A New Era for Biogas and RNG in Oregon and Washington

October 24 | 9 am to 3 pm | Portland, Oregon |  click here
October 26 | 9 am to 3 pm | SeaTac, Washington | click here

Much has changed in policy, markets, and finance to make biogas/renewable natural gas projects attractive to developers and investors. Spend the day with WSU, industry, and public sector experts to discover where the opportunities are found and how to take advantage of new funding opportunities. To register for October 24, click here, and for October 26, click here.


RNG – From Farm to Fuel

When:             Thursday, November 10, 2022, from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Where:            Comfort Inn and Suites, 3703 Plaza Way, Kennewick, Washington 99338, 509.579.0897

This event is free for Northwest food processors, Northwest fleets, and NW Alliance members. To register, please visit: https://www.nwga.org/events/rng-from-food-to-fuel/

Agenda 

RNG 101
RNG From the Utilities’ Perspective
RNG Case Studies for Food Processors
Gas Conditioning
Lunch and Luncheon Presentation – Engine Technology & Vehicle Availablity
CNG Fleet Presentation
Station Design, Financing, and RNG Supply Financial & Environmental Benefits of Transitioning to RNG

The NW Alliance for Clean Transportation, Cummins Engines, Intermountain Gas, and the Idaho Trucking Association take this opportunity to invite you to a lunchtime conversation regarding the benefits of using Conventional or Renewable Natural Gas (CNG/RNG) as a transportation fuel. They are hosting two events in Idaho; September 28 in Boise and September 29 in Jerome.

RNG offers trucking companies, including waste and ag haulers, an opportunity to:

  • Run heavy at 129,000 pounds without materially compromising range.
  • Turn waste into fuel.
  • Cut their transportation fuel bill by as much as 90%.
  • Decarbonize their fleet and meet sustainability goals.

Over lunch at Intermountain Gas’ offices in Boise and Jerome, we’ll cover the following topics:

  • What is Conventional and Renewable Natural Gas (CNG/RNG)?
  • How does natural gas engine technology work?
  • How does natural gas fueling work?
  • What financial, operational, and environmental benefits are associated with using CNG and RNG as fuel?

These events will take place at from 11:00 a.m.– 2:00 p.m. Please register by location below.

  1. September 28 – Intermountain Gas Company (IGC) headquarters Boise on September 28, click here.
    The address is 555 S Cole Road, Boise,  83709.
  2. September 29 – IGC’s Jerome office on September 29, click here.
    The address is 451 Alan Drive, JEROME, 83338.

If you should have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Alex Schay, Membership Services, NW Alliance for Clean Transportation, O –  (503) 460-9502, M – (971) 221-8479, aschay@nwalliance.net

These presentations are from the RFS 2022 held on April 26th.

Ameresco Presentation – RFS 2022

Cherriots Presentation – April 2022[84]

Cummins Destination Zero – NW Alliance RFS 2022

Ingevity ANG RFS Symposium April 2022 Final

National Ready Mix Presentation – April, 2022

Cummins Natural Gas Engines – NW Alliance RFS 2022

Trillium and US Gain – NW Alliance RFS

 

The Symposium is one week away! Are you joining us on April 26 in Portland, Oregon?

Here are the details, and the schedule can be downloaded.

WHAT: Renewable Fuels Symposium 2022

WHERE: Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel

WHEN: April 26 from 8:30 AM to 6 PM

Continental breakfast, breaks, and lunch are provided. Join us after for a happy hour reception.

REGISTER: https://www.nwga.org/events/renewable-fuels-symposium-2022/ 

LODGING:  To make reservations for the night of April 25, please click here to make a reservation in our room block before April 22 at 5 p.m. The rate is $148 plus taxes.

INGEVITY hosts a cocktail reception on Monday, April 25, starting at 5 p.m. in the Garden Foyer at the Portland Sheraton Airport Hotel. If you plan to attend this reception, click here to RSVP.

Thank you to the RFS 2022sponsors:

                            

About this event

On November 30, the NW Alliance for Clean Transportation, the Renewable Hydrogen Alliance, and BYD will co-host a webinar designed to help participants understand when it will make sense for their fleet to convert to Renewable Natural Gas (RNG), hydrogen fuel cell technology, or battery-electric technology.

Each of these technologies has its own merits and its own space within the low-carbon, alternative transportation fuel sector. Importantly, we will invite fleet managers to describe challenges faced, and benefits derived, from their respective fuel switches. These fleet managers will also be on hand to answer technical and maintenance-related questions.

To register, click here.

Speakers

Alex Schay began working with the Northwest Gas Association, in 2018, where he helped launch the NW Alliance for Clean Transportation (NW Alliance). In this capacity, Alex designed & built a multi-faceted calculator that enables fleet managers to quickly evaluate financial and environmental benefits associated with converting fleets from Diesel or gasoline to CNG or RNG. At present, Alex is helping six Northwest fleets (4 transit fleets, and 2 trucking fleets) assess opportunities to transition to CNG/RNG.

Alex has a Masters in International Management from The Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona, and he is a regular speaker regarding renewable-energy and GHG-reduction issues at regional conferences and workshops.

Alex may be reached at: (503) 460-9502, or aschay@nwalliance.net. Alternatively, please feel free to visit him online at: www.carbonsolutionsnorthwest.com.

Vincent Pellecchia is Strategic Account Manager for BYD North America, where he leads business development for priority accounts in both intermodal logistics and transit. On the truck side, Vincent leads efforts with rail and marine terminal operators as well as the drayage companies serving the terminals. On the bus side, Vincent is in charge of advancing LA Metro’s fleet electrification plan. More broadly, he supports government relations at BYD. Prior to joining BYD, Vincent worked as the Associate Director and General Counsel for New York-regional transit and urban planning nonprofit was a bankruptcy and commercial litigation attorney in private practice and spent time studying and consulting in Beijing, China. Vincent holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from Manhattan College and a Juris Doctor degree from The George Washington University Law School, where he was a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association Quarterly Journal. Vincent is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey and is proficient in Mandarin Chinese. Contact Vincent at BYD North America, (213) 359-8065, and email: vincent.pellecchia@byd.com.

Roxana Bekemohammadi

Roxana brings unique experience with her as the Executive Director of the Western States Hydrogen Alliance. Roxana received her graduate degree from the National Fuel Cell Research Center and a bachelor’s of science in Chemical Engineering from UCLA. Roxana worked as a graduate researcher on the world’s first demonstration of tri-generation of hydrogen, electricity, and heat from a stationary fuel cell. Roxana then went on to serve as a hydrogen expert at the California Air Resources Board. After leaving the government sector, Roxana advocated for climate resilience, energy efficiency, economic equity, workforce development, and, of course, hydrogen. Her expertise, gained through legislative, state agency and laboratory experience afford her a complete, conception-to-implementation understanding of environmental, energy and transportation related issues.

The NW Alliance for Clean Transportation is proud to announce the First Annual Renewable Fuels Symposium! RFS 2022 is a place for fleets and NW Alliance members to come together and learn more about the financial, operational, and environmental benefits of natural gas vehicles and renewable natural gas. The event, which will be held in the Spring of 2022 in Portland, Oregon, will include discussions around:

  • The financial and environmental benefits of CNG and RNG for transportation fleets.
  • Fuel purchase agreements, fueling station financing & operation.
  • Vehicle/engine selection and reliability.
  • Case study: RNG adopters.

The event will also include a tour of the Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant, where RNG is being produced. Lunch will be provided, and the event will include a hosted happy hour from 4:45 to 6 PM.

WHAT: Renewable Fuels Symposium 2021
WHERE: Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel – Mt. Adams Room
WHEN: Spring 2022
REGISTER: Open 2022

Thank you to the RFS 2022 sponsors:

       

Up and down the I-5 Corridor, transit agencies (TAs) large and small are evaluating alternatives to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) and criteria pollutant emissions of their fleets. For a variety of reasons, many TAs are coming to the realization that they should not rely entirely on any single alternative fuel as they seek to scrub their emission profiles.

Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) and Renewable Hydrogen (RH2) can achieve meaningful GHG reductions. The April 16th edition of the American Biogas Council’s regular newsletter notes that 53% of natural gas used as a transportation fuel in the United States is RNG.

The same newsletter notes that the California Air Resource Board has calculated a Carbon Intensity (CI) Score for RNG used as a transportation fuel in California as -17.95 grams of carbon dioxide equivalence per megajoule. In other words, using RNG as a transportation fuel in California doesn’t just reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), it has the net effect of removing them from the atmosphere!

When variable renewable energy resources like wind and solar energy are used to create RH2, we benefit from a transportation fuel that offers 100% GHG reductions. Better yet, RH2 can be stored over the long term, unlike the renewable electricity used to produce it. In other words, we can take that unneeded megawatt-hour produced in May and store it as RH2 for use in December!

The infrastructure already exists. Both RH2 and RNG utilize the same safe, reliable and extensive underground system that delivers and stores natural gas throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Finally, battery-electric technology offers an attractive solution with zero tailpipe emissions in select applications. Recent unplanned power outages in Texas, California, and Oregon, however, have highlighted that electricity may not always be available when needed, particularly during extended extreme weather events.

For these and other reasons, transit agencies should evaluate RNG and RH2 as part of a portfolio of clean fuels powering the transit futures of their communities.

To learn more about the benefits of using RNG as transportation fuel, please click here.

In North America, we rely on natural gas to provide the majority of our space and process heat. It is also safe to assert that, in most cases, the next MegaWatt hour will be generated through the combustion of natural gas. For example, 80% of the heat used for food processing is derived from natural gas.

In order to make meaningful progress toward addressing climate change, gas utilities are taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint of their fuel mix. Gas utilities have five tools that will enable them to reduce the carbon intensity of their fuel, including:

  • Energy efficiency;
  • Reduce gas flaring and fugitive methane emissions;
  • Tighten up pipeline infrastructure to minimize methane leakage;
  • Surplus renewable electricity may be used to convert water into Renewable Hydrogen (RH2); and,
  • Decomposition of organic waste may be used to produce Renewable Natural Gas (RNG), e.g.: at landfills, at commercial & municipal wastewater treatment plants, as well as on dairies and confined animal feeding operations.

What is Renewable Natural Gas?

Both Conventional Natural Gas and Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) contain an identical CH4 molecule. RNG is a green fuel that comes from waste material, such as garbage, human waste, and animal manure. As such, RNG uses waste streams that are part of the current lifecycle to create a useful product that burns cleanly and significantly reduces Greenhouse Gas emissions as compared with gasoline or Diesel.

 

GHG reductions accrue when using CNG and RNG as opposed to gasoline or Diesel
Conventional (fossil) Natural Gas (CNG) 5% – 15%
Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) sourced from a landfill 40% – 50%
RNG sourced from a municipal wastewater treatment plant 75% – 85%
RNG generated from animal manure Ø  > than 100%

Food processing plants may offer a special opportunity for the production of RNG. Many food-processing facilities have their own wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Often times, gas generated at commercial WWTPs is captured in covered lagoons and then sent to a flare. These types of waste-management scenarios offer significant opportunities to improve gas collection, production, and utilization.

Because the Federal Renewable Fuel Standard classifies biogas generated at food-processing facilities as an “Advanced Biofuel”, RNG generated at such projects will only earn D5 Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) when used as a transportation fuel. More valuable D3 RINs, however, are generated at landfills, municipal WWTPs, as well as from animal manure. As such, RNG from food-processing facilities will not deliver as much economic benefit as RNG from landfills or municipal WWTPs when used as a transportation fuel.

To that end, RNG produced at food-processing plants may offer a cost-competitive resource that gas utilities may use to reduce the carbon footprint of their fuel mix. For example, a recent analysis of anthropogenic GHG emissions associated with RNG that will be produced at a dairy-processing plant in Washington State revealed that this fuel will have a carbon footprint that is more than 95% lower than conventional natural gas. In this way, food processors may help gas utilities reduce the carbon intensity of their fuel mix in a cost-effective manner.

At present, 32% of US energy consumption is fueled by natural gas. Unlike electricity, which must be used immediately or lost forever, RNG and RH2 can be stored for use when needed. A diversified decarbonization strategy will embrace all technologies, including cleaning up both the electricity grid and natural gas pipeline network. With this context in mind, we encourage an “All-of-the-Above” strategy as we work to decarbonize our energy future.

 

Join the NW Alliance for Clean Transportation on Wednesday, September 9, from Noon – 1:00 PM, for the first of three September Seminars. Learn from Ameresco, DMT Clear Gas Solutions, and Live Oak Bank about what is required to take an RNG project successfully from start to finish. Ameresco has built more than 40 biogas projects, including several RNG projects that Ameresco owns & operates at landfills and wastewater treatment plants. Listen while one of Ameresco’s lead project developers summarizes critical elements required to carry an RNG project from beginning to end, e.g.: sourcing feedstock, getting the right off-take agreement, as well as identifying and securing grants, tax credits, and other project incentives. DMT Clear Gas Solutions have deployed robust gas-conditioning systems from Hungary to Hawaii. Learn from Robert Lems about what is needed to successfully mitigate pernicious trace elements, such as siloxanes and H2S, in a reliable and cost-effective manner. Live Oak Bank has provided important debt financing to many RNG projects. Listen while Max Vernier explains what is required from the lender’s perspective.

To register for this webinar, click here.

PART I of II

The transportation sector has entered a period of dynamic change. For roughly a century, we have propelled ourselves with internal combustion engines that burn liquid fossil fuels. At present we are evaluating a menu of fuel choices to drive us into the future, including propane, electricity, hydrogen fuel cells, and natural gas.

When contemplating the future of transportation, it can be helpful to think about our original transition from horses to motor vehicles. Between 1890 and 1915 we experimented with many means of propulsion, including steam-driven vehicles such as the Stanley Steamer, battery-electric vehicles like the Becker Electric, as well as vehicles that burned liquid fuels in internal combustion engines like Ford’s Model T.

We are entering a similar period of change, and we would do well to use the fuel that offers the best financial and environmental benefits for each application. There is no “one-size-fits-all” solution when it comes to transitioning our transportation sector from gasoline and Diesel to cleaner fuels.

What are the Options?

  • Propane is compelling because existing vehicles may be easily retrofitted to accommodate this low-cost fuel. While propane is cost-effective, it does not offer meaningful Greenhouse Gas reductions over gasoline and Diesel.
  • Electricity has distinct advantages insofar as electric propulsion is extremely clean, very efficient, and quite cost-competitive. In this way, battery-electric propulsion is a perfect solution for passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks and buses. Recent experience, however, has shown that battery-electric technology is not reliable or cost-effective for medium- and heavy-duty applications.
  • Hydrogen fuel cells are attractive because their exhaust consists of steam. At present, however, hydrogen fuel cells are not cost-competitive, and fuel is difficult to find outside of Southern California.
  • Conventional Natural Gas (CNG) and Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) offer a good solution for medium- and heavy-duty fleets that return to base on a daily basis, such as transit, refuse, and cement fleets. CNG and RNG may also work well for log and drayage trucks.