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New Technology for Waste to Energy & New Reports support the Profitability of Clean Energy
Here’s an overview of key biogas news.
GOVERNMENT POLICIES & LAW
Colorado legislators take up proposal for renewable natural gas standard
Colorado would require natural gas utilities to integrate renewable energy under a far-reaching bill introduced in the state legislature. Senate Bill 20-150 would require Public Service Co. of Colorado, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, to use 5% renewable natural gas by 2025 and 15% within a decade. The proposal would also require the state’s Public Utilities Commission to develop renewable natural gas programs for smaller utilities and require municipal utilities to report emissions from natural gas. Renewable natural gas differs from conventional natural gas in that it is sourced from sites such as landfills and agriculture waste.
Read more on Energy News Network
COMPANIES & ORGANIZATIONS
Xebec to provide biogas upgrading plants, Biostream systems to US dairies
Xebec Adsorption Inc., a global provider of clean energy solutions is pleased to announce today that $27.0 million in orders were received from U.S dairy farmers for a total of six turnkey biogas upgrading plants and small-scale containerized Biostream systems to produce Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). Five of these contracts are from the conversion of a previously announced letter of intent signed on Dec. 5, 2019 that have turned into firm purchase orders and an additional project using our large-scale BGX Solutions.
Read more on Canadian Biomass Magazine
Hitachi Zosen Inova selected to deliver Newhurst Energy-from-Waste facility
Switzerland-headed waste-to-energy technology suppliers Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) has announced that it has been selected by a consortium of developers comprising of Covanta Holding Corporation, Biffa plc, and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) to deliver the 42 MWe Newhurst Energy-from-Waste facility in the United Kingdom (UK) under a turnkey Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract. Strategically located just off the M1 motorway in the East Midlands, the Newhurst EfW facility will treat up to 350 000 tonnes of non-recyclable municipal solid waste (MSW) annually, and, according to HZI, it will have one of the highest efficiency rates in the world.
Read more on Bioenergy International
Greenlane Renewables signs $7M supply contract with RNGC
Greenlane Renewables Inc. recently announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Greenlane Biogas North America Ltd., has signed a $7.0 million (U.S. $5.3 million) contract with Ligonier, Penn.,-based Renewable Natural Gas Company (RNGC). Greenlane will supply three biogas upgrading systems, which utilize Greenlane’s proprietary water wash technology, for landfill applications in the eastern United States. “We are delighted to have been selected by RNGC to provide the biogas upgrading systems for RNGC’s landfill projects where the resulting clean, low-carbon renewable natural gas will be injected into the natural gas pipeline,” said Brad Douville, president and CEO of Greenlane.
Read more on Canadian Biomass Magazine
Dominion pledges ‘net zero’ on carbon emissions by 2050
Dominion Energy on Tuesday announced it would seek to reduce its carbon emissions to “net zero” by 2050 nationwide, as lawmakers in Virginia consider calling for 100 percent renewable energy sales by 2045. The Richmond-based utility said that the goal, which also includes methane, would entail reducing emissions and offsetting the remainder with technologies that capture pollutants, tree planting and emissions trading programs. “Our mandate is to provide reliable and affordable energy — safely. We do that every day, all year long. But we recognize that we must also continue to be a leader in combating climate change,” said Dominion President and CEO Thomas Farrell II.
IrBEA – 2 ‘distinctly different’ scales of biogas production possible
The Irish Bioenergy Association (IrBEA) has outlined that there are two “distinctly different” systems that Ireland could chose to move forward in developing a nationwide infrastructure for biogas production. In a statement issued on Tuesday, February 2, the IrBEA’s CEO, Sean Finan, outlined: “When IrBEA talks about an Irish biogas industry, we always distinguish between the distinctly different scales that can be developed in Ireland. “The feedstock and farmer involvement is distinctly different for the two possible scales of industry.”
RESEARCHES & STUDIES
National Study Supports NW Natural’s Renewable Plans
Northwest Natural Gas Company, dba NW Natural, a wholly owned subsidiary of Northwest Natural Holding Company (NYSE: NWN), has co-sponsored a first-of-its-kind national study that shows the immense availability of renewable natural gas and its potential to drastically curb greenhouse gas emissions in the fight against climate change. Renewable natural gas has similar climate benefits to wind and solar energy and is produced from local organic materials like food, agricultural and forestry waste, wastewater, and landfills. With advancements in conditioning equipment, now the gasses from these waste streams can be cleaned up and put into NW Natural’s existing pipeline network – one of the tightest, most modern in the U.S. – to serve homes and businesses.
Read more on NW Natural Holdings
Model Shows Users How to Make On-Farm Sustainable Energy Projects More Profitable
Researchers have developed a model that could boost investment in farm-based sustainable energy projects by allowing investors to more accurately predict whether a project will turn a profit. The model improves on earlier efforts by using advanced computational techniques to address uncertainty. “Converting animal waste into electricity can be profitable for farmers while also producing environmental benefits, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” says Mahmoud Sharara, lead author of a paper on the work and an assistant professor of biological and agricultural engineering at North Carolina State University.
Read more on NC State University News
The future of waste-to-energy technology
We produce over 2 billion tons of waste per year, a number that’s expected to grow by 70% by 2050. We’ve long sought ways to turn all this waste into energy, but this has usually meant incineration – that is, burning our trash – a method that many environmentalists say is far too polluting. A better solution may lie in gasification, an old technology that advocates are trying to repurpose as a way to deal with our waste. Gasification companies don’t burn trash, instead they turn into a synthetic gas, in a process they say is both economical and eco-friendly.
Clean Energy Bill Could Bring 13,000 New Jobs Per Year to Commonwealth
A key Virginia state legislature committee has advanced a climate bill that proponents are calling the most ambitious clean energy policy in Virginia’s history. The Virginia Clean Economy Act (CEA) would eliminate state power plant carbon pollution by 2050, codifying Gov. Ralph Northam’s pledge to transition the Commonwealth to a 100% clean energy economy. The bill’s progress represents a monumental shift on climate and energy policy for the House of Delegates, which had been controlled by Republicans since 2000 until Democrats won back the majority in the 2019 General Assembly elections.
Read more on Vadogwood