RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.NextEra Energy to Build Renewable Natural Gas Production Plant in Alabama
NextEra Energy Resources LLC on Thursday said it and an Alabama county plan to build the state's first landfill renewable natural gas production plant.
The electric power and energy infrastructure company said the project will be located at a landfill owned and operated by Coffee County and interconnect with a pipeline owned by Southeast Gas. All the gas from the project will be sold to Southeast Gas under a long-term contract, NextEra said.
In Response to Nebraska Customers, Black Hills Plans to Offer Offset Program
In what it says is a response to interest from customers, Black Hills Energy on Wednesday announced plans to offer a voluntary renewable natural gas and carbon offset program for residential and small-business customers.
The program, which the company hopes to start next year, would allow customers to purchase monthly offset "blocks" that would represent a portion of their natural gas usage.
A “Farm Powered” Business Model for Scalable Renewable Energy Production From Waste
It has been pointed out that “waste is only really waste if you waste it.” That is of particular concern when what is being wasted is potential renewable energy. Our food system generates two major waste streams that have traditionally ended up on the negative side of their potential – the manure that comes from farm animals, and the inedible food waste that happens at the food manufacturing or retail level. There is a solution that addresses both of these missed opportunities and reduces our reliance on landfills and incinerators. A company called Vanguard Renewables has developed a business model that connects farms with food companies and retailers to combine their waste streams and use them to generates renewable natural gas which can then serve to decarbonize the energy supply for society as a whole.
This solution hinges on a technology called “anaerobic digestion” or AD that has been used extensively for decades in Europe. An organic waste source like manure is put within a closed tank without oxygen. Under that “anaerobic” condition there are specialized microbes from the gut of the cow that can digest the organic matter. Unlike most living things that generate carbon dioxide as they metabolize their food, these “anaerobic” specialists generate methane gas - the same energy-rich fuel we call natural gas. The difference between the gas from one of these digesters and the fossil fuel version is that the carbon in the gas from a digester was created biologically, and not by fossil extraction. That means that when the methane is burned to produce energy, the carbon dioxide that is emitted is “carbon negative” and isn’t a net contributor to the total amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Then, if the methane from a digester (also called “green natural gas”) is piped into the existing natural gas utility stream, it has the same sort of “decarbonization” effect that is achieved by putting electricity generated by solar, wind or nuclear into the overall electricity grid.
Blackstone, Emerson Electric Strike $14 Billion Buyout Deal
Emerson Electric Co. is selling a majority stake in its climate-technologies business to Blackstone Inc. in a transformational deal for the industrial company that would value the unit at $14 billion including debt and mark the biggest private-equity buyout in months at a time when such activity has been choked off by market volatility.
The deal, announced Monday, would give Blackstone a 55% stake in the unit, which sells compressors and other HVAC products and services used in commercial and residential heating and cooling as well as cold storage. Emerson would retain a 45% stake.
McDonald’s Canada Testing RNG in its Supply Chain Fleet
Martin-Brower of Canada Co. (Martin Brower), a logistics service provider for restaurant chains around the world, reports that it is operating its first tractor for McDonald’s Canada food delivery services on 100 per cent Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) provided by FortisBC Energy Inc. (FortisBC). The first tractor is in operation, with an additional six scheduled to arrive later this year. The tractors are being tested in British Columbia to assess the feasibility of using them to deliver to McDonald’s Canada restaurants across Canada where possible.
“At McDonald’s Canada, we know making small changes to our supply chain can result in a big impact, which is why we’re working with our long-time distribution partner Martin Brower to help us use our scale for good,” said Rob Dick, Supply Chain Officer at McDonald’s Canada. “Globally, we’ve pledged to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050–a pledge that we are continuing to make progress towards here in Canada by investing in real and tangible changes like testing seven new Kenworth tractors powered by RNG provided by FortisBC.”
SunGas Renewables Announce Agreement with Arbor Renewable Gas
SunGas Renewables Inc., a global provider of gasification systems for low-carbon fuel production, today announced an agreement with Arbor Renewable Gas LLC for supply of its SunGas System 1000 technology and equipment package to Arbor Gas' Spindletop Renewable Gasoline Project located in Beaumont, Texas. SunGas is an outgrowth from GTI Energy, an organization advancing decarbonization through the economy-wide transformation of energy systems.
The cutting-edge Spindletop Project will utilize the System 1000 to convert sustainably sourced woody biomass into renewable synthesis gas for the production of approximately 345,000 barrels annually of renewable gasoline with a negative carbon intensity score. SunGas will supply Arbor Gas with the System 1000 design, equipment components, and services required to support the startup of the Spindletop Project in the second half of 2024.
EPA Funding Project to Cut Methane Emissions in Food, Brewery Industries
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday it will be granting Ohio University $195,736 to help expand the use of anaerobic digestion.
The funds will specifically go to the university’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service which is working on a project to expand the use of anaerobic digestion in the food and brewery sectors.
Biogas and Biomethane Could Bolster the Green Circular Economy
Biogas is produced by breaking down organic waste – agricultural, food, municipal or animal, including manure and sewage – through a process known as anaerobic digestion, while biomethane removes greenhouse gases via carbon capture. Digestate, the other by-product of anaerobic digestion, can also be used as fertiliser.
In mid-October Titan, a Netherlands-based independent supplier of low- and zero-carbon fuels, announced that it will build and operate the world’s largest biomethane liquefied natural gas export plant at the Port of Amsterdam, which is slated to come on-line in 2025. Titan will source the biogas from BioValue, one of the largest biogas producers in the Netherlands, which is constructing a new biogas production plant adjacent to Titan’s export facility.
Emerson Technologies Help SoCalGas Deliver Clean Energy for [H2] Innovation Experience
Emerson’s (NYSE: EMR) digital technologies, software and services to demonstrate the resiliency and reliability of its new [H2] Innovation Experience in Southern California. One of the first microgrid projects of its kind in the United States, the [H2] Innovation Experience is a technology demonstration that aims to show how carbon-free gas made from renewable electricity can be used in pure form or as a blend to fuel clean energy systems of the future.
The project features a nearly 2,000-square-foot home outfitted with solar panels, a power storage battery system, an electrolyzer to convert solar energy to renewable hydrogen, and a fuel cell to supply electricity. The hydrogen, produced at the site, will also be blended with utility-provided natural gas and used in the home’s heat pump HVAC unit, water heater, clothes dryer and stove.
Schools to Get $80 Million From New Energy Department Program
A new $80 million grant program from the Energy Department may soon help schools with infrastructure upgrades.
Starting in November, local education agencies, such as public schools and charter school boards, can apply to receive federal funds for energy improvements or renewable upgrades such as new ventilation systems, lighting or alternative vehicles for campuses, according to a Wednesday announcement from the department.
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