RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Opinion: To Decarbonize Connecticut by 2040, Try Renewable Natural Gas
As the clock ticks another year closer to 2040, by which point Connecticut state policymakers want to see carbon-neutral energy, they should consider that sometimes the best way to tackle is a new problem is with the toolbox you already have.
Decarbonization can be done with proven, existing technologies that we know work by incrementally infusing natural gas with non-carbon fuel sources, namely, green hydrogen and renewable natural gas, or RNG. Rather than focusing only on solar and wind, Connecticut policymakers should adopt an all-of-the-above approach, because improving, rather than eliminating, natural gas can lower costs and assure investors while playing a key role in a holistic decarbonized framework.
Rockpoint Gas Storage Canada Partners with Plug, Certarus and FortisBC in Hydrogen Storage Transaction
A partnership of leading energy companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding to produce, transport, and burn hydrogen in a small-scale pilot project at the Suffield natural gas storage facility in Alberta, Canada ("Suffield"). It is anticipated that in fall 2022, green hydrogen will be trucked to Alberta and delivered to its destination.
The aim of the project is to demonstrate and analyze the entire value chain of hydrogen from producer to storage to end user. Hydrogen produced by Plug from renewable sources will be transported by Certarus Ltd., a provider of mobile low carbon energy solutions, to Suffield. Rockpoint Gas Storage will take delivery of the hydrogen and will consume it in its above surface processes as the existing regulatory regime does not yet allow hydrogen blending in a subsurface storage facility. FortisBC, a gas and electric utility, will act as the purchaser of the green hydrogen and FortisBC's gas storage account with AECO (Alberta Energy Company) will be credited for the renewable hydrogen used to displace natural gas.
FortisBC Continues to Enable Greenhouse Gas Reductions for Customers
FortisBC's annual review of its climate action performance has shown that it helped its customers avoid approximately 578,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in 2021 - the equivalent annual emissions of about 177,000 gasoline-powered automobiles.
FortisBC achieved these reductions by increasing the amount of renewable and low carbon gases energy in its system, helping its customers use less energy, and leveraging the gas system to lower emissions in the transportation sector. These actions form the basis of FortisBC's approach to achieve sustainable greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, its Clean Growth Pathway to 2050.
Renewable Natural Gas Accounted for 64% of On-Road NGV Fuel Use in 2021
The trade associations Natural Gas Vehicles for America (NGVAmerica) and Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas (RNG Coalition) announced that 64% of all on-road fuel used in natural gas vehicles in the US in calendar year 2021 was renewable natural gas (RNG).
California Air Resources Board data confirms that the annual average carbon intensity (CI) value of California’s bio-CNG vehicle fuel portfolio in its Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program was carbon negative and below zero at -44.41 gCO2e/MJ for calendar year 2021. RNG use as a transportation fuel grew 13% over 2020 volumes, up 234% from 2017 levels.
Love’s Travel Stops and Trillium Collaborate with Cummins to Enhance Low and Zero Carbon Fuel and Powertrain Solutions
The Love’s Family of Companies, and Cummins Inc. recently agreed to work together to help customers use alternative fuel and zero emission technologies. Trillium, a leading provider of renewable and alternative fueling solutions, will take the driver’s seat at Love’s in the development and deployment of strategies to support this initiative.
“Together Trillium and Love’s provide customers a variety of fueling options across the country. This new relationship will make it easier for customers wanting to make the switch to zero- and near-zero emission vehicles,” said Ryan Erickson, vice president of Trillium. “With Trillium’s clean fueling options and Cummins’ powertrain expertise, we’re convinced together we can help our customers meet their ESG goals.”
Decarbonization Drives Pick Up in Low-Carbon, Renewable Fuels Activity
Activity is heating up in the low-carbon fuels space as the decarbonization movement drives strategic investments with sustainability and profitability in mind. Traditional energy companies are envisioning how their companies will look in a decarbonized economy and seizing opportunities.
Unlike traditional fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel, renewable and low-carbon fuels—which include forms of natural gas; biogas produced by the breakdown of animal waste and food; renewable natural gas, the byproduct of decomposed organic matter; ethanol and hydrogen among others—release less CO2 when burned. Their use could move the world closer toward hitting net-zero goals and lowering emissions in hard-to-decarbonize sectors.
Calgren Dairy Fuels Presented with California Dairy Sustainability Award
The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) has announced the winner of its 2nd California Dairy Sustainability Award – Calgren Dairy Fuels, LLC. – in recognition of its partnership with Maas Energy Works, Inc. to create a 22-mile dairy digester pipeline cluster to efficiently collect dairy biogas from California dairy farm partners and upgrade and inject it into a utility pipeline owned by Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas).
The Calgren project was the first in California to upgrade dairy biogas for utility pipeline injection and the largest collective dairy biogas operation in the U.S. Fifteen California family dairy farms are participating in the first phase of the project, which makes compressed natural gas available as fuel for heavy duty trucks, replacing diesel – effectively removing 150,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) greenhouse gases from the environment and displacing more than 23 million gallons of fossil fuel-based transportation fuel annually.
Archaea Energy Pursues Acquisition of NextGen Power Holdings
Archaea Energy Inc., Houston, announced that its subsidiary, Archaea Infrastructure LLC, has entered into a definitive purchase and sale agreement with Riverview Investment Holdings to purchase Virginia-based NextGen Power Holdings LLC. The acquisition—which includes NextGen Power Holding’s subsidiary Ingenco—is valuated at roughly $215 million, subject to customary adjustments at closing. The transaction is expected to close on or after July 1.
According to a release, the purchase will act as a “significant addition to Archaea’s backlog of attractive RNG (renewable natural gas) development opportunities via the acquisition of existing electricity generation assets.” Archaea will gain Ingenco’s asset platform of 14 operating landfill gas to electric (LFGTE) plants at sites that had combined gas flows into the facilities of 7 million MMBtu (metric million British Thermal Unit) in 2021.
Opinion: New York Proposal Would Hammer State's Homeowners and Workers
A draft proposal in New York State to cut greenhouse emissions would be a job-killing disaster that also will zap residents and homeowners with sky-high energy costs.
The proposal, drafted by the state’s Climate Action Council, recommends dozens upon dozens of regulations. One of these calls for homeowners and business owners to convert, at significant expense, from gas to electric for heating, cooking and other energy needs. If the recommendations become regulations, the jobs of thousands of blue-collar workers providing natural gas to millions of residents and businesses in the metropolitan region would be wiped out. Homeowners will incrementally have to retrofit their homes for electricity and electric appliances to replace gas service, which will easily cost more than $20,000.
Opinion: It’s Not Too Late to Slow Climate Change if We Recycle Organic Waste
It’s easy to be discouraged by dire government reports showing how little time we have to reverse the effects of climate change. But in San Diego County, every single person can make a difference by reducing and recycling organic waste: food scraps and yard trimmings.
When organic materials break down in the landfill, they create methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times more damaging than carbon dioxide. By reducing how much food we waste, donating edible food, and properly recycling the rest, we can make a major difference in mitigating climate change. Organic material can be recycled through composting or anaerobic digestion into a nutrient-rich soil amendment or into renewable natural gas which both prevent emissions and are environmentally beneficial.
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