RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Things You Need to Know About Canada’s Growing Renewable Natural Gas Utilization
In British Columbia, the CleanBC Plan aims to have 15% of natural gas supply consist of renewable gases such as RNG by 2030. Alberta and Québec have implemented carbon offset systems which award landfills and agricultural facilities for collecting and utilizing biogas. From 2021 to 2030, Canadian RNG production potential is expected to grow by 7% simply from industry and population growth.
As of 2021, there are approximately 279 biogas and RNG projects being operated in Canada, and it is estimated that only 14% of Canada’s feasible biogas and RNG potential is being realized. This means new RNG projects can contribute significantly to helping Canada achieve its climate target of reducing methane emissions 30% below 2020 levels by 2030. It is estimated that by 2030, RNG production globally will be seven times that of 2020, and by 2050, global production will be 27 times that of 2020.
Enchanted Rock to Build California’s Largest RNG Microgrid for Microsoft
Microsoft has contracted with Enchanted Rock to develop a data center microgrid — the largest microgrid in California to date that will use renewable natural gas (RNG) to offset fossil fuels. Located in San Jose, a city whose mayor has become an outspoken advocate of microgrids and grid independence, the microgrid will be part of a Microsoft data center being constructed.
Plans call for a 100-MW microgrid that will include 224 natural gas generators, each with a 0.45 MW capacity. The microgrid represents a growing trend of offsetting use of fossil fuels with RNG, a fuel made from capturing methane produced by decomposing waste from livestock, water treatment, food and other sources.
Energy Transition Focuses on Security, Affordability Amid High Energy Prices: Execs
The recent increase in oil, natural gas and electricity prices in many markets globally has helped rebalance the energy transition conversation to focus on affordability, reliability and decarbonization which can be done with hybridization of power generation and industrial technologies, executives said.
"The debate around energy has rebalanced from being largely about climate change which remains imperative but with the Russian war there is more focus on energy security, reliability and affordability of price," Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of French major oil company TotalEnergies, said during the Reuters Global Energy Transition 2022 conference in New York City.
Element Markets and Bluesource Formally Merge to Create Anew
Element Markets and Bluesource announced a new brand name, Anew. The combined company, backed by TPG Rise and NGP, offers services to an international client base.
As part of the new brand launch, Anew is introducing "Climate as a Service" which will provide stakeholders access to carbon reduction solutions including advisory services, carbon credits generated by nature-based solutions and other greenhouse gas-reducing projects, renewable natural gas (RNG), renewable energy credits, electric vehicle credits, emission credits, and capital formation and deployment strategies.
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.
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