RNG NEWS
Sonoco Partners with GreenGasUSA to Reduce Emissions and Provide Renewable Energy
Sonoco has upgraded its Hartsville wastewater treatment site to significantly reduce carbon emissions. The company began treating wastewater from its paper operations in the 1950’s and in 1987, an anaerobic lagoon was added to improve the system’s efficiency. Anaerobic wastewater treatment is a highly efficient treatment process that uses less energy and produces less sludge than conventional aerobic treatment. The organic matter in the wastewater is converted to carbon dioxide and methane. In addition to the anaerobic treatment, a cover on the lagoon had been capturing the gases and routing them to a flare for destruction.
In partnership with renewable natural gas developer GreenGasUSA, new biogas equipment now converts any gaseous methane to pipeline quality renewable natural gas for use in homes and businesses using the existing interstate pipeline system. It’s expected to reduce Sonoco’s greenhouse gas emissions by 8,000 metric tons per year and provide renewable energy to South Carolina.
An Arizona Dairy Farm is Turning Cow Manure into Renewable Natural Gas
It all starts here - with 25,000 dairy cows at Butterfield Dairy Farm in Buckeye.
"Me and my three sons built this dairy, there was no contractor here, they did it all," said owner Thomas De Jong.
The De Jong family bought land in Buckeye in 2003. They finished their first dairy in 2008 and their second in 2018, but the owner says his family has been in the dairy business since 1620.
County Looks at Gas Generation and Steps up Recycling Program
The New Hanover County landfill might be getting ready to step on the gas.
At their meeting Monday, the county commissioners are expected to consider entering into a contract with Archaea Energy to develop a landfill gas-to-renewable natural gas facility. The project has been in the works for several years, according to Joe Suleyman, the director of New Hanover’s Recycling and Solid Waste Department.
EPA Approves California Phasing out Diesel Trucks, Replacing them with Electric Vehicles
The Environmental Protection Agency formally approved California rules on Friday to phase out diesel-burning trucks, a move experts say will kick off the transition to electric trucks in several other key states.
California needed a waiver from the federal agency to enforce its clean truck rules, which have already been approved by state regulators, because they are significantly more ambitious than EPA requirements.
How Dairy Farmers Are Turning Manure Into Money
The Connecticut River cuts between the Green Mountains of Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire and rushes into the heart of Massachusetts, where Denise Barstow Manz stands in the wind, surveying the land her family has farmed for 217 years.
“We have some of the best soil in the entire world,” says Barstow Manz. “It’s called Hadley silt loam.” She explains how the rich Connecticut River flood plain that’s wedged between the river and the Mount Holyoke mountain range behind her nourished tobacco, asparagus, broom corn and squash for her 1800s ancestors, and how it now grows hay and corn for the current farm’s 600 dairy cows.
Cowboy Clean Fuels Completes Series A Financing to Advance Renewable Natural Gas Commercialization Plan
Cowboy Clean Fuels on March 28 announced the closing of a $7.5 million Series A financing led by Machan Investments and advised by Syren Capital.
The capital will be used to clear regulatory pathway objectives, provide initial engineering design and prepare for the Company’s initial commercial-scale project launch in the Powder River Basin (“PRB”) of Wyoming.
NW Natural Tracking to Meet Initial Oregon RNG Goal
NW Natural's just-released request for proposals for renewable natural gas could attract enough RNG to clear the first hurdle in Oregon's decarbonization goals for natural gas utilities.
In 2019, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 98, which sets voluntary goals for adding 30% RNG into the state's gas pipeline system by 2050. NW Natural targets using RNG to meet 5% of annual sales by 2024, increasing to 10% in 2025-2029, 15% in 2030-2034, 20% in 2035-2039, 25% in 2040-2044 and 30% in 2045-2050.
NW Natural currently has enough RNG deals in place to meet 3% of its annual sales, but that figure could rise in the near future.
RNG Framed as ‘Low Risk’ Option to Slash Truck Emissions
The journey to zero emissions has begun, but a global fuel system producer believes that several energy sources — including renewable natural gas (RNG) — will be needed to reach the goal.
“There is not one solution that can replace diesel,” Hexagon Composites CEO Jon Erik Engeset said in a March 23 press conference. “We firmly believe there’s got to be a mix, depending on the geography, depending on availability, depending on the application of the trucks.”
The need for such options becomes increasingly important against a backdrop of ever-tighter emissions standards and the limited ranges of emerging battery-electric options. Ninety-seven percent of heavy trucks continue to be powered by diesel, and in Europe the share even increased by half a percentage point from 2021 to 2022.
Montauk Renewables, Inc. Announces Planned Entrance Into South Carolina With A New RNG Project in South Carolina
Montauk Renewables announces its planned entrance into South Carolina with the development of a new landfill gas-to-RNG facility located in South Carolina.
The planned project is expected to contribute approximately 900 MMBtu/d production capacity upon commissioning. The Project is expected to be completed mid-2024.
“Montauk is excited to announce its entrance into South Carolina and the development of our newest RNG site,” said Sean McClain, Montauk Renewables President and CEO. “This new project in South Carolina demonstrates the continued execution of Montauk’s diversified development growth strategy, as it continues to select and win projects in an increasingly dynamic industry.”
Viridi Launching Wisconsin RNG Project for Transportation Fuel
Private equity-backed Viridi Energy has begun building a landfill renewable natural gas (RNG) project in Ringle, WI, in partnership with the Marathon County Solid Waste Department.
Viridi, sponsored by Warburg Pincus and Green Rock Energy Partners, plans to produce RNG equal to more than three million gallons/year of gasoline, it noted.
“As the transition away from fossil fuels accelerates, our Marathon County project showcases how waste-to-energy projects can be a win-win-win,” Viridi CEO Dan Crouse said. “We are reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the county’s landfill, converting that landfill gas into clean RNG, and replacing the need for fossil fuel-derived natural gas in the process.”