RNG NEWS
Washington State Renewable Natural Gas Project Moving Forward
The proposed Sunnyside Renewable Natural Gas facility has completed the Washington State Environmental Policy Act process, a comprehensive environmental assessment which includes input from relevant regulators and stakeholders including the Washington State Department of Ecology, City of Sunnyside and the local community. Based on the favorable conclusion of this process, Pacific Ag Renewables is moving the project forward.
Located on approximately 50 acres in the Port of Sunnyside Industrial Park, Sunnyside RNG will produce approximately 900,000 MMBtu of RNG per year, enough to power roughly 90,000 homes. Agricultural crop waste and dairy manure from local farmers will be collected and safely transported to the facility. There, the manure will be fed into a series of anaerobic digesters to capture methane that will be conditioned and upgraded prior to being injected into the interstate natural gas pipeline. Additionally, a byproduct of the process is an organic fertilizer that can replace the use of synthetic, petroleum-based fertilizers in the region.
cCarbon: RNG Poised for $4 Billion Market in North America by 2030
The North American renewable natural gas market is on the verge of substantial growth, projected to surge from $1.5 billion in 2022 to $4.0 billion by 2030, boasting an impressive CAGR of 13.04%. This growth trajectory is driven by increasingly stringent emissions standards and several government regulations mandating the uptake of clean fuels.
Ohio Firm Advances Plans for Nearly $70 Million Facility in San Antonio
A green energy company based in Blue Ash, Ohio, is advancing plans to build a nearly $70 million renewable natural gas facility in San Antonio, Texas.
Synthica Energy, a renewable fuels and energy company that designs, builds, owns and operates large-scale, contracted anaerobic digestion facilities, has purchased a $2.5 million property on San Antonio's East Side, says co-founder and CEO Sam Schutte. Over the next several months, Synthica will invest nearly $70 million in turning that site into a facility that diverts pre-consumer food and industrial organic waste from landfills, converting it into renewable natural gas.
Enchanted Rock Receives Grant from CEC To Create Engine Helping Meet US Carbon Neutral Goals
Enchanted Rock today announced that the company has received a $2.1 million grant through the Hydrogen Blending and Lower Oxides of Nitrogen Emissions in Gas-Fired Generation program administered by the California Energy Commission. Under this grant, Enchanted Rock and the University of California Riverside (UCR) will develop and advance technologies that can significantly reduce greenhouse gas and other emissions in natural gas generators, helping California meet its renewable energy and zero carbon resource goals, while ensuring electric reliability and affordability.
"This is an exciting opportunity to further advance the potential use of hydrogen fuel blends for commercialization and market adoption," said Thomas McAndrew, founder and CEO of Enchanted Rock. "We believe in using the cleanest fuel available without compromising on reliability or performance for our customers and are dedicated to helping California, and the nation, achieve its climate and energy goals."
RNG Industry Expects Voluntary Agreements, New Credits To Spur Growth in 2024
The renewable natural gas industry expects 2024 to be an even bigger year for project starts and dealmaking, building on several market-defining events in 2023.
Last year, regulators and the private sector alike set the table for the industry’s growth over the next few years. The U.S. EPA finalized biogas production targets for multiple years of the Renewable Fuel Standard for the first time, and Vanguard Renewables struck the largest open market deal yet for RNG with AstraZeneca.
USDA Awards REAP, FPEP Funds to Biogas, Bioenergy Projects
The USDA on Jan. 22 announced it is investing $207 million in 682 renewable energy and domestic fertilizer projects through the Rural Energy for American Program and Fertilizer Production Expansion Program. Nearly 30 of the funded projects focus on biogas and bioenergy.
The awards include $157 million in REAP grants and loan guarantees that were awarded to 675 projects in 42 states and $50 million in FPEP investments that will be shared by seven projects in seven states. The projects selected for funding include various anaerobic digestion projects to produce renewable natural gas (RNG), along with projects focused on biogas-fueled combined-heat-and-power (CHP), anaerobic digestion for fertilizer production, and poultry litter.
Verbio Plans Expansion After Facility Annexation Into Nevada, Iowa
Seventy-four acres south of Verbio's renewable natural gas facility at 59219 Lincoln Highway in the town of Nevada, Iowa, will soon have access to several vital city resources, including water, electricity, and emergency services.
Verbio, located outside of Nevada, is the first industrial-scale renewable natural gas facility in North America using agricultural residues as its feedstock, according to the company's website.
Enbridge, FortisBC Eye Using BC Gas Pipes for Hydrogen
Enbridge Inc. and FortisBC Energy Inc. are funding a study aiming to examine how hydrogen can be delivered safely and reliably using the existing gas pipeline infrastructure of British Columbia.
Targeting to help develop a low carbon energy economy in the province, the study will look at the percentage of hydrogen that can be transported safely through gas pipeline infrastructure, such as Enbridge's Westcoast natural gas transmission system, as well as FortisBC's gas transmission and distribution systems. The study also has contributions from the British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, Enbridge said in a news release Wednesday.
Will California Reach its Pending Organics Diversion Goals?
California still has a way to go to reach goals outlined under SB 1383, confers Dylan Chase, RNG Coalition public relations manager.
"That said, progress is rarely a straight line. Several of our members have planned digester projects in California that the state is hopefully doing everything in its power to support. We cannot let doubt constrain our reach," Chase says.
Court Approves Vermont Gas Contract for Out-of-State LFG
A January 12 court decision will allow Vermont Gas Systems to enter into a 14.5-year contract to purchase methane produced at the Seneca Meadows Landfill in upstate New York.
According to Vermont Gas, New York’s largest gas utility, the contract will help it reduce carbon emissions from the gas it sells by increasing its use of renewable natural gas (RNG).