RNG NEWS
U.S. EPA's January 15th Webinar to Focus on RNG Projects
The U.S. EPA Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) is pleased to inform program stakeholders about an upcoming webinar hosted by EPA's AgSTAR Program. The webinar will be on Tuesday, January 15, 2019 from 1:00-2:30 PM (ET) and will focus on renewable natural gas (RNG) projects in the agricultural sector.
Presentations will include:
Johannes Escudero, Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas - National overview of and trends related to RNG projects.
Matt Tomich, Energy Vision - Environmental benefits of RNG, best practices for RNG projects and lessons learned.
Neil Black, California Bioenergy - Kern Cluster project in California and future of dairy waste-to-RNG.
Gus Simmons, Cavanaugh Associates - Optima KV project in North Carolina and future of hog waste-to-RNG.
Participation in the webinar is free and registration is now open.
To request removal from this email list, please reply to this message. For further information or questions about LMOP, please do not reply to this email message, but rather visit the LMOP website. Thank you.
SoCalGas announces Jimmie I. Cho Chief Operating Officer and Maryam S. Brown President
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced that Jimmie I. Cho has been named the company's chief operating officer and, Maryam S. Brown, the company's president.
Cho currently is senior vice president of customer services for SoCalGas and senior vice president of distribution operations for SoCalGas and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). Brown currently serves as vice president of federal government affairs for Sempra Energy. In their new roles, Cho and Brown succeed Bret Lane, who was president and chief operating officer of SoCalGas before being appointed CEO of the company last month.
By Southern California Gas Company, News 9
Clean Energy Redeem's RNG powers Overseas Freight's deployment of first commercial near-zero trucks
Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq: CLNE) announced it will supply Redeem™ renewable natural gas (RNG) to intermodal trucking company Overseas Freight as part of an emissions reduction initiative in the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
In preparation for upcoming regulations outlined in the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP), Overseas Freight obtained Prop 1B funding for five Kenworth T-680 trucks outfitted with the new Cummins-Westport (CWI) near-zero ISX12N natural gas engine, which achieves the lowest emission levels in North America while delivering diesel caliber performance with reliability and durability. The ISX12N is certified by California Air Resources Board (CARB) to reduce smog-forming NOx emissions by 90 percent compared to the current engine standard.
By Raleigh Gerber, Clean Energy Fuels
First utility-operated microgrid project to study integration of clean energy
Today, for many states in the US, integrating distributed energy resources (DERs) is becoming increasingly important, and communities are creating plans that look closely at the needs of not only community sustainability, but also the needs of critical service providers, such as police, fire, and water. For example, a city might choose to add solar panels to the roof of city hall and have batteries installed in the basement to ensure that the crisis control room for the city is functional in the event of a power outage. In fact, most recently during the wildfires that swept through Southern California in 2017, there were reports of the fire hydrants losing water pressure due to the failure of critical fire pumps because of intermittent power outages. These two scenarios, one hypothetical and one very real, begs the question: How can utilities and communities be prepared to withstand extreme weather and other power outages while still successfully integrating DERs?
By MicroGrid Knowledge
NW Natural celebrates 160 years of service
Natural gas utility NW Natural turned 160 years old today, making it one of the oldest companies in Oregon. Officers from NW Natural and its parent company Northwest Natural Holding Company (NYSE: NWN) commemorated this milestone by ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange today.
NW Natural was founded on January 7, 1859, five weeks before Oregon became the union’s 33rd state, when the territorial government gave founders Herman C. Leonard and John Green a perpetual franchise to provide natural gas service.
Today, the company serves about two million people through more than 740,000 meters in Oregon and Southwest Washington with 1,200 employees and one of the most modern pipeline systems in the nation.
By Melissa Moore, KUAM News
Chesapeake Bay project reducing pollution with renewable energy
The Maryland Board of Public Works has approved more than $46 million in funding to reduce pollution and save energy.
"This is a great start to the new year with smart investments that protect public health and the environment while saving money and energy in Maryland communities," said Maryland Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles. "The Piscataway sewage treatment plant bio-energy project is a big step in greening the economy, cleaning the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and combating climate change."
By, Water World
2018 RNG business achievements
Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas hits member milestone
With the addition of eight new members in September and October, the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas—the trade association representing the North American renewable natural gas (RNG, biomethane or upgraded biogas) industry—now represents more than 150 member companies and organizations.
The RNG Coalition began with seven members in July 2011, when there were just 31 operating RNG projects in North America. Today, there are 85 production facilities, with dozens more under construction.
The eight newest members represent the broad value chain of the RNG industry. They include engineering and consulting firm Bartlett & West, law firm Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, Northeast Gas Association, WGL, EnviTec Biogas, SysAdvance, Ingevity and the New Jersey Clean Cities Coalition.
By Anna Simet, Biogass Magazine
RINs market awaits Washington in 2019
The market for Renewable Identification Numbers looked for relief in 2019 after a tumultuous 2018.
Uncertainty over the nation's renewable fuel policy created a volatile market for RINs, the credits used by refiners and fossil fuel importers to prove compliance with federal renewable fuel blending mandates. Whether that happens will depend on the decisions and actions of the US Environmental Protection Agency.
By Wesley Swift, S&P Global
California's 100% emissions-free energy ambitions
The path to 100% emissions-free energy by 2045 in California is not completely carved, and answers are still forthcoming.
Most of the state's load serving entities (LSEs) required to meet the SB 100 mandate of 60% renewables by 2030 have met their 2017 interim requirement of 27%, according to the California Public Utilities Commission's (CPUC) latest annual RPS report. California's three dominant investor-owned utilities (IOUs) have reached 33% renewables and are on track for 50% by 2020.
By, Herman K. Trabish, Utility Dive
10 States make climate change policies priority in 2019
Despite federal climate policy rollbacks, governors and cities have decided to take up the mantel on climate leadership. Nine Northeast and Mid-Atlantic governors and the mayor of Washington, D.C. announced that they will move forward with a plan that prioritizes clean transportation and ambitious climate goals.
The leaders of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, New York and Washington D.C. have all made recent announcements that place climate change as a key priority for their administration in the coming year.
By Michael Green, Opinion Contributor, The Hill