Here’s an overview of key biogas news.
An action plan which aims to reduce the amount of food waste in Devon has been endorsed by the county council’s ruling Cabinet. It follows a Food Waste Spotlight Review, commissioned by Devon County Council’s Corporate, Infrastructure and Regulatory Services Scrutiny Committee earlier this year. Representatives from food charities, councils and anaerobic digestion plants attended the review to discuss why food is wasted, how to reduce it and ways to improve its collection. Almost a third of all food purchased in Devon is thrown away, either by residents or businesses, every year.
A new 70,000 tonne-per-year capacity anaerobic digestion facility will open in Tyne and Wear, UK in February 2020. The plant, which was developed by Wardley Biogas, will generate enough heat for 1,950 homes using food sourced from commercial properties across Newcastle upon Tyne, Durham and Sunderland. The AD plant is the result of a joint venture between waste management company GAP Organics and renewable energy funding provider Privilege Finance. According to a report by letsrecycle.com, in September, an agreement was formed with Keenan Recycling to source the food waste.
Gasum has announced that, on 13 December, it opened its first gas filling station in Skåne, Kristianstad, Sweden. The station serves heavy-duty vehicles, offering both LBG and LNG as low-emission fuels. It is the company’s eighth station in Sweden. In addition to expanding the gas filling station network, Gasum claims that it is also focusing on biogas capacity increase. The company is building a biogas plant at Stora Enso’s Nymölla pulp and paper mill. Mikael Antonsson, Director, Traffic, Gasum Sweden, said: “With the opening of Kristianstad’s gas filling station, we are strengthening the gas filling station infrastructure in southern Sweden.
With its participation in Quebec’s first agricultural cooperative entirely dedicated to the production of renewable natural gas, La Coop fédérée is committed to one of the most innovative projects in terms of sustainable development while also supporting the prosperity of agricultural entrepreneurs. “La Coop fédérée is proud to be associated with the Coop Agri-Énergie Warwick and Coop Carbone project, which was created thanks to the participation of many partners. This project highlights La Coop fédérée’s desire to develop a healthy and sustainable environment for future generations,” said La Coop fédérée president, Ghislain Gervais.
At EuroTier China 2019, Martin Grepmeier, CEO of Awite, spoke with Far Eastern Agriculture about the company’s extensive range of applications from the agricultural biogas plant to industrial waste fermentation processes. “Our products and services are in the range of biogas and biogas applications. For biogas applications, we offer analysers for controlling the biogas quality and composition, which is used to control the entire process. The comprehensive process control that is based on our gas analysis systems AwiECO and AwiFLEX aim to ensure smooth operation and economic efficiency of the plant,” Grepmeier explained.
Read more on Far Eastern Agriculture
Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) Chief Executive Charlotte Morton has congratulated Prime Minister Boris Johnson on his General Election victory while also asking, again, for the government to support the UK anaerobic digestion industry. Ms Morton emphasised her pre-election call for the new Government to unlock the AD industry’s potential to address the climate emergency and help achieve the UK’s Net Zero emissions by 2050 target. The AD industry can play a significant role in the development of a low carbon circular economy, creating both thousands of jobs and export opportunities for the UK in the coming decade.
Read more on Renewable Energy Magazine
The company said 15 Carnival Corporation ships are testing food waste biodigester machines that separate plastics from food waste. Carnival Corporation announced it is piloting food waste biodigester technology to improve environmental compliance and the food waste disposal process on board its ships. The company plans to expand the program across its fleet in the near future. According to Carnival, the new innovation provides a number of benefits, including Separating the small pieces of plastics and other debris that can occasionally find its way into food waste for sustained environmental compliance. Providing more efficient and centralized onsite food waste operations.
Continuing its leadership on corporate sustainability and reducing emissions, New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) today announced it has completely offset its facility and fleet use of natural gas with renewable energy. By purchasing Renewable Natural Gas Attributes (RNGAs), renewable energy credits generated from the production of Renewable Natural Gas (RNG), all emissions from natural gas use at its facilities and from the use of its Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fleet vehicles are being offset. The volume of emissions offset through the purchase is the equivalent of supplying the natural gas needs of more than 400 homes for an entire year.
In clean energy circles, 2019 may be remembered as the “Year of 100 Percent.” Five states plus Puerto Rico passed laws in 2019 targeting 100% clean energy, while dozens of corporations and utilities made voluntary pledges. Amid federal inaction despite increasingly visible climate impacts and overwhelming scientific consensus, clean energy’s current hold on the public imagination is undeniably a bright spot. Renewables, primarily wind and solar, are the clean resource of choice. Mitigating climate damage will require massive investments in renewables, not just to reduce fossil generation but also to power electrified vehicles, buildings and industries.
Enchant Energy hopes to team up with New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and San Juan College to study possible storage wells for carbon dioxide in the state and in San Juan County, according to Chief Operating Officer Peter Mandelstam. This was one of the announcements Mandelstam made while updating the San Juan County Commission and the Farmington City Council about the progress Enchant Energy has made toward the end goal of keeping the San Juan Generating Station open after 2022 through a carbon capture retrofit. Mandelstam spoke to the two governing bodies during separate meetings on Dec. 17.