RNG NEWS
Envia Energy Facility to Close, Will be Converted to RNG Production
Alternative fuel company Velocys said it had closed out a joint venture with plant owner Envia Energy. Velocys was a minority equity stakeholder of, and the senior secured lender, to Envia Energy. It had agreed with Envia to transfer rights of the site to another joint venture partner for $4.15m.
As part of the agreements, Envia would sell certain parts of the site infrastructure and remove the remaining equipment from the site. Velocys also released its liens on all equipment from the site in return for a significant recovery under its collateralised loan note to Envia. A total of $2.2m had already been received by Velocys and an additional $2.0m would be paid upon the completion of several performance milestones related to the removal of equipment.
By Shares Magazine
The State Department of Environmental Energy Awards $1 million to Clean Energy Vehicle Projects in Pittsburgh Region
The state Department of Environmental Protection has awarded more than $1 million in grants for nine clean energy vehicle projects in southwestern Pennsylvania, DEP said.
The funding, which comes from the state's Alternative Fuels Incentive Grants program, supports the replacement of older shuttles, school buses, waste-hauling trucks and other vehicles with cleaner, natural gas and electric vehicles, as well as the installation of fueling stations for such vehicles.
By Stephen Huba, Mass Transit
Xebec Adsorption Inc. Commissions WWTP Biogas Upgrading System in China
Xebec Adsorption Inc. (TSXV: XBC) (OTC: XEBEF) (“Xebec”), a global provider of renewable natural gas (RNG) solutions, is pleased to note that the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), announced a new initiative on March 1st 2019, to use biogas to partially replace coal in rural areas.
China plans to produce 30 billion cubic meters of biogas from agricultural waste and manure by 2030, part of a wider measure to reduce the domestic coal consumption in rural regions by 50 megatonnes. In order to achieve this target, China will need to build approximately 3,000 to 4,000 upgrading facilities over the next 10 years, requiring investments of CDN$7 to 10 billion.
By Markets Insider
Ameresco Opens RNG Plant in Arizona
Renewable energy company Ameresco has begun commercial operations at a renewable natural gas (RNG) plant in Phoenix, Arizona.
Ameresco claims that the RNG plant at 91st Ave is one of the largest wastewater treatment biogas-to-RNG facilities of its kind in the US. The plant has a processing capacity of 3,250 standard cubic feet per minute (scfm) of raw digester gas produced at the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).
By Compelo Energy
A Green New Deal for Natural Gas
The U.S. Senate voted against the Green New Deal, but its interlinked climate, job and social justice goals are still percolating. Among the issues supporters and opponents alike have flagged is what role the natural gas industry should play in advancing them.
Natural gas long has been considered a "bridge fuel" to renewables. During the Green New Deal debate, former Department of Energy leaders from both parties argued that natural gas is part of the clean energy future, because it burns cleaner than coal or oil, reduces coal use and smoothes out the variability of solar and wind generation.
By Joanna Underwood, Green Biz
Dane County Landfill Biogas-to-RNG Project's Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi stood at the county landfill today with County Board members and project leaders to announce that Dane County has officially started injecting renewable natural gas (RNG) into its pipeline, signaling the completion of its landfill biogas project. With a ribbon cutting to mark the occasion this Earth Week, the county's landfill biogas facility is now able to turn trash and cow manure into renewable fuel and inject it into the interstate transmission pipeline so it can be bought and sold to power fleets of RNG vehicles locally and across the United States.
'It's exciting to have this first-of-its-kind project reach the finish line so our area can begin to reap the financial and environmental benefits of the renewable fuel our landfill now generates,' said Dane County Executive Joe Parisi. 'A huge thank you goes out to our partners and dedicated staff who made this possible. Dane County's landfill biogas facility and offloading station will advance our clean lakes and air efforts and also benefit Dane County taxpayers.'
By Market Screener
TransLink Now the First Public Transportation Authority in Canada to use RNG
TransLink and FortisBC announced a partnership that will source Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) for TransLink's natural gas bus fleet. TransLink is now the first public transportation authority in Canada to use RNG, a certified carbon-neutral fuel, to help fuel its natural gas powered buses.
"TransLink is a model for transit authorities and fleet operators across the province for making the switch to low-carbon fuels," said Douglas Stout, vice-president, market development and external relations, FortisBC. "Compressed natural gas vehicles, which make up roughly a fifth of TransLink's bus fleet, have close to 21 per cent fewer emissions with a 50 per cent reduction in fuel costs versus diesel. RNG could offer the same savings while further reducing emissions by an additional 80 per cent versus CNG."
By Mass Transit
Smithfield Foods and RAE Partner to Produce Renewable Energy while Restoring Missouri’s Natural Environment
Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Roeslein Alternative Energy(RAE) have formed a joint venture called Monarch Bioenergy to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) across Smithfield’s hog farms in Missouri. This partnership converts manure collected from Smithfield farms into RNG, while simultaneously delivering ecological services and developing wildlife habitat. Once complete, all Smithfield company-owned finishing farms in Missouri will have the infrastructure to produce RNG, resulting in approximately 1.3 million dekatherms of RNG annually, which is the equivalent to eliminating 130,000 gasoline vehicles.
“This joint venture represents our continued commitment to doing business in a way that is good for our planet and its people,” said Kenneth M. Sullivan, president and chief executive officer for Smithfield Foods. “This innovative collaboration creates value for our company and our partners, and benefits the environment as we work to feed the world’s growing population.”
By Globe Newswire
Two More Key Climate-change Bills Pass in Olympia, Head to Gov. Inslee’s Desk
Gov. Jay Inslee has for years fruitlessly yearned for climate-change legislation to reach his desk for a signature. Not anymore.
In a pair of Earth Day votes Monday, the Washington state Legislature sent two key climate-change bills to Inslee for approval.
Those, combined with final passage last week of two other carbon-reduction bills, will cement a landmark win in the governor’s long-sought and oft-foiled quest to curb global warming.
By Joseph O’Sullivan & Hal Bernton, The Seattle Times
RNG Now Part of British Columbia's Low Carbon Fuel Standard
At a carbon intensity level equal to or even less than electric vehicle power, FortisBC's Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) has been approved by the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources for inclusion within the province's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). The LCFS supports the responsible development of B.C.'s low-carbon natural gas resources to provide domestic solutions to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels.
"FortisBC is committed to advancing a low-carbon future for the province by tackling emissions from the transportation sector," says Douglas Stout, vice-president, external relations and market development, FortisBC. "The inclusion of RNG as an approved fuel under the LCFS provides transportation companies with both an environmental and an economic reason to move to natural gas as a fuel of choice."
By Markets Insider