RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Washington County Pursues Landfill Expansion
King County, Washington, is running out of local options to manage its waste.
The most populous county in the state recently bought itself some time by convincing partner cities to expand its Cedar Hills Regional Landfill again, but that will only solve the area’s waste problem for another two decades. After that, the landfill is out of space, unless the county can somehow convince rancorous neighboring residents to remove height restrictions or allow expansion into buffer zones. For the time being, local officials are exploring other alternatives, with landfill critics arguing that waste-to-energy is the best option.
By Waste Dive
Philadelphia Reports 50% Diversion Rate, Ongoing Zero Waste Progress
Amid a challenging year of disruptions and negative headlines, Philadelphia reports the city is still working to achieve its "zero waste" goals by 2035 and reshape the way residents think about consumption.
According to a new progress report from Philadelphia's Zero Waste and Litter Cabinet, the city has checked off every initiative set forth in its initial 2017 roadmap. Highlights include cutting illegal dumping volumes nearly in half, ramping up litter mitigation strategies, expanding public space recycling, improving data collection, growing community engagement through "zero waste" events and laying the early groundwork for organics recycling.
By Cole Rosengren, Waste Dive
Climate change: Natural gas pipelines will have purpose when natural gas is gone
A recent movement to ban natural gas in new homes is picking up speed in places like California to potentially help address climate change. But the policy is not a panacea and in fact, will have significant unintended consequences that won’t reduce emissions and yet still hurt consumers and grid reliability.
While all-electric homes may make a difference, they only significantly combat climate change if renewables alone are used to generate electricity. The time of day we use energy also matters. Home heating, hot water and cooking can be electrified, but people tend to use them when there is no renewable energy on the grid. This mismatch could lead to even greater use of natural gas and coal plants to produce the required electricity, while increasing costs and inconveniences for consumers.
By Jack Brouwer, USA Today
The Environmental Benefits of Renewable Fuel
Renewable natural gas (RNG) is becoming more recognized for its environmental benefits, as seen by some growth in investments on the private side and by policymakers. A couple of stakeholders were recently recognized by nonprofit environmental group Energy Vision for their support of RNG.
They include a St. Louis-based developer who is helping a major food manufacturer address environmental issues tied to its hog production operations, while capturing methane and converting it to RNG. Another applauded supporter is a New York state legislator who was instrumental in passing the most ambitious climate goals of any U.S. state, including net zero emissions by 2050; plans to get there include accelerating anaerobic digestion (AD) projects to generate RNG. Also in the spotlight is a large New York City beverage distributor that’s converted nearly half its fleet to compressed natural gas (CNG) engines, with plans to go further.
By Arlene Karidis, Waste 360
Digesting Thanksgiving Leftovers: One Utah Facility Turning Food Waste Into Energy
It’s nearly Thanksgiving, which means extra food — and extra food waste. But one man’s garbage is another’s renewable energy.
Wasatch Resource Recovery in North Salt Lake, Utah, is already taking in more than 350 tons of food waste every day, and it’s only at half capacity. While it started taking some food in February 2019, Morgan Bowerman said that the last few pieces of the facility will be in place in the next few weeks and the facility will be ready to take on more waste — and produce more natural gas.
By Madelyn Beck, Boise State Public Radio
SoCalGas and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Announce U.S. Department of Energy Funding of Carbon Capture Project
Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) today announced the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $300,000 in funding to a project that would advance the development of a process called Integrated CO2 Capture and Conversion to Methanol (ICCCM). Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) projects are an important component in helping California achieve its climate goal of having a "net zero" economy by 2045. CCU projects harnesses carbon before it can be emitted into the atmosphere. The carbon is then typically used to make chemicals that become resins and plastic materials.
The DOE funding for this project will be used to design, fabricate and demonstrate a modular ICCCM prototype for the combined capture and conversion of CO2 into methanol. As part of the research, the commercial viability of the prototype will also be assessed. The unit will be designed for installation at an industrial CO2 source, such as an electric generation or anaerobic digestion facility.
By Morning Star
California Restaurant Industry Group Sues Berkeley Over Natural Gas Ban
The California Restaurant Association filed suit against the city of Berkeley Thursday alleging that its recently approved ban on the use of natural gas in newly constructed buildings will have "uniquely negative impacts" on the culinary community.
In July, Berkeley became the first city in the U.S. to ban natural gas pipes in new buildings as a means of achieving greenhouse gas reduction goals. More than a dozen other cities in California, including San Jose, have passed similar measures. Brookline, Mass., this week became the first city outside of California to join the municipal ban on natural gas.
By NPR
American Natural Gas Breaks Ground on RNG Fueling Station in California
American Natural Gas (ANG) officially broke ground at its public natural gas fueling station in Modesto, Calif. This Natural Gas fueling station will be number 61 for industry leader, ANG. This fueling station will be an extension of their prominent infrastructure nationwide, enhancing ANG’s ability to create a healthier environment through alternative fuels.
This natural gas fueling station is made possible by PepsiCo in conjunction with ANG. Frito Lay, a division of PepsiCo, sets the standard for all American businesses with their first-of-its-kind Showcase for Sustainability. Frito Lay recently announced their pledge, transforming their production site into a Zero and Near Zero- Emissions Freight Facility.
By Green Fleet
Bioenergy DevCo Signs Deal with Perdue Farms to Build Anaerobic Digester to Process Organic Waste-to-Energy
Bioenergy DevCo (BDC), a leading global developer of anaerobic digestion facilities that create renewable energy and healthy soil products from organic material, announced today that it has entered a 20-year partnership with Perdue Farms for the supply of organic material from Perdue processing facilities as well as the purchase and management of the Perdue AgriRecycle organic soil composting facility located near Seaford, Delaware.
"Our commitment to environmental stewardship is stronger than ever. We see this partnership as an opportunity to further expand on the work we've done so far," said Randy Day, CEO of Perdue Farms. "With Bioenergy, we have found a partner that enables us to be more sustainable, create cost-savings, and help produce renewable energy while continuing to address soil health and nutrient management in the environmentally sensitive Chesapeake Bay watershed."
By PR Newswire
World’s First Combined Biofertilizer-biogas Facility using Poultry Waste Opens
Ductor, a Finnish-Swiss biotechnology company committed to finding solutions for global food challenges, opened its first commercial-scale organic fertilizer- and biogas-producing facility in October in Jalisco, Mexico.
The facility is the world’s first fully integrated production system that uses 100% poultry waste to produce two separate products, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions from both the energy and agriculture sectors. Biomethane replaces pipeline natural gas, and organic nitrogen fertilizer replaces traditional products made with fossil fuels.
By Ductor
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