, according to a statement from the Robeson County Economic Development Commission.
Channing Jones, commission director, said in the statement that Green Energy Sustainable Solutions would begin construction before the end of the year with plans to have the plant operating in early 2020.
How (Almost) Everyone Came To Love Low Carbon Fuels In California
Automakers and energy utilities now embrace California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, and even oil companies accept it
Sometimes the best policies must overcome early struggles. A great example is the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), ordered by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2007 in support of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The LCFS is a statewide policy designed to reduce the lifecycle carbon intensity (CI) of transportation fuels—that is, the total greenhouse gas emissions from production to consumption, including raw materials, transportation, and processing. It achieves this goal by setting a regulatory target for fuel CI. Market forces then determine the most efficient way to stay below the target, even as it strengthens over time.
By Dan Sperling and Colin W. Murphy.
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