RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.CalBio, Dairy Farmers and Chevron Announce First RNG
California Bioenergy LLC (CalBio), Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and local dairy farmers today announced their joint venture, CalBioGas LLC, successfully achieved first renewable natural gas (RNG) production from dairy farms in Kern County. The milestone underpins the partners’ commitment to provide affordable, reliable, and ever-cleaner energy to California consumers.
Manure storage on dairy farms results in the release of methane, a greenhouse gas. CalBio brings technology and operational experience to help build digesters and methane capture projects to convert this methane to a beneficial use as RNG. CalBio, dairy farmers and Chevron are providing funding for digester projects across three geographic clusters in Kern, Tulare and Kings counties. As they are completed, these projects will mitigate the dairies’ methane emissions and reduce greenhouse emissions from livestock.
By Market Watch
British Columbia Setting Ambitious — and Reachable — Goals for RNG
After taking a tiny first step into using renewable natural gas (RNG), British Columbia (BC) has a chance to reach an ambitious goal set by provincial government environmental policy, according to Canadian regulators.
Supplies of RNG have gradually grown in the United States and they are inching higher in Canada. Initially, BC had around 0.2% RNG, the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) said. The provincial CleanBC program has called for swift acceleration into a 75-fold jump to 15% over the next decade.
By Natural Gas Intelligence
Audi New CNG A3 Sportback Fueled with Renewable Natural Gas
Audi is adding a new member to its A3 family: the A3 Sportback 30 g-tron natural gas vehicle. Operation with natural gas or biomethane makes the compact model economical and more climate-friendly with low emissions. Sales in Germany and other European countries begin in fall 2020 at a base price of €30,705.88. Audi first introduced an A3 Sportback g-tron in 2014.
The A3 Sportback 30 g-tron 1.5 TFSI engine produces 96 kW (131 PS) and generates 200 N·m (147.5 lb-ft) of torque between 1,400 and 4,000 rpm. Its turbocharger with variable turbine geometry makes optimal use of the exhaust gas energy for early and harmonious torque development. The Miller combustion process provides consumption advantages during normal driving. With its abbreviated compression phase and long expansion phase, it was designed specifically for operation at partial load.
By Green Car Congress
Washington State Follows Roadmap to Decarbonization by 2045
Following its neighboring West Coast states in California and Oregon, Washington has charted its own three decade path to decarbonization, mandated by the 2019 passage of a state law, Senate Bill (SB) 5116, ordering the retirement of all coal-fired power by 2025.
Named the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA), SB 5116 has resulted in four rulemakings so far by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC), which is charged with overseeing the state’s major energy utilities transforming to 100% carbon-neutral in 2030 and l00% carbon-free by 2045.
By Rich Nemec, NGI
In Springfield, Innovation Converts Dairy Waste into Drinkable Water
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi joined representatives from AQUA Innovations and GL Dairy Biogas LLC, along with three local dairy producers to cut the ribbon Tuesday on cutting-edge technology that turns cow manure from area farms into drinkable water. This community nutrient concentration system (NCS) is believed to be the first in the United States and is part of Dane County’s ongoing effort to clean up area lakes and expand its renewable natural gas network among local farms.
The $1.6 million project, which has been years in the making, is located in the Town of Springfield, and is receiving digested manure from GL Dairy Biogas LLC. The nutrient concentration system cleans manure through a series of ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis filters before discharging the remaining clean water into Pheasant Branch Creek. Nutrients, including phosphorus, are removed from the manure, concentrated, and stored for later use as a fertilizer for growing crops.
By Waunakee Tribune
Report “The State of Sustainable Fleets 2020”: Optimistic Prognosis for RNG Due to its Climate Benefits
The State of Sustainable Fleets 2020, released on August 11 by Gladstein, Neandross & Associates (GNA), is the first technology-neutral, comprehensive industry report that examines the current state of the most prevalent sustainable vehicle platforms for medium- and heavy-duty on-road transportation fleets across the U.S., and identifies the trends shaping the future of the industry.
Through interviews and surveys, the authors from GNA gathered data from fleets with real-world experience deploying sustainable vehicle technologies, supplemented by data from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and infrastructure providers. Notes GNA: “This data is synthesized with leading sources of third-party research to provide insights into the current and future adoption of four sustainable vehicle technologies: Natural gas vehicles (NGVs); Propane (LPG) vehicles; Battery electric vehicles (BEVs); and Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).”
By BioCycle
Trillium Opens Two New Public Fast-Fill CNG Locations
Trillium, a provider of alternative fueling systems and renewable fuels, has opened two new compressed natural gas (CNG) locations in California and is offering discounts at a third.
“We are seeing strong, rising demand from customers in California for CNG,” says JP Fjeld-Hansen, vice president of Trillium. “To meet that demand, we’re focused on adding more stations and committed to providing fueling options that will benefit the environment.”
By NGT News
H2@Scale Project Launched in Texas
Frontier Energy, Inc., in close collaboration with GTI and The University of Texas at Austin, announces the launch of a U.S. Department of Energy project, Demonstration and Framework for H2@Scale in Texas and Beyond. The project is supported by DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. H2@Scale in Texas and Beyond intends to show that renewable hydrogen can be a cost-effective fuel for multiple end-use applications, including fuel cell electric vehicles, when coupled with large, baseload consumers that use hydrogen for clean, reliable stationary power.
Frontier Energy is partnering with GTI, University of Texas at Austin, OneH2, Texas Gas Service, SoCalGas, Toyota Motor North America, Shell, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Air Liquide and PowerCell Sweden AB to conduct two related projects: 1. UT-Austin will host a first-of-its-kind integration of commercial hydrogen production, distribution, storage, and use. The project partners will generate zero-carbon hydrogen onsite via electrolysis with solar and wind power and reformation of renewable natural gas from a Texas landfill. It is first time that both sources of renewable hydrogen will be used in the same project. The hydrogen will power a stationary fuel cell to provide clean, reliable power for the Texas Advanced Computing Center and supply a hydrogen station with zero-emission fuel to fill a fleet of Toyota Mirai fuel cell electric vehicles.
By Frontier Energy
Trucking: Clean Fuels, Heavy Loads and Prospects for Cleaner Fuels in Freight Fleets
Trucking has, like other parts of the American economy, taken a punch from COVID. April’s job losses in the sector – estimated at 88,000 or 5.8% of the workforce per the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) – were enough to eliminate all job gains in trucking since September 2014. Total separations in the larger BLS umbrella category of Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities in March and April topped 900,000. And while BLS reported net job gains of 8,100 in trucking for June, there’s still a lot of ground to regain for the industry. Short version – from February to July, total trucking employment was down about 6%.
There is good news, though, some hiding in plain sight on the calendar. As summer winds down, the pre-Christmas shipping season winds up. And as the retail rush begins, lower overall capacity means shippers have been able to boost rates. Spot dry rates have risen from around $1.35 in May to more than $2.00 in August. FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index spiked from a record low of -28.66 in April to a 11.35 in June, the highest reading in a decade. Better yet, net trailer orders in July were up 84% YOY, with 173,000 units ordered in the preceding 12 months. But the sector’s long-term issues remain – driver shortages, infrastructure, and trade friction among them. And hanging over everything is the uncertain direction of the American economy, driven by consumer sentiment, intertwined with an ongoing pandemic.
By ACT News
The Potential for Renewable Natural Gas in Truck Fleets
The end goal for much of transportation is to "electrify everything." But the reality is that today, when the market for heavy-duty electric trucks is still nascent, there are other cost-effective and low-emission fuel options that fleets that run big vehicles — such as garbage trucks or semi-trucks — are embracing.
An important one is renewable natural gas (RNG), biogas collected from sites that have decomposing organic matter, such as landfills, farms and wastewater treatment plants. RNG is interesting because, depending on the source, the fuel actually can be emissions-negative, meaning the collective project and fuel remove more greenhouse gases than they produce.
By Katie Fehrenbacher, Green Biz
Don’t miss an update—join our weekly newsletter below.