RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Ocado Extends its Investment in CNG Tractors
Online grocery retailer Ocado has ordered a further 30 IVECO Stralis NP tractors powered by compressed natural gas (CNG). The move follows an initial investment in 29 Stralis NP 4x2 tractors in mid-2018.
Ten of the latest blended biomethane-powered trucks have already gone into service, with the remainder due to follow this year.
The Stralis NP 400 4x2s, powered by a Cursor 9 Euro-6 gas engine, deliver the same output of 400hp and 1,700 Nm of torque as diesel equivalents, according to IVECO. Each vehicle emits 50% less NOx and 95% less particulate matter than current Euro-6 limits, as well as 95% less CO2, it says.
By Commercial Motor
Cummins Reveals Next Generation Engines
Engine manufacturer Cummins announced the next generation of its L9 and B6.7 engines during the Work Truck Show 2020. The next generation of these engines, available in 2021, was developed with emission regulation compliance in mind.
“Work on the 21 B6.7 and L9 engines began with the goal of meeting the EPA '21 GHG Phase II Emissions Requirements,” said Rob Neitzke, executive director - North America OEM business, Cummins.
The next generation of these engines are designed to deliver enhancements and features aimed to lower the total cost of operation. For example, both engines will have extended maintenance intervals, including extended oil drain intervals, extended fuel filtration intervals, and a new maintenance-free crankcase ventilation filter that requires no maintenance at all, according to Neitzke. Oil drain intervals on the B6.7 are up to 30,000 miles, or 1,000 operating hours; oil drain intervals for the L9 are 50,000 miles, or 1,500 operating hours. Fuel filter intervals on the L9 are up to three times longer than current models, and four times longer for the B6.7 compared to the current models.
By Fleet Owner
Gas Companies Want to Recycle Dairy Farm Waste into Renewable Gas
Companies in the U.S. natural gas industry have begun to scale up a program to sell methane that’s recycled from sources like hog-feeding farms and sewage plants as a replacement for natural gas drawn from wells.
It offers an opportunity to reduce a potent greenhouse gas while creating a source of revenue for the growing number of companies, cities and farmers becoming engaged in the budding process.
A “methane tracker” report released in January by the International Energy Agency calculated that the warming power of the invisible and hard-to-detect gas can be as high as 87 times more powerful than carbon dioxide during its first 20 years of life. The amount of methane circulating in the atmosphere is 2.5 times bigger than it was in the preindustrial age, the report said.
By John Fialka, Scientific American
RNG Movement in Utah
Inexhaustible sources of methane such as hog and cow manure and food waste from restaurants are powering a growing renewable natural gas industry, and Utah consumers now have an opportunity to boost that effort.
Dominion Energy customers can elect to buy blocks of renewable natural gas at $5 each, added as a surcharge to their monthly gas bills. Dominion uses funds from this GreenTherm program to purchase renewable natural gas from methane recapture plants, either in Utah or around the country.
By Daily Herald
Brightmark Partners with Three Michigan Dairy Farms to Produce RNG
Brightmark, a San Francisco-based waste and energy development company, today announced that it has partnered with three Western Michigan farms on the latest in a series of biogas projects the company has launched over the past two years. The Michigan farmers have each signed supply agreements with Brightmark indicating their intent to provide the company with dairy manure from their herds that will serve as feedstock for new anaerobic digesters to be built on Beaver Creek Farm. The digesters will capture, extract, and clean the methane in the manure, then convert it into renewable natural gas (RNG) and inject it into a nearby gas pipeline.
The farms participating in the Castor project are:
Beaver Creek Farm: Coopersville, Ottawa County
Den Dulk Farm: Ravenna, Muskegon County
River Ridge Farm: Coopersville, Ottawa County
By WRCBtv
Construction Complete At Indy High BTU, State's Largest RNG Project
Indiana’s largest renewable natural gas facility is complete and plans to produce renewable natural gas from trash later this month.
The fuel produced at Indy High BTU plant – a partnership between Kintrex Energy, EDL and South Side Landfill – is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions comparable to 19,000 passenger cars each year on the road.
By Wyfi Indianapolis
BP withdraws from US lobby groups over climate policy differences
Oil giant BP is parting ways with three U.S. trade groups over disagreements on climate policies, as the company recently announced plans to hit net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and its support of goals outlined in the Paris Agreement.
The British oil and gas giant announced Wednesday it will not renew its membership with the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, the Western Energy Alliance and the Western States Petroleum Association.
By The Hill
Austin City Council Passes Resolution Addressing Natural Gas And Sustainability
Yesterday, the Austin City Council unanimously approved a resolution requesting Texas Gas Service (TGS) to take steps to build a more sustainable business for Austin residents. This action uses technology and market mechanisms to reduce our carbon footprint, with a specific focus on opportunities related to natural gas.
The resolution will result in:
A feasibility analysis for biomethane capture in the Austin area
Improved transparency and up-to-date gas data for Austin
Options for increasing leak detection and reduction efforts
A potential GreenChoice-style program related to natural gas
TGS also will identify options for purchasing offsets as another strategy for reducing carbon equivalent emissions, and provide their expertise to accelerate deployment of renewable natural gas in the Austin area.
By Corridor News
Innovative Power-to-gas Technologies for Europe's Energy Transition by 2050
On the way towards climate neutrality, power-to-gas technologies are essential components. Within the STORE&GO project, researchers from all over Europe successfully implemented different processes for the production of synthetic natural gas (SNG) from renewable electricity. From three pilot plants, SNG was fed into the local natural gas grids or liquefied for use as mobile energy carrier. In addition, the team analyzed economic advantages of power-to-gas (PtG) technologies and developed the corresponding regulatory recommendations. The project results will now be presented at the final conference at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) on February 17 and 18, 2020.
By Eurek Alert
Clean Energy Announces TouchPoint: New Operational Transition from Diesel to RNG Vehicles
Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) today announced it has partnered with Natural Gas Vehicle Institute (NGVi) to offer TouchPoint, a comprehensive customer care resource that ensures fleet managers, supervisors and technicians receive optimal training and support for a successful natural gas vehicle (NGV) launch and ongoing maintenance and operation.
TouchPoint is an extension of Clean Energy’s Zero Now, a program that makes the cost of leasing or purchasing a new natural gas heavy-duty truck equal to the price or even lower than that of the same truck equipped with a diesel engine. In addition, truck fleets financed or purchased through Zero Now are eligible to purchase Redeem™ renewable fuel with a fixed discount to diesel at a significant spread for the duration of the contract.
By Oil & Gas
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