RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Renewable Natural Gas Gains Momentum as Trucking Fuel
Progressively tougher clean air mandates and the increasing corporate focus on environmental sustainability could signal a larger role for natural gas — especially renewable natural gas — as a trucking fuel, experts said.
Although much of the industry’s conversation about alternative fuels has turned to electric-powered trucks in recent years, advocates for renewable natural gas, or RNG, point out that the fuel is capable of reaching net negative emissions of greenhouse gases by removing more carbon from the air than it creates.
RNG projects, unlike fossil fuel natural gas production, capture methane from existing food waste, animal manure, wastewater sludge and garbage, then repurpose it as a clean, green energy source, according to the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas.
RINs “Hardship Waivers” Get Day In (Supreme) Court
BioCycle’s February 1, 2021 update on small refinery “economic hardship” exemptions from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) traced the hairpin path to where “hardship waivers” then stood. It ended with the Supreme Court’s surprise grant of review (in HollyFrontierCheyenne Refining et al v. RFA et al) of Tenth Circuit rulings that would, if final, invalidate any “extensions” of waivers unless an underlying exemption has been continuously maintained. The BioCycle update concluded that “with some 60 petitions still pending, the Biden Administration is positioned to avert” more waivers, and “an early signal may come when the Biden Department of Justice (DoJ) files its Supreme Court brief on behalf of the new EPA. Many expect it will concede error and decline to defend the [flood of Trump-era] waivers.”
Climate Change: A Scientist's Perspective on the Value of Renewable Natural Gas
As one of the Great Lakes states and with an abundance of natural resources, Michigan should be doing everything it can to promote sustainability and renewable energy solutions. But we’re not. To date, we’ve largely ignored one innovative opportunity to significantly reduce carbon: renewable natural gas. However, new legislation is set to change that.
The new bill calls for a statewide feedstock study to measure Michigan’s overall potential for renewable natural gas — a clean, reliable, waste-derived fuel that can be used to power homes, businesses and vehicles. It is already showing its value with a handful of projects operational in Michigan, but its success is not widely known.
SoCalGas and Landi Renzo USA Announce Plans to Convert 200 Trucks to Run on Renewable Natural Gas
SoCalGas today announced it will convert 200 new Ford F-250 service pickup trucks to run on renewable natural gas (RNG) - a renewable form of energy produced from a variety of waste streams. The service trucks will be outfitted with the newest Landi Renzo Eco Ready™ equipment, a California Air Resource Board certified ultra-low emissions vehicles system. Equipping these 200 service vehicles to run on RNG is expected to reduce over 2,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) per year which is equivalent to removing 1,800 passenger vehicles from our roads for one year. With the addition of these 200 new net-zero emissions service trucks, nearly 40 percent of SoCalGas' service vehicles will run on clean fuels.
"This project is one of the many decarbonizing initiatives we're implementing here at SoCalGas as we continue to move towards a net zero future," said Sandra Hrna, vice president of supply chain and operations support at SoCalGas. "In order to achieve our sustainability goals, we work to build strong relationships with innovative partners to help us continue delivering technologies to further decarbonize the transportation sector."
Town of Tusten is Starting Operation on its HORSE AD25 Microdigester
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), 40% of food in the U.S. goes uneaten. This wasted food is valued at approximately $165 billion annually and when disposed in a landfill, is a significant contributor to greenhouse gases. To help address this issue, the Town of Tusten, a Bronze Certified Climate Smart Community, installed an Impact Bioenergy HORSE (High-solids Organic-waste Recycling System with Electrical Output) AD25 Microdigester at the Highway Department town barn, which will provide on-site generation of energy from food waste and similar organic materials. These microdigester systems are made to scale down the size and cost of industrial anaerobic digestion. The project was spearheaded by the Tusten Energy Committee and is funded by 2018 NY DEC Municipal Food Scraps Reduction, Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling Programs.
“Tusten is proud to be at the forefront of local solutions for the climate. By diverting food to people where possible and then feeding the HORSE, we are creating a positive focus on Tusten, helping the environment, and creating local training opportunities,” noted Jennifer Porter, Tusten Energy Committee member and lead organizer for the DEC grant application.
Fortistar Announces Opal Fuels, a Merger of Its Leading Renewable Natural Gas Production and Renewable Transportation Fuel Distribution Portfolio Companies
Today, Fortistar LLC, a privately-owned investment firm that provides capital to build, grow and manage companies that address complex sustainability challenges, announced that two of its portfolio companies, Fortistar Methane Group (FMG), one of the fastest-growing developers of renewable natural gas (RNG) facilities and one of the largest independently owned landfill-gas-to-energy companies in the U.S., and TruStar Energy, a market leader in RNG fuel supply for the transportation sector, are merging under Opal Fuels LLC to form a new, fully-integrated renewable fuels supply company for North America.
“In the nearly 30 years since founding Fortistar, I have never been more excited about the opportunities ahead,” said Mark Comora, president of Fortistar LLC. “Amid wildfires, heat waves, hurricanes and other extreme weather that punctuated a tumultuous 2020, the world is now more determined than ever to address climate change. Opal will lead the effort to decarbonize America’s transportation industry, which generates the largest share of annual greenhouse gas emissions, by supplying clean, sustainable energy fueled by renewable natural gas.”
NextEra Energy Sees Opportunities in Biden Infrastructure, Clean Energy Plans
The Biden administration's infrastructure and clean energy plans offer significant opportunities for NextEra Energy, but it is too early to determine how Biden's tax plans might affect the company, Chairman and CEO Jim Robo said April 21.
"There's obviously a lot in [Biden's] plan that's very positive from a renewable standpoint," Robo said in a first-quarter earnings call. "We are excited to work with the administration on the plan that I think is really going to accelerate the decarbonization of the US economy ... over the next several years."
Biomethane in Transport “At Stake” Under EU Taxonomy Criteria, Warns EBA
The European Biogas Association (EBA) has welcomed the adoption of the EU Taxonomy by the European Commission (EC), which recognises biogas’ contribution to climate targets, but warned that the criteria adopted will put the use of biomethane in transport “at stake”.
According to the EBA, the decision to label biogas production from anaerobic digestion as a low-carbon activity recognises its valuable contribution to climate-neutrality, even though the chosen criteria are not ‘fully aligned’ with the Renewable Energy Directive (RED).
The regulation also supports the role of biogas and biomethane in providing renewable heat and power and recognises the need to integrate low-carbon gases, including biomethane, in existing gas grids. The EBA believes this sends a positive signal to investors and operators across the sector for further deployment of biogas and biomethane in the coming years.
Second Food Scraps-to-RNG Project Certified Under California LCFS GREET 3.0
Before January 2021, no food scraps-to-renewable natural gas (RNG) pathways had been certified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) under CA-GREET 3.0 — the version of the life cycle analysis model used by the agency since 2019 to certify Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) pathways. Then in January, CARB used the rare Design-based pathway process to certify a pathway in the City of Napa, California for Zero Waste Energy (ZWE), as described in a recent BioCycle article.
That certification was noteworthy not only because of the process used, but also because of the ultra-low carbon intensity (CI) of the pathway at -165 gCO2e/MJ. Now CARB has certified a second food scraps-to-RNG pathway, this time for South San Francisco Scavengers (SSFS) located in South San Francisco, California. SSFS operates a ZWE digester system to process food scraps and green waste. The certification, effective on April 1, 2021, was at a CI of -79.91.
SoCalGas to Partner with SunLine Transit Agency to Test Innovative Technologies that Reduce Cost of Hydrogen Production
SoCalGas announced today it will demonstrate a groundbreaking technological combination that will produce hydrogen from renewable natural gas (RNG) at SunLine Transit Agency's hydrogen fueling station in Thousand Palms, California. The research project, called "H2 SilverSTARS," will produce renewable hydrogen to fuel SunLine's fleet of 17 hydrogen fuel cell electric buses and support further expansion. The combination of new technologies will make it possible to provide renewable hydrogen made from RNG at natural gas fueling stations—or any location near a natural gas pipeline. The goal is to produce emissions-free renewable hydrogen for fuel cell electric cars and other vehicles at a price competitive with gasoline.
Hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles are expected to play an important role in meeting California Governor Newsom's executive order requiring all new cars sold in the state be zero-emissions by 2035. As demand for these cars increases, Californians will need thousands more stations where they can fuel up with hydrogen.
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