On 5 November, Energy Vision, the sustainable energy organisation, presented its leadership awards to leading companies developing new markets for renewable natural gas (RNG). The winners were UPS, Newlight Technologies, American Organic Energy, MOVE Systems and American Organic Energy.
RNG is a powerful decarbonisation and climate protection strategy made from biogases generated as wastewater, and decomposed agricultural, food and yard waste. It has a fraction of fossil natural gas's carbon footprint. When made from food waste in anaerobic digesters and used as vehicle fuel, RNG is net carbon-negative over its lifecycle.
"Our award winners are displacing petroleum with waste biogases that cut greenhouse gases by 90% or more," said Joanna Underwood, president of Energy Vision. "Their work is commercially viable today, part of an emerging new energy economy being born right now."
UPS, a global leader in logistics, is the largest user of RNG in the shipping industry, with a goal of driving a billion miles using its alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet by the end of 2017. "We remain committed to minimising UPS's environmental impact while meeting the growing demand for our services, and RNG is critical to this effort," said Mark Giuffre, UPS Vice President, State Government Affairs.
Newlight Technologies, LLC's revolutionary process makes durable plastics using waste-derived biogas instead of fossil petroleum as a feedstock. "Our vision was a world using greenhouse gas as a resource to replace oil," said Newlight CEO Mark Herrema. "By using captured carbon to make materials that replace oil-based plastics, we are starting to see that vision become a reality."
MOVE Systems engineers energy efficient hybrid mobile food vehicles that can run on CNG or RNG, batteries and solar panels, and radically reduce emissions from diesel fuelled carts. "Clean energy like renewable natural gas is vital to America's energy future," said MOVE Systems President and CEO James Meeks.
American Organic Energy is building the first large scale anaerobic digester facility in the New York metro area to process food waste into RNG. It is among the first food waste to RNG pipeline injection projects in the US and attracted support from New York State. "This will be the most advanced anaerobic digester facility in the US, perhaps the world," said American Organic Energy President Charles Vigliotti.
Adapted from press release by Rosalie Starling
Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/clean-fuels/09112015/energy-vision-recognises-renewable-natural-gas-companies-1702/
