RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Republic Services, Archaea Joint Venture Is a Leap Forward For Renewable Natural Gas
Republic Services, one of the largest waste-disposal companies in the U.S., on May 5 announced a major deal that will expand its renewable natural gas business. Partnering with Houston-based RNG producer Archaea Energy, Republic will mount a $1.1 billion joint venture to develop projects at 39 of its landfills in 19 different states. Once up and running, the 39 projects are expected to generate more than 12.5 million MMBtu of RNG each year.
Republic Services CEO Jon Vander Ark said the joint venture’s portfolio will include capturing RNG from smaller landfills that would have normally been disposed of by flaring instead. “By bidding out the 39 landfills, there are projects in there that are relatively small that we probably wouldn’t do independently. To take that resource and rather than try to dispose of it through flaring, being able to reuse it is a big part of our sustainability story. It’s a big part of our plan to get to net-zero emissions.”
Greenlane Renewables Announces First Deployment of Development Capital for Renewable Natural Gas Project
Greenlane Renewables Inc., through its subsidiary, Greenlane Renewables Capital Inc., announced its first deployment of development capital to a company focused on developing renewable natural gas projects in California, based on the dairy cluster model.
Greenlane is deploying pre-construction development capital in the form of a convertible note loan agreement with funds to be advanced on a milestone achievement basis up to US$0.9 million. The funds will be used to progress the development company's dairy cluster project to construction financing, expected in Q4 2022, as well as to advance their pipeline of project development opportunities.
FortisBC Teams with Regional District of Fraser-Fort George to Produce Carbon Neutral Natural Gas
FortisBC Energy Inc. will produce Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) from its first project in Northern British Columbia, teaming up with the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George to produce RNG from landfill gas generated at the Foothills Boulevard Regional Landfill, located in Prince George.
FortisBC expects to produce approximately 90,000 gigajoules of RNG a year from this project over its 20-year contract, starting 2024. This is enough energy to meet the annual natural gas needs of approximately 1,000 homes in BC.
Commentary: California Dairy Farmers are Working to Address Climate Issues
Each year we use the month of June to recognize our dairy farm families. On the heels of Earth Day, we are leaning into the topic of dairy sustainability for this year's Dairy Month celebration to showcase California dairy's commitment to slowing climate impacts.
According to a 2020 study published in the Journal of Dairy Science, greenhouse gas emissions per gallon of milk produced in California have decreased by more than 45% over the past 50 years. The use of anaerobic digesters, which turn manure methane into renewable electricity, renewable natural gas or hydrogen fuel, are driving much of this progress.
Greenlane Renewables Secures Repeat Order Valued at CAD$8.7 Million for International Energy Company RNG Project in the United States
Greenlane Renewables Inc. announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Greenlane Biogas North America Ltd., has been awarded a contract for CAD$8.7 million (US$6.8 million) for a dairy manure to renewable natural gas project in the United States owned by an international energy company.
This contract win marks the third project within 18 months for this customer that Greenlane has successfully bid. The project owner and location have not been disclosed at this time. Greenlane will supply its membrane separation biogas upgrading system, with order fulfillment expected to commence immediately.
FortisBC Brings High-Efficient Gas Heat Pumps into B.C. Homes for the First Time
FortisBC Energy Inc. is installing the next generation of high-efficiency home and water heating equipment in 20 residential homes – the first units of their kind to be installed in British Columbia as part of a FortisBC pilot program. With the potential to cut the energy needed for space and water heating by up to 50 per cent, lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, operate in colder winter conditions and exceed 100 per cent efficiency, this technology has the potential to help customers reduce their monthly bill and it is expected to contribute to achieving the province's climate action goals.
By also having the option to sign up to receive Renewable Natural Gas, customers can reduce their household emissions even further with a carbon neutral option to heat their homes. In addition, these units are hydrogen enabled meaning they can operate on gas-hydrogen blends without needing any modifications in the future.
A Dairy Farm in Trenton, Florida, is Turning Cow Manure into Profits
Jan Henderson is the CEO of Alliance Dairies in Trenton, the largest free-stall dairy in Florida, with more than 6,500 Holstein cows. One of her responsibilities in managing a farm this large is processing the cow’s manure. Alliance uses a system called an anaerobic digester to process their manure. Once the manure goes into the digester, it sits in the oxygen-free environment while bacteria break it down for almost a month. The resulting methane is pumped into a generator, which uses the gas to create electricity.
Moving forward, Alliance has partnered with TECO Peoples Gas, a natural gas distribution utility that serves almost 425,000 customers in Florida, to build a biogas conditioning facility. This will clean the methane and turn it into natural gas, which will then be pumped onto an interstate pipeline. That gas can theoretically be used for energy all over the country. This can actually make the farm more money.
Holcim US Accelerates Net Zero Commitments Through Hyliion Sustainable Vehicles
Holcim US announced it is working with Hyliion Holdings to leverage the company's innovative electrified powertrain truck platform to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and accelerate its commitment to put sustainability at the core of its overall strategy. Each Hyliion electric vehicle is estimated to reduce well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 89% when using renewable natural gas (RNG).
Holcim has commissioned ten Hypertruck ERX units with plans to evaluate actual efficiencies and potential fleet expansion in the future. Hyliion's Hypertruck ERX is a fully-electric drive vehicle that uses an onboard generator to charge the batteries, which eliminates the use of diesel fuel.
Air Liquide Inaugurates $250-Million Hydrogen Plant Near Las Vegas
Air Liquide S.A. officially opened its largest liquid hydrogen production and logistics infrastructure facility in North Las Vegas, Nevada. The facility aims to supply the growing needs for hydrogen mobility, but will also allow to provide hydrogen to a wide array of industries while the mobility market continues to mature.
The facility, and the associated logistics infrastructure, marks a $250-million investment by Air Liquide in the United States hydrogen market. The North Las Vegas facility will produce 30 tons of liquid hydrogen per day which will be utilized by various customers, notably by those in the growing clean mobility market on the West Coast, especially California. The facility will be powered by fully renewable electricity. The facility can also use renewable natural gas to meet the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) when supplying the California mobility market.
New York State: Stauffer Farm Turns Methane From 6,000 Cows into Renewable Natural Gas
An energy project at a dairy farm in North Lawrence, New York, will convert manure from over 6,000 cows into renewable natural gas.
The Stauffer Farm will lease five acres of their land to LF Bioenergy, who will finance and operate a methane digester that converts the manure into the natural gas. From there, it will be piped into Liberty Utilities’ network of natural gas pipelines that run throughout the north country. Martin Construction Resource will construct the digester. LF Bioenergy’s role also included selecting the Stauffer Farm as the project site, and linking them with Martin and Liberty. The money to develop and build the project will come from Cresta Funds out of Dallas, Texas.
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