RNG NEWS
Colorado Springs Utilities Among Group Seeking Future Renewable Natural Gas Developers
Colorado Springs Utilities and three other utility companies operating in Colorado are seeking new sources of renewable natural gas as part of ongoing statewide efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Colorado Springs Utilities, Atmos Energy Corporation, Black Hills Energy and Xcel Energy-Colorado on Monday issued a joint request for information seeking future developers of renewable natural gas.
"This is the beginning of what's going to be a long-term project for all utilities in the state ... to provide renewable natural gas for our systems," Tom Henley, senior community program manager at Black Hills Energy, said by phone Monday.
Wood Mackenzie: North American RNG Market Could Expand Tenfold by 2050 To Reach 4 Bcf/d
According to a new report from Wood Mackenzie, the renewable natural gas (RNG) market saw tremendous growth in 2022, with 60 million ft3/d of new production capacity added.
According to the report, ‘North American renewable natural gas: state of the market’, the number of RNG projects has doubled in the last five years and 66 future projects were announced in 2022. In total, the North American market size sits at 385 million ft3/d, with states such as Texas (62 million ft3/d), California (33 million ft3/d) and Pennsylvania (33 million ft3/d), leading the way.
How Best To Incentivize Decarbonization? Use All-of-the-Above, Says RNG Coalition Exec
States that want to effectively adopt rules to encourage industry to reduce carbon emissions would fare well by adopting a holistic approach, according to an executive with the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas.
NGI’s Leticia Gonzales, Price and Markets Editor, recently shared a microphone with Dana Adams, the legislative policy manager for the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas, aka RNG Coalition.
Anaergia Selected to Design, Build and Operate Organic Waste-to-Renewable Energy Project in San Diego County
Anaergia today announced it has been selected as the Energy Recovery Contractor for a new system that will produce renewable power from wastewater sludge at the East County Advanced Water Purification (East County AWP) facility now under construction in Santee, California. Anaergia anticipates the Energy Recovery project will also eventually digest food waste along with the wastewater sludge. Anaergia is expected to design and build the waste-to-renewable energy facility and provide long-term operations and maintenance after commissioning.
The East County AWP facility is part of an Advanced Water Purification Program that is a partnership among Padre Dam Municipal Water District, the City of El Cajon, the County of San Diego, and Helix Water District. The Program is expected to produce up to 11.5 million gallons per day of new local drinking water, enough to supply about 50,000 households for a year.
Waste Management Launches $35 Million RNG Facility in Springdale
Texas-based Waste Management (WM) has opened a $35 million renewable natural gas (RNG) facility at the company’s sprawling Eco Vista landfill south of Arbor Acres Avenue in Springdale.
According to a WM news release, the landfill gas-to-energy facility beneficially utilizes the biogas generated when organic material decomposes in a landfill.
RNG is a term used to describe biogas that has been upgraded to replace fossil natural gas. Beginning with the permitting process, it took about two years to bring the RNG facility online at Evo Vista. The facility’s first day up and running was May 24.
OCI Global Bunkers World’s First Green Methanol-Powered Containership as Feeder Starts Maiden Voyage
Dutch producer and distributor of hydrogen-based products OCI Global has completed what has been described as ‘the world’s first green methanol bunkering operation’ at the Port of Ulsan, Korea.
The bunkering operation took place on Sunday, July 16, when OCI fueled A.P. Moller Maersk’s first green methanol-powered container ship with OCI HyFuels ISCC-certified green methanol.
The company said that the operation marks ‘a groundbreaking moment in the decarbonization of the shipping industry.’
Ukraine, Europe Back Biomethane — Shouldn’t We?
Ukraine expects biomethane to play a key role in reducing its reliance on natural gas imports in coming years, amid a broader wave of support for new renewable gas facilities across Europe. With energy security front of mind amid widespread geopolitical tension, policymakers across the globe would be wise to follow Ukraine’s lead.
Members of Ukrainian parliament recently announced that European Investment Bank funds will support construction of five new biomethane plants in 2023 and the same number in 2024, with new draft laws supporting more biogas capture and biomethane use also under consideration, in a press release issued in March. “Hopefully, this is just the beginning,” said Oleksandr Haydu, chairman of Ukraine’s Committee on Agrarian and Land. “Accordingly, we are ready to support our farmers in these initiatives [and] are working on draft laws.”
Black Hills Corp. Highlights Progress Toward a Cleaner Energy Future in Newly Released Sustainability Report
Black Hills today announced the release of its 2022 Sustainability Report highlighting the company’s environmental, social and governance achievements and its progress on major projects and climate goals.
“We are committed to creating a cleaner energy future that builds on our responsibility to provide the safe, reliable and cost-effective energy that improves our customers’ lives,” said Linn Evans, president and CEO of Black Hills Corp. “We have set challenging yet realistic goals for delivering cleaner energy and have a clear path to reduce our emissions while minimizing cost impacts to our customers.”
City of Pensacola Switches Vehicles to Renewable Natural Gas
The city of Pensacola, Florida, is taking steps to reduce carbon emissions by fueling city vehicles with renewable natural gas.
The city has 87 vehicles, including garbage and recycling trucks, that until now were powered by compressed natural gas. Pensacola Energy has an agreement with BP to use renewable natural gas at no extra cost.
Towards Biogas Policy
Biogas has acquired a new fillip in the wake of the Ukraine conflict in Europe. The latter wants to acquire independence from imported gas from Russia. Climate change targets have also influenced higher biogas targets in Europe and elsewhere.
Biogas is not something new; it started from China in the 1970s and spread all over the world later, initially for household use in rural areas. Its use is now spread over industrial, commercial and utilities uses.