Here’s an overview of key biogas news.
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced over $79 million in funding for bioenergy research and development including biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower. This funding supports DOE’s goal of providing consumers and businesses with a range of domestic energy options that are affordable, reliable, and secure. “At DOE, we are focused on expanding America’s energy supply, growing the economy, and enhancing energy security, which will all be furthered by the significant advancements made in bioenergy technologies,” said Under Secretary of Energy Mark W. Menezes. “The funding opportunities announced today will help ensure our nation’s competitive advantage in the emerging bioeconomy and allow us to continue to offer U.S. consumers and businesses more homegrown energy choices.”
Read more on the Website of US Department of Energy
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt earlier this month signed a bill to spur more development of natural gas vehicle (NGV) fueling stations and related infrastructure. House Bill 2095 extends a tax credit for either converting diesel or gasoline-powered vehicles to run on compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). It also offers a tax credit for buying vehicles equipped to operate on those alternative fuels. The measure extends the state tax credits from Jan. 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2027, capping the collective annual amount of credits at $20 million. NGVAmerica President Dan Gage said Oklahoma’s 2019 Clean Transportation Reform and Modernization Act will “ensure that Oklahoma will consistently lead the country in supporting NGVs as the best path to build demand for the state’s produced product.
Read more on Natural Gas Intel
A new food waste plan unveiled by the Scottish government and Zero Waste Scotland may encourage farmers and landowners in Scotland to invest in anaerobic digestion (AD) facilities. The Food Waste Reduction Plan (FWRAP) includes measures to ensure that homes with access to food recycling facilities in Scotland are using them, which presents an opportunity for the construction of more AD plants. “It’s great to see the Scottish government set such a clear action plan, with tangible changes on the horizon,” said Chris Negus, business development manager at Privilege Finance. “It presents a great opportunity for farmers, landowners and businesses to get involved with AD, to help decarbonise the Scottish economy, while also reducing the environmental impact of food waste.”
Dane County, Wis., recently celebrated the completion of its landfill biogas project. The county’s facility is now able to turn trash and cow manure into renewable natural gas (RNG) and inject it into the interstate transmission pipeline. It can then be bought and sold for powering fleets of natural gas vehicles. Dane County’s facility also has a biogas offloading station to allow other biogas producers, such as manure digesters, to inject their gas into the pipeline. “It’s exciting to have this first-of-its-kind project reach the finish line so our area can begin to reap the financial and environmental benefits of the renewable fuel our landfill now generates,” says Dane County Executive Joe Parisi.
U.S. Gain, a leader in development, procurement and distribution of sustainable energy solutions, announces the completion of its sixth renewable natural gas (RNG) landfill development project located in Church Hill, Tennessee. Methane gas from Carter Valley Landfill, which is owned by Republic Services, Inc.—an industry leader in U.S. recycling and non-hazardous solid waste disposal—is being captured and cleaned, and then converted to RNG for the transportation sector. Collaborative efforts from Tennessee Renewable Group (TRG), a leading developer and marketer of renewable natural gas production; Toro Energy, another leader in renewable gas-to-energy development; and U.S. Gain enabled the success of this project.
It is four years since Enora, a company formed by ENGIE Electrabel, G&V Energy Group and the Picardy Wallonia Inter-Communal Development Agency (Ideta), inaugurated the first CNG service station in Wallonia, in the city of Tournai, home of Belgium’s heritage-listed Notre Dame Cathedral (12th century). Today, Wallonia has twenty five Compressed Natural Gas filling stations and more are planned as part of a rapidly expanding nation-wide network. DATS 24, Total (via its subsidiary PitPoint) and gas.be have met to take stock and discuss prospects for ongoing development. The key actors of the sector met in Tournai in the presence of the Walloon Minister of Energy Jean-Luc Crucke to celebrate the journey and to reiterate their goal to convince citizens and businesses to move towards cleaner and less expensive mobility.
Developed countries continue to consume huge amounts of energy while demand is increasing in developing countries. The smart cities that we strive to build require a massive power supply. The significant rise in energy consumption raises concern over the sustainability of the current energy sources most of which are non-renewable. Solutions that enable us to switch from non-renewable to clean and renewable energy have become so crucial for the world. As a leading provider of technology solutions for green energy, DMT Clear Gas Solutions is well positioned to help organizations that are increasingly interested in building a sustainable future.
Read more on The Technology Headlines
As the largest biogas producer in the Nordics, Gasum aims to strengthen the availability of biogas ther. Under the transaction completed on 17 May, Gasum has acquired the Mäkikylä biogas plant from water company Kouvolan Vesi Oy. The transaction will allow investments to significantly grow production capacity at the plant. Biogas production must increase in order to meet the ambitious traffic emissions reduction targets looking ahead. Under the agreement signed between Gasum and Kouvolan Vesi, the Mäkikylä biogas plant and its business, including contracts, will transfer to Gasum on 17 June 2019.
Canada’s natural gas vehicle market has been relatively slow to develop but that may be about to change. Canada is well endowed with 300 years of natural gas reserves and is the home of leading NGV technology and dedicated NGV proponents. A new Natural Gas Solutions document from Canadian Gas Association and advocacy and leadership from the Canadian Natural Gas Vehicle Alliance are raising awareness of natural gas as a potential major contributor to the nation’s environmental objectives. Canada is the world’s fifth-largest producer of natural gas. However, as stated by Forbes, “In this booming age of natural gas, high-resourced Canada has seen flat production and demand over the past decade”.
NGVA Europe reports that this month, a milestone for sustainable transport in and for Europe was reached: the 200th LNG fuelling station was opened. These stations provide fuel for the over 6,000 LNG trucks now running in Europe driving a low-carbon emissions transport system that natural and renewable gas offer. NGVA Europe has marked the occasion by updating its natural gas filling stations map. This growth of LNG fuelling stations is accompanied by a dramatic increase of CNG stations to 3,630 (in Europe + EFTA), a number that is increasing daily. Also, there are more and more fuelling stations, providing 100% biomethane for European costumers.