RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.What Makes an Electric Truck ‘Electric’?
The headline can seem like a silly question, but consider the Hyliion Hypertruck ERX–it’s an electric powertrain truck where batteries are being charged and they power the Meritor 14Xe e-axle. But it has a range of 1,000 miles. The catch? The batteries are charged by an on-board natural gas generator and the truck is fueled up with compressed natural gas.
And this is where the sustainability conversation becomes complicated. Sustainability means more than eliminating tail pipe emissions. Thomas Healy, founder and CEO of Hyliion, answers the natural gas emissions question with: If you’re using renewable natural gas, you could actually have a net-negative carbon score operating the Hypertruck ERX. Healy talked about electric powertrain development, the role of hybrids in sustainable equipment strategies, and where he sees the Hypertruck ERX fitting into the market.
Taking the Waste Out of Wastewater
Flushing the toilet. It’s something we all do several times a day. We take showers, wash our hands, do the dishes, and the laundry. We probably don’t think much about where the water and the stuff in it goes after we’re done. It’s out of sight and out of mind.
But not to Dr. Sherri Cook, who teaches environmental engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Thinking about what goes down the drain is her job and her passion. Cook sees what we’re putting in the wastewater system as valuable treasure that shouldn’t go to waste. She says the three resources recovered are nutrients, energy, and of course, water. There’s carbon in our waste that we can turn into methane or renewable natural gas for energy.
Cummins Destination Zero Strategy Comes to Life at ACT Expo
Cummins Inc. shared its Destination Zero strategy for key on-highway markets at ACT (Advanced Clean Transportation) Expo in Long Beach, California. This is the company's plan to go further, faster to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) and air quality impacts of its products and reach net-zero emissions by 2050 in a way that serves all stakeholders and is sustainable for Cummins' business.
Cummins is embracing the opportunity to be part of the solution to the problem of climate change by pursuing reductions of GHGs from both internal combustion engines and new technologies.
Hitachi Zosen Inova and WTE LLC Announce Colorado Renewable Natural Gas Project
Officials with WTE LLC and Hitachi Zosen Inova USA LLC announced the construction of a renewable natural gas (RNG) facility that will generate approximately 120,000 MMBTUs of this negative carbon fuel from a Colorado dairy and deliver it to the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) market.
The WTE Wolf Creek RNG Facility is expected to begin generating RNG early this fall – enough fuel to displace approximately 1.2 million gallons of diesel off the road.
Changes to Organic Waste Disposal Ordinance Approved in Palmdale, California
The Palmdale, California, City Council approved changes to the city’s organic waste disposal ordinance to meet the requirements of state law. They also heard about the potential for sending such waste to a processing facility in Lancaster that will turn it into a natural gas fuel source and compost.
The state law, Senate Bill 1383, was passed in 2016, to address the issue of methane and other pollutants released by organic waste in landfills. It set a target of reducing organic waste by 50% by 2020 and 75%, by 2025. To process the collected organic waste, the city is studying the feasibility of entering into an agreement with Hitachi Zosen INOVA, which is building a processing facility at the Lancaster Landfill.
SoCalGas Renews Program to Deliver Renewable Natural Gas to Vehicle Fueling Stations
Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) has renewed a program to supply renewable natural gas (RNG) to all 32 of the company's fueling stations, along with six in the San Diego area, signing three-year contracts with suppliers U.S. Gain and Element Markets as demand continues to grow.
In April 2019, SoCalGas began replacing traditional compressed natural gas at fueling stations with RNG to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet California's climate goals. Since September 2020, the RNG delivered at the 38 fueling stations is considered carbon negative by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). RNG delivered at the 38 fueling stations helped avoid approximately 275,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions over the last three years – equivalent to eliminating nearly 31 million gallons of gasoline burned, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.
HoSt Group Enters US Market With Three Dairy Biogas Projects
The HoSt Group kicked off business in the US with three new biogas projects at dairy farms in upstate New York and in Ohio, to be realized in close cooperation with SJI Renewable Energy Ventures and Rev LNG. With these biogas projects, HoSt North America will have a strong footprint in the United States and will pursue expansion opportunities in the fast-growing biogas market.
The New York projects each produce 300 SCFM of biogas and the Ohio project approximately 475 SCFM of biogas, together equivalent to having 3,000 American family cars drive on bio-CNG for a year. The treated renewable natural gas on all three sites is delivered as compressed bio-CNG to tanker trucks that will transport the gas to a gas injection site. The renewable gas is destined for the California market under the Low Carbon Fuels Standard programme where it will be used as a renewable transport fuel. The projects contribute to the worldwide transition towards the production and use of renewable energy and renewable transport fuels.
2G Energy and Prodeval to Market Electrical Self-Consumption Solution on Global Biogas Upgrading Market
Co-generation and Biogas upgrading systems are the highlight of the energy transition. Because biogas upgrading to Biomethane equipment do need an electrical supply connection, the partnership between 2G Energy and PRODEVAL, naturally took place to acquit this self-consumption solution, allowing it to provide half of the operator’s unit power supply or entirely. Our solution shall reduce, at the same time, Biomethane carbon intensity and increase energetic resilience of our customers’ units.
The commercialization of the 2G modules, connected to one another and managed simultaneously, will be able to meet a strong demand from the sector in terms of environmental challenges and network stability during periods of high energy need. The goal of producing greener energy using a Biogas engine, aims to provide economic sustainability and guarantee safeties throughout the life of the unit.
VERBIO's Iowa RNG Facility a 'Game Changer' for US Biofuels Industry
At ceremonies held at its renewable natural gas (RNG) facility in Nevada, Iowa, Claus Sauter, VERBIO AG's Founder and CEO, stated, “This plant is a game changer. With the right biofuels policies in place, we believe Iowa and the U.S. have immense potential and we are committed to working with those of you in this audience and others to create conditions where we can grow and everyone benefits.”
The VERBIO Nevada Biorefinery began producing RNG on an industrial scale in December 2021. The facility is on track to achieve full scale production of 7 million ethanol gallons equivalent (EGE) of RNG annually by mid-summer 2022. In early 2023, the site will begin operating as a biorefinery, producing 19 million EGE of RNG and 60 million gallons of corn-based ethanol, annually. The integration of RNG and ethanol production, unique to VERBIO, incorporates advanced operational technology to build on the company's successful experiences in Europe.
Fayetteville, NC, Public Works Commission and Bloom Energy to Transform Waste into Clean Electricity
The Fayetteville, North Carolina, Public Works Commission (PWC) and Bloom Energy announced plans to install and operate 1.5 megawatts of solid oxide fuel cells. Creating renewable energy from multiple biogas streams in the region, the new project will reduce emissions and advance the Fayetteville community’s efforts to meet North Carolina’s clean energy standards.
Bloom Energy’s fuel cells combine ambient air with fuel, such as biogas, to create electricity without combustion. Generating power from multiple biogas streams, the fuel cell installation – to be located adjacent to PWC’s P.O. Hoffer Water Treatment Facility – will be one of the first of its kind to blend multiple waste gas sources to produce clean, carbon-neutral electricity. The project will use biogas captured from PWC’s Cross Creak Water Reclamation facility, an adjacent landfill, and methane gases captured from local and neighboring swine farms.
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