RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Biogas Plant Market Set to Surge Significantly During 2020– 2027 by Growth, Trends
Rise in concerns about environmental hazards and surge in awareness about the harmful effects of greenhouse gases emitted in the atmosphere due to the usage of conventional fuels has played a significant role in driving the growth of the biogas plant market. Moreover, decrease in reserves of fossil fuels has led the growth of the demand for biogas among different industries. Biogas has been proved to be an eco-friendly alternative to conventional fuel used for generation of heat in the industries. High demand has been witnessed for biogas in municipalities, among farmers, and in industries to meet the increasing energy requirements. Moreover, surge in usage of biogas for transportation escalated the demand for the global biogas plant market.
Amp Americas Develops Minnesota’s First Biogas to Transportation Fuel Project
Amp Americas, while still fairly young, has ridden a fluctuating market curve and done some pivoting since it began converting dairy manure to biogas at one farming operation in Indiana. Its latest milestone since its 2011 launch is landing a deal to develop and operate Minnesota’s first biogas-to-transportation fuel project; it began delivering fuel from that project to the Alliance pipeline in October 2020.
Amp will process 700,000 gallons a day of manure, leveraging anaerobic digesters at three sites owned by farming operation Riverview. This venture brings Amp’s portfolio up to four renewable natural gas (RNG) projects across the Midwest and west, which collectively produce over 10 million gallons of RNG annually.
OPAL, NextEra Energy Unit to Build Renewable Gas Facility in Minnesota
Privately held OPAL Fuels LLC and a unit of NextEra Energy (NEE.N)are planning the first landfill renewable natural gas (RNG) production facility in Minnesota, the companies said Wednesday, as U.S. consumers and governments demand more clean energy.
Landfill gas, like gas from animal waste, food waste and sewage treatment plants, is mostly methane, the second-biggest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. In its first 20 years in the atmosphere, methane has 80 times more heat-trapping potential than carbon dioxide.
Voluntary RNG Program will Help to Reduce Ontario’s Carbon Footprint
Enbridge Gas customers can help support Ontario’s transition to clean energy through OptUp, a new voluntary Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) program.
The program, which launches today, supports the Ontario provincial government’s Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help Canada meet its 2030 emissions reduction target.
For two dollars a month, residential customers who sign up will contribute to reducing Ontario’s carbon footprint with the purchase and addition of RNG to the natural gas supply.
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.”
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