RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.NextEra Energy Plans to Cut All Carbon Emissions by 2045
NextEra Energy plans to eliminate all its direct and indirect carbon emissions by 2045, partly by growing its Florida Power & Light (FPL) subsidiary’s solar fleet to 90,000 MW and its energy storage capacity to 50,000 MW. Outside Florida, NextEra aims to help decarbonize the utility and other sectors through its NextEra Energy Resource subsidiary.
Under its “Real Zero” plan, NextEra aims to cut its carbon emissions from 2005 levels by 70% by 2025, 82% by 2030, 87% by 2035 and 94% by 2040 before hitting zero emissions in 2045, without the use of carbon offsets. In part, the plan centers on the low cost of wind, solar and storage. FPL also intends to generate up to 6,000 MW using renewable natural gas made from biomass or other renewable resources.
Gevo’s Northwest Iowa RNG Project Hits Major Milestone; Begins Injecting Dairy RNG into Natural Gas Pipeline
Gevo, Inc. announced that its renewable natural gas project in Northwest Iowa has been producing biogas and is now upgrading and injecting RNG into the natural gas pipeline. The RNG Project generates renewable natural gas captured from dairy cow manure. The manure for the RNG Project is supplied by three dairy farms located in Northwest Iowa totaling over 20,000 milking cows.
When at full operational capacity, the RNG Project is expected to generate approximately 355,000 MMBtu of RNG per year, which will be transported and sold in California. BP Canada Energy Marketing Corp. and BP Products North America Inc. will market the RNG in California on behalf of Gevo.
WM Invests US$825 Million Toward 100% RNG-Fueled Natural Gas Fleet
WM, formerly known as Waste Management, made the long-anticipated announcement that the renewable natural gas (RNG) industry has been waiting for. WM is investing US$825 million between 2022 and 2025 to expand its RNG infrastructure with the goal of outfitting its entire natural gas fleet with RNG by 2026.
Investments include RNG production plants, landfill gas-to-electricity plants, and other projects that WM estimates will power 1 million homes across North America. It’s worth mentioning that the news accelerates the timetable of earlier goals by WM, one of which called for fueling 50% of its natural gas fleet with RNG by 2025.
GreenPath Logistics Plans to Double Alt-Fuel Fleet
Dallas-based GreenPath Logistics (GPL) announced plans to double the size of its alternative-fuel fleet. According to the company, this will help customers reduce carbon emissions by up to 85%.
GPL launched in 2020 as a subsidiary of NGV Global Group and is a privately-owned, 100% alternative-fuel transportation company in the Unites States. The GPL fleet currently includes 200 medium-duty and heavy-duty commercial trucks that operate on compressed natural gas and renewable natural gas, as well as hybrid electric vehicles. GPL is deploying 15 to 20 new vehicles in its fleet each month and will roll out fully electric powertrain commercial trucks in early 2023 through a partnership with Hyliion Holdings Corp.
Aemetis Completes Third Dairy Digester and Expands Biogas Production
Aemetis, Inc. announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Aemetis Biogas LLC, connected its third anaerobic digester via pipeline to the company’s main RNG gas cleanup unit located at the Aemetis Advanced Fuels Keyes facility in Keyes, California. Aemetis remains on track to complete an additional five digesters by the end of Q4 2022, with five more digesters under construction in the same timeframe.
The Aemetis Central Dairy Digester project is designed to capture and convey conditioned biogas from more than 60 dairies to the Company’s centralized gas cleanup facility which is operational at the Aemetis Advanced Fuels Keyes ethanol plant. The RNG is either delivered into the PG&E utility pipeline located onsite at the Aemetis ethanol plant, or dispensed to trucks at the RNG fueling station being built at the Aemetis plant, or used as process energy in the Aemetis facility to replace petroleum-based natural gas.
SoCalGas Pursues Hydrogen Future with Angeles Link
As California prepares for a carbon-neutral future, SoCalGas is preparing to urge it along with a new hydrogen pipeline. A first-of-its-kind project for California, Angeles Link would supply renewable hydrogen to a variety of industries, from power plants and heavy-duty manufacturing to transportation fueling stations and energy storage.
“We believe this will be an anchor project that will kick off many different hydrogen projects,” SoCalGas Vice President of Customer Solutions Don Widjaja told Spectrum News. Not only could the pipeline help electric utilities generate clean power as they transition away from natural gas to renewable alternatives, it could help with resilience, since hydrogen can serve as energy storage. It would also support the nascent hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle industry, including heavy-duty trucks.
SoCalGas Partners with The Retirement Housing Foundation on Energy Efficiency Upgrades at Senior Housing Complex, The Concord
Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) announced the completion of energy efficiency upgrades in partnership with the Retirement Housing Foundation (RHF) at The Concord affordable senior living community in Pasadena, Calif. The project was made possible through SoCalGas' Whole Building Program.
The program provided $108,000 in incentive funding that was used to help replace an aged, undersized central hot water system that serves 150 units within the 14-story affordable senior living complex. All units also received water and energy saving measures such as low-flow showerheads and low-flow kitchen and bath aerators at no cost as part of the utility's Energy Savings Assistance (ESA) program. This upgrade will help the property accumulate $35,000 in savings over a five year span and save over 4,000 therms of energy annually, equivalent to powering 11 homes for one year.
'Climate Positive’ by 2050: PG&E’s New Climate Strategy Report Outlines Targets and Milestones on Path to Net Zero Emissions and Beyond
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) unveiled commitments to help reduce carbon emissions and reverse the impacts of climate change as part of its comprehensive Climate Strategy Report. The report outlines the company’s path to become “climate positive,” or going beyond net zero emissions and actively removing more greenhouse gases from the environment than it emits, by 2050.
PG&E plans to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, five years ahead of California’s current carbon neutrality target, and has detailed clear milestones it plans to meet by 2030 in reducing emissions, adopting renewable energy, investing in clean transportation infrastructure and transitioning its natural gas system.
Chevron, Cummins Team on Renewable Natural Gas Engine Demonstration with Walmart
Chevron U.S.A. Inc. announced definitive agreements to supply fuel linked to renewable natural gas for a Walmart Inc. demonstration of Cummins Inc.’s new 15-liter natural gas engine for heavy-duty trucks.
As part of the agreements, Walmart will provide heavy-duty trucks for Cummins to integrate with the new 15-liter natural gas engine, the X15N, which runs on compressed natural gas (CNG). After taking delivery, Walmart will field-test the finished trucks at its distribution center in Fontana, California, with Chevron supplying the trucks with CNG linked to renewable natural gas.
Piedmont Natural Gas Introduces Carbon-Reducing Program for North Carolina Customers
Residential and commercial Piedmont Natural Gas customers in North Carolina now can reduce the impact of their own natural gas usage by participating in GreenEdge – a voluntary program allowing customers to purchase green "blocks" from Piedmont and then claim the associated environmental benefits.
Each $3 block represents the environmental attributes of renewable natural gas and carbon offsets and is equivalent to 12.5 therms of natural gas usage. Just one block is equal to 25% of the average household's monthly natural gas usage, meaning customers who purchase four blocks could claim associated environmental benefits for approximately 100% of their monthly household natural gas usage.
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