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Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) as a Transport Fuel
Sources, Capacities, Benefits, Barriers
James [email protected]
supported by DOE Office of Vehicle Technologies
Clean Cities Program
NPC Study on Future Transportation Fuels
Other contributors:California Energy Commission (CEC) - Peter Ward CALSTART - John Boesel Gas Technology Institute (GTI) - Jack Lewnard Clean Energy - Harrison Clay Everybody at the NGVAEPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) EPA & USDA (AgSTAR) actively promote biogas energy projects
Contributors and Speakers
Additional speakersEnergy Vision - Gail Richardson [email protected]
Ruby Mountain, Inc. - Jon Lear [email protected]
RNG as a vehicle fuel has a ~90% Green House Gas (GHG) reduction relative to diesel, while conventional natural gas as a vehicle fuel has a ~25% GHG reduction relative to diesel.
Since the 2050 goal of the Future Transportation Fuel Study is 50% GHG emissions relative to 2005 levels, it makes sense to evaluate the potential of RNG as a transportation fuel.
However since the 2005 RFS II calls for producing 36 billion Gasoline Gal. Equiv. (GGE) of renewable transportation fuel by 2022, a proposed second near term goal would be to produce up to 10 billion GGE/Yr of domestic renewable fuel from organic waste to help off set the $300-400 Billion/Yr cost of imported oil.
Goals, Policy, Targets, Purpose, etc.
What are we trying to accomplish RNG?
On a Federal Level: A 1998 DOE (QSS) Study estimated 1.25 Quads/YR of Biogas (RNG) from landfills, animal waste and sewage (10 billion GGE/YR)
On a Regional Level: A 2010 GTI study finds .268 TCF/YR of RNG possible for the four states served by National Grid (1 Quad =TCF of NG)
On a State Level: California Energy Commission (CEC) estimates 25-30% replacement of diesel possible with RNG
On a Local Level: Long Island Study identified 4.1 BCF/YR of RNG
Source Estimates for Biomethane (RNG)
• $11 million to High Mountain Fuels, LLC , to produce bio-LNG from landfill gas wells at Waste Management’s Simi Valley Landfill. The project is about 40 percent larger than the company’s Altamont Landfill project, and further improves the process used at Altamont. When completed, the project is expected to fuel 500 waste hauling trucks. The technology will reduce GHG emissions for bio-LNG to 85 percent below the diesel baseline, rather than the 73 percent reduction for standard process.• $5.5 million to CR&R Waste and Recyling Services in Southern California for its municipal solid waste to biomethane project. The company runs its trash vehicles on LNG. • $4.6 million to Pixley Biogas LL in Pixley, CA., to produce biogas from cow manure. Pixley produces ethanol. • $3.9 million to Northstate Rendering Co Inc. in Oroville to turn rendering waste into CNG vehicle fuel that will be used for the company’s fleet of trucks. The biomethane will be injected into the Pacific Gas and Electric pipeline and sold as vehicle fuel to CNG fleets. • $1.8 million to Eurisko Scientific to use wastewater sludge from the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District at its Elk Grove Wastewater Treatment Facility to produce biomethane. The project is designed to test a new additive that will increase biomethane production. Clean Energy will distribute the biomethane produced for transportation use.
CEC Recent Biomethane Awards NGVAmericanewsletter
* Center for American Progress; ‘American Fuel-Developing Natural Gas for Heavy Vehicles’, N. Wellkamp and D. Weiss
*
Note: Net oil savings come from the Heavy-duty truck sector, hence LNG usage
Dallas Clean Energy, LLC:McCommas Bluff
» City of Dallas owns & operates landfill
» Dallas Clean Energy, LLC (“DCE”) purchased biogas rights & processing plant
» Joint Venture w/ Cambrian Energy
» PSA clean-up system» Current capacity 9MM CFD in
& 4.5MM CFD out» Anticipate 7.5MM CFD out by
2015» Equal to 60,000 gasoline gallon
equivalents a day of fuel
Biomethane: Best & Highest Use
If all government incentives for biomethane production & use were equal – what would be the highest, best use?
#1: Vehicle Fuel: No other readily available alternative fuel to gasoline & diesel that can achieve all of the following:– 90% reduction in GHG emissions associated with transportation– Renewable– Easily distributed through existing infrastructure locally, regionally &
nationally– Suitable for all applications from light duty passenger to heavy duty trucking
#2: Power Generation at most efficient power plant: combined cycle large scale natural gas fired plants– Avoids local emissions from on site power generation– Generates as much as 2x more electricity resource– Uses existing power generation infrastructure
Biomethane: Barriers to Market
Why are the vast majority of landfill gas utilization projects (95%) on-site power generation, if greater use of the product can be achieved through High BTU pipeline injection?– 420 landfill gas power generation projects, 20
High BTU
Barriers to High BTU Project Development:– Tax incentive programs favor power gen
projects (ITC)– Pipeline connection fees, tariffs &
specifications disallow or make LFG pipeline injection impractical
– Incentive programs in compliance markets have onerous restrictions on moving product & continuing to qualify for incentives
– Opaque & difficult off take market for producers to gauge
Tax Incentives ITC & Renewable Electricity Production Tax
Credit are great programs for power generation from landfill gas & should be continued
However, high BTU projects, even if the gas is put in the pipe & sold for use in power generation at 2x the efficiency, do not benefit from these programs
Tax Incentive for high BTU injection levels the playing field: high BTU should receive same ITC as power generation projects– S.306 & H.R.1158– NARUC Board resolution adopted in Feb supports
equal incentives– Support is there, & little to no opposition but need
coordinated effort
Not every site is a High BTU candidate – but developers of High BTU sites should not be at a disadvantage
Pipeline Barriers
In some areas, costs for unnecessary testing & other interconnect equipment are exorbitant, making project unfeasible
Some tariffs prohibit landfill gas (CA) Need to standardize specifications & testing
protocols, reduce costs of interconnection facility
Need to study the gas product of current best available clean-up technologies (product gas can be as clean or cleaner than what is in the pipeline already)
GTI study, with SWANA High BTU working group collaboration, is critical & should move us in this direction
Utilities need to work with developers as partners: efficient use of this resource depends on utility cooperation
Future of the Market: Vehicle Fuel
If tax incentives are equalized, pipeline barriers overcome & compliance programs allow transport of product via swaps, where will the product end up?
Vehicle Fuel should develop into the best market for biomethane product:
We can use biomethane today to fuel everything from passenger cars to Class 8 trucks & achieve 90% GHG emission reduction with a renewable fuel
We can use the existing infrastructure to distribute biomethane vehicle fuel on a widespread basis TODAY
Waste to Wheels: Building for SuccessA Workshop on Producing Renewable Natural Gas
(RNG) Vehicle Fuel from Organic WastesSponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Clean Cities Program
December 1, 2010 • Columbus, Ohio
ATTENDEES 33 Clean Cities teams from 20 states
TOPIC How to launch a biogas-to-RNG fuel project in your community
PROMISES OF RNG• RNG has all the benefits of natural gas AND it is renewable & nearly carbon-neutral• Vast feedstocks are widespread & proven technologies exist for biogas cleanup• RNG can be made NOW at landfills, wastewater plants, free-standing digesters
CHALLENGES• Small markets for NGVs in the US • Strong incentives for producing electricity from biogas, but not RNG vehicle fuel• Low price of wholesale pipeline gas / no way to realize the “green” value of RNG
ENERGY VISION REPORTS ON RNG VEHICLE FUEL in 2011-2012• Waste to Wheels Workshop Summary – February 2011• RNG Prospects: A Clean Cities Guide to RNG Project-Development • Biomethane Pioneers: Profiles of RNG Fuel Developers in the U.S.
Waste to Wheels Workshop
RNG Vehicle Fuel Industry: U.S. PioneersWASTE MANAGEMENT–LINDE (CA)
QUASAR ENERGY GROUP (OH)
• Located at WM’s Altamont landfill in Bay Area
• Largest LFG to liquid RNG plant in the world• $15 million cost • CA agency grants crucial for financing• Capacity of 13,000 LNG gals daily • Fuel used to power 400 WM trucks• “Close the Loop” model
• ~ 40 projects under way in OH, MA, FL, etc.• Uses European technology (Schmack)• Feedstocks are farm &food wastes and sludges• $1 - $3 million cost per digester• ARRA rebate requires electric production for 5 years• After 5 years, RNG vehicle fuel markets targeted • “Build an Industry” model
N.J. Work Group on Renewable Natural GasEnergy Vision & Rutgers University EcoComplex
• A think tank on how to build an RNG fuel industry in N.J.• Created in December 2010• 25 companies, agencies, nonprofits, & utilities participate• Goal: find realistic pathways, partnerships, & policies to
overcome recognized financial, policy, and technical hurdles to converting organic wastes to RNG vehicle fuel
• Broad focus – landfills, wastewater plants, farms• 18-month time frame• Phase 1: Six plenary meetings to target specific objectives• Phase 2: Develop public education and policy strategies• Phase 3: Carry out public education campaign
Why New Jersey? Population density, traffic concentration, vehicle emissions pollution, high waste management costs, & multiple state goals that require reduced oil dependency, cleaner air, organics recycling, and lower GHG emissions.
Primary Animal Waste Bio Methane Sources
Dairy: Herds in excess of 8,000 head.– Each cow equals about 32 gallons of discharge per day. Rule of
Thumb: 1 pound of manure will generate 1 SCF of bio methane per day with use of digester.
Pig: Herds in excess of 20,000.– 2.5 pigs equals 1 cow - Pigs and human organic discharge about
equivalent in volume and potency.
Poultry (avian): – Not a good source for RNG – e.g. low in organic compounds.
Very high in nitrates and phosphates.– Effluent from avian processing/rendering holds promise.
Bio Methane Projects Reviewed• Fresno, California: J. D. Wilson Dairy
• Project initiated• 12,000 head of dairy cattle• Vehicle fuel for Fresno and Southwest Transportation (4,000,000 LNG gallons
annually)
• Moroni, Utah: Moroni Feed Co-Op• Project planning initiated• 5,000,000 turkeys annually• Woody Biomass/Electrical generation - Process waste/methane for vehicle fuel
and/or poultry processing.
• Milford, Utah: Circle 4 Farms• Project in preliminary stages• 644,000 pigs• Circle 4 has tried methanol production and is now looking at electric generation - 5
megawatts and methane for vehicle fuel or process uses.
Bio Methane Production: Basic Technologies
Collection system: Move the waste to a location where it can be processed and stored for digestion – typically on site.
Digestion system: Lagoon/ponding or manufactured digestion system. Look for low maintenance efficient systems .
Gas clean up: Removes unwanted compounds
– Typical gas at 50% to 60% purity after digestion using most technologies.– Vehicles require pipeline quality gas of 85% purity or better (Preferred vehicle gas
quality is 96% and up).
Compression or Liquefaction: Method gas is prepared for transport to vehicle market via pipeline or truck.
Barriers to Bio Methane Development
Economic: Viable functioning facilities can cost up to 12 million or more. Local farmers/growers are typically not capable of these costs. Large corporate investment, grants, VC funds, debt financing are typically required.
Technological: All technologies are available but…. – Most current digestion technologies are often difficult to install, expensive to operate and
produce gas that requires clean up. Ponding systems are cheaper to build/operate and provide higher quality gas (96% purity). Ponding systems are untested in this application. Estimated capital costs $2 - $5 million.
– Gas Clean up systems are expensive. Cleaner gas from digesters can reduce gas clean up (capital and operating) costs. Estimated capital costs $2 - $3 million.
– Gas must be compressed/liquefied and transported. Compression expensive and not practical unless pipeline immediately available. Small-scale liquefaction is a viable option but must be trucked to markets - not yet tested in this application. Estimated capital costs $1- $5 million.
Markets: You must have a market in advance. Take or pay contracts at established prices over 7 to 10 years are typically required. Market should be proximate - 100 miles or closer.
Lessons Learned - Opportunities The opportunity for the bio methane from animal waste is technologically available
now. Improvement in related production technologies needed to assure competitiveness.
To kick market off, government incentives and private capital are needed to complete fully integrated bio methane vehicle fuel projects. (DOD effort to make military bases sustainable should not be overlooked). Federal tax incentives are still important for both infrastructure and market development.
States in non attainment areas or where GHG are regulated are likely best opportunities for animal waste vehicle fuel bio methane facilities.– They have mandates creating natural gas fleets– They have established funds to help finance projects of this type
Large numbers of dairy and pig operations across the US offer untapped energy resources. Once technology systems are integrated (e.g. digestion/reduction in gas clean up) bio methane will be equal to or cheaper than diesel/gasoline as well as traditional pipeline natural gas.
The engineering challenges are modest-odor control, plant size (footprint), siting issues-upgrading medium BTU gas to high BTU gas (GTI/SWANA working group)-liquefying high BTU gas to LNG-anaerobic co-digestion of mixed/variable organic waste
Challenge of handling different types of waste- Urban (municipal solid waste & waste water treatment)- Rural (animal waste)- Industrial food waste
Coupling conventional natural gas, shale gas and renewable natural gas into a coherent domestic energy strategy
RNG Technology Challenges
- lowest GHG emissions- main barrier is regulatory- significant waste feed stocks are available- modest engineering barriers- clear environmental, energy security and job creation benefits- collaborative partnerships required
Public/private financing required
For RNG to achieve GHG reductions and GGE/Yr replacement targets; natural gas refueling infrastructure needs to be in place, and competitively priced natural gas vehicles (class7 & 8) trucks available
Top RNG Findings
Thank you
from
GailJon& Jim
