RNG NEWS
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Offers Model as States Look to Cut Transmission Emissions
As a group of Northeastern and mid-Atlantic states begins to design a system to curb regional transportation emissions, planners are expected to turn to the decade-old Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative as a model. Experts say the initiative can provide a good starting point, but that important questions must be answered to translate the concept to transportation.
“We can’t simply cut and paste [the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative] and apply it to the transportation sector,” said Jordan Stutt, carbon programs director at environmental nonprofit the Acadia Center. “There are a lot of considerations that need to be made which are specific to the way we move people and goods.”
By, Sarah Shemkus, Energy News
Growth Energy Challenges EPA's Refinery Exemptions
Growth Energy filed a petition in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to address small refinery exemptions in its 2019 renewable volume obligation rulemaking, which was issued late last year.
“EPA’s inaction on addressing lost gallons due to small refinery exemptions in this rulemaking is a clear violation of law,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “In doing nothing to remedy these and other deficiencies, EPA has again failed to meet its statutory obligation to ensure that annual RVOs are met each year. Today’s filing calls for greater accountability from EPA to ensure that every renewable fuel obligation is fulfilled as the law intended.
By, Farm Progress
Austrian-based Thöni Industriebetriebe GmbH to Construct Anaerobic Digestion Gas to Grid Plant
A contractor has been appointed to build an anaerobic digestion facility that will inject renewable gas produced from food waste to the grid in Aberdeen, Scotland.
The plant will power the multi-million-pound new TECA arena, conference centre and exhibition building, a part of the new AECC project which includes two on-site hotels, an energy centre, extensive landscaping and parking. The entire site is being built by Aberdeen City Council along with development partner Henry Boot Developments (HBD), and main contractor Robertson Group.
By, Ben Messenger, Waste Management World
North Carolina’s Alternative Gas Pilot Program Flares Up
North Carolina’s nascent biogas industry has witnessed significant progress in recent years. In March 2018, the Optima KV swine waste to renewable natural gas (“RNG”) project near Kenansville, North Carolina came online as the first RNG project in the state to inject RNG directly into the existing natural gas transportation system operated by Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. (“Piedmont”).
With the success of the Optima KV project, other RNG projects are in process and more are sure to follow in light of North Carolina’s rich bioenergy resources. However, not long after the Optima KV project achieved commercial operation, the North Carolina Utilities Commission (the “Commission”) put the brakes on future development. RNG project developers and suppliers will now need to be accepted into a pilot program established by the Commission in order to be approved to interconnect with Piedmont’s existing natural gas transportation system.
By, E. Scott Bowers, IV & Joseph G. Tirone, The National Law Review
Biogas-to-Fuel Study Moves Forward in Wisconsin
The Watertown Public Works Commission in Wisconsin recently OK’d a study to assess biogas as a potential transportation fuel.
According to a local report from the Watertown Daily Times, the commission approved the nearly $15 million project to be conducted with Symbiont Inc.
The study, according to the minutes of the commission’s Jan. 22 meeting, is designed to “determine feasibility and opportunities” to better use biogas from an anaerobic digestion process at a wastewater treatment facility.
By, Betsy Lillian, NGT News
Leyline Renewable Energy Raises $12.5M Fund to Accelerate Development of Solar and Biogas Projects
Leyline Renewable Energy, a renewable energy finance company, announced today that its first fund, Windstar Fund I, L.P. has raised $12.5 million in equity funding to provide development-stage capital for renewable energy infrastructure projects.
The funds will be invested in early to mid-stage project development, providing a critical source of capital for developers. Renewable energy project developers that are seeking pre-development capital should contact Leyline to determine if their project is a good fit for the Windstar Fund I. Learn more at https://www.leyline-energy.com/developers/.
By, Fox40
In Connecticut, Municipal Aggregation Rising as a Clean Energy Priority
Several groups want lawmakers to follow the lead of neighboring states and adopt community choice aggregation.
Allowing local governments to buy clean power on behalf of residents is emerging as a top legislative priority for Connecticut clean energy advocates.
Community choice aggregation remains an under-the-radar concept in Connecticut even as all of the state’s neighbors have already adopted policies. Several groups see it as a potentially important tool for the state’s clean energy transition and are working to raise its profile with policymakers.
By, Meg Dalton
Denmark to Build Nine Industrial Renewable Energy-Producing Islands
URBAN POWER, an architecture firm based in Denmark, has recently unveiled a plan to build nine islands that will be used for fossil-free energy production, act as a flood barrier, and add a publicly accessible nature area.
The land reclamation project, dubbed Holmene, will consist of nine industrial islands, each one surrounded by a “nature belt” that will include areas for sports as well as more tranquil areas for relaxation. Also included will be several small islets and reefs to provide new nature areas for plants and animals to thrive in the water and on land. The new islands will provide approximately 3.08 million sm of new space and will be built and developed stepwise to limit any impression of an unfinished project as construction progresses.
By, David Malone, BDC Network
Gasrec First UK Firm to Offer Government-Certified Bio-LNG
Gasrec, a leading bio fuel supplier, is the first UK firm to offer customers access to Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO)-certified biomethane through either a grid-connected facility (CNG) or through tanker-supplied liquified natural gas (LNG).
Natural gas-powered trucks typically see CO2 savings of around 15% for long-distance motorway work, but when fuelled with biomethane, CO2 reductions are as high as 80-95%.
By Molly Burgess, Gasworld
Middlebury Announces Energy2028 Plan to Address Threat of Climate Change
Recognizing the profound threat of climate change, Middlebury College today announced a 10-year commitment that will put the institution on a path toward a complete shift to renewable energy to power and heat its central campus. The plan also sets ambitious goals to reduce energy consumption, phase out direct fossil fuel investments in the endowment, and, significantly, to create new educational programs and opportunities that will help to empower future generations of environmental leaders.
By, Middlebury College News