RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.New Assessment Documents Expansion of US Renewable Natural Gas Industry
The sustainable energy NGO Energy Vision released its 2021 annual assessment of the US renewable natural gas (RNG) industry, conducted for the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory.
It documents rapid growth in RNG production nationwide. The number of RNG production facilities grew 33.5% (from 313 in December 2020 to 418 by the close of 2021), including 230 RNG facilities now operating (up 46% from 2020), 108 under construction (up 42%), and at least 80 new projects in planning.
Coastal Environmental Partnership to Begin Producing Renewable Natural Gas at Tuscarora, North Carolina, Landfill
The agency that runs Carteret County, North Carolina’s regional landfill system recently entered into an amended memorandum of understanding to begin converting landfill gas into renewable natural gas.
In a news release, Bobby Darden, executive director of the Coastal Environmental Partnership, also known as the Coastal Regional Solid Waste Management Authority, said the memo of understanding is with Igenco, based in Richmond, Va. Ingenco has operated at the agency’s Tuscarora landfill since 2007 and is now pursuing development of a renewable natural gas, or RNG, facility at the same site.
Air Liquide to Open RNG Hydrogen Plant
Air Liquide will open a steam methane reformation plant fed by renewable natural gas (RNG) in Las Vegas, Nevada, by the end of March.
The hydrogen plant, powered by methane captured from biological wastes, will produce 30 tonnes (t) per day of hydrogen at full capacity. This will be enough to fuel 42,000 hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, said Katie Ellet, president of Hydrogen Energy and Mobility for Air Liquide north America.
OPAL Fuels Commences Commercial Operation of Noble Road Renewable Natural Gas Facility at Rumpke Waste & Recycling Landfill in Shiloh, Ohio
OPAL Fuels LLC, a vertically integrated producer and distributor of renewable natural gas (RNG), announced it has commenced commercial operation of a new facility to extract and capture waste methane from Rumpke Waste & Recycling’s Noble Road Landfill, transform it into RNG and transport it through Chesapeake Utilities Corporation’s wholly owned subsidiary Aspire Energy of Ohio. An affiliate of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC is a joint owner of the project.
The new, state-of-the-art facility, located in Shiloh, Ohio, utilizes advanced, patented technology to treat landfill gas by removing carbon dioxide and other components to purify the biogas and produce pipeline quality RNG. Aspire Energy constructed a 33.1-mile pipeline, which will transport the RNG to the company’s pipeline system. The fuel will be dispensed at OPAL Fuels fueling stations and Rumpke trucks will also be fueled using this RNG, displacing diesel fuel.
British Columbia Shown to Hold a Wealth of Renewable and Low Carbon Gas Potential
By 2050, British Columbia's gas system could be completely supplied by made-in-B.C. renewable and low carbon sources. A new study showed that, by 2050, the potential of renewable and low carbon gases could be as high as 440 petajoules (PJ) per year—roughly double what currently flows through FortisBC's gas infrastructure to British Columbians.
The joint study commissioned by the Government of British Columbia, FortisBC Energy Inc.(FortisBC's) and BC Bioenergy Network (BCBN) examined the potential production of renewable and low carbon gases using solely B.C. resources by 2030 and 2050, as well as examining overall potential production in Canada and the United States.
PG&E Program Collects Natural Gas from Dairy Manure and Turns it Into Renewable Energy
At Vander Woude Dairy near Merced, California, thousands of cows are doing what cows do, giving milk, eating feed, and creating methane. The greenhouse gas is a bi-product of the manure they leave behind.
But if that manure is generating more enthusiasm than you might normally expect, it's because of a mound a few hundred yards away. It's part of an expanding methane capture project developed by PG&E, California Energy Exchange, and Maas Energy.
Dallas’ Alternative Fuel Trucker GreenPath Logistics Orders 50 Electric/Natural Gas ‘Hypertrucks’
GreenPath Logistics is a 100% alternative-fuel trucking company based in Dallas, with customers including Amazon, UPS, and the United States Postal Service. Now it’s ordered 50 Hypertruck ERX units from Texas-based Hyliion Holdings to help electrify its fleet.
The Hypertruck ERX is an electric powertrain for Class 8 commercial trucks that’s recharged by an onboard natural gas generator. By using the 700+ commercial natural gas vehicle filling stations across North America, the Hypertruck enables long range and quick refueling, Hyliion says. When fueled with renewable natural gas, it can provide net-negative carbon emissions to commercial fleets.
One Gas Identifies 175 Bcf of Renewable Natural Gas Resources, Lines Up Projects
One Gas Inc. is expanding its plans for renewable natural gas projects after a study identified 175 Bcf of potential renewable gas feedstock across the company's three-state gas utility footprint.
One Gas has 22 projects for renewable natural gas, or RNG, moving through the negotiation, design, and advanced evaluation stages, executives said during a Feb. 24 earnings conference call. As of November 2021, One Gas had nine RNG projects underway. Many of the projects originated from the company's partnership with Vanguard Renewables LLC to develop or expand RNG facilities.
How Much Could RNG Cut Methane Emissions From Organic Waste?
In the fall of 2021, the U.S. and 110 other countries committed to reduce methane emissions 30% by 2030, which some believe could be a call to action for the solid waste management industry, as about 30% of U.S. emissions come from decomposing organic waste.
Proponents of renewable natural gas (RNG), derived from organics, believe this fuel can play a role in quickly addressing and mitigating these emissions.
2021 Brings More Renewable Natural Gas into SoCalGas Pipelines
Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced that 14 billion cubic feet of renewable natural gas (RNG) produced from organic waste was distributed via SoCalGas' pipeline system in 2021, the equivalent to removing 166,896 cars off the road annually. This is 2 billion cubic feet more than 12 billion cubic feet distributed by SoCalGas in 2020.
As part of SoCalGas' goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its operations and delivery of energy by 2045, the utility plans to deliver 20% RNG to core customers by end of 2030 and continues to make significant progress towards reaching its goal.
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