MEDIA ALERT/INVITE TO COVER for September 26, 2019
Contact: Stephen Kent, skent@kentcom.com 914-589-5988
At Minneapolis Workshop, Experts To Explore Ramping Up Renewable Natural Gas for Minnesota to Accelerate Its Emissions Reduction and Economy
WHAT? At a daylong Minneapolis workshop entitled “The Power of Organic Waste: Opportunities for Renewable Natural Gas in Minnesota,” government and industry leaders and NGO and academic experts will gather to explore how to ramp up production and demand for renewable natural gas (RNG) fuel in Minnesota. The event is organized by the NGO Energy Vision, together with government, industry, academic, and NGO partners, and co-sponsored/co-hosted by CenterPoint Energy.
Made from organic waste such as food waste, farm waste and municipal wastewater, RNG provides ultra low-carbon electricity, heating/cooling and transportation fuel. In fact it is the lowest-carbon fuel available today, cutting greenhouse gases (GHGs) compared to diesel by 70% to 300%. (Reductions of greater than 100% are possible because RNG can be a net carbon-negative fuel, meaning that more GHGs are captured in producing the fuel than are emitted by consuming it.)
Minnesota is rich in feedstocks for producing RNG. Nearly a third of its residential and commercial waste stream is organic, and it generates over half a million tons of food waste annually. According to the USDA there are 460,000 cows on over 36,00 dairy farms in the state, as well as large poultry populations. Minnesota’s landfills flare the biogas equivalent of almost 11 million gallons of diesel fuel annually, wasting enough renewable energy to heat more than 16,500 Minnesota homes.
Producing RNG in Minnesota could put its organic waste to productive use, solve waste disposal problems, boost the state’s economy and strengthen its industry and agriculture. It would help get Minnesota on track to meet its goal of cutting GHG emissions 30% by 2025 and 80% by 2050. It could also help reduce climate impacts from Minnesota’s natural gas consumption, since RNG is pipeline grade, and can be transported and used in the same pipelines, plants, vehicles and appliances as fossil natural gas, while its lifecycle GHG emissions are much lower than those of fossil gas.
Last year CenterPoint Energy proposed a pilot program to give its utility customers the option of obtaining all or a portion of their natural gas as RNG for an additional charge, which would have been among the first green tariffs for RNG in the U.S. This year, the Minnesota Public Utility Commission denied the proposal, but acknowledged that RNG has many potential benefits for the state, and encouraged more work to develop a modified RNG pilot program, including tracking and verification for non-vehicle RNG, identifying ways to scale up RNG use statewide, and an interconnection tariff as a possible step toward producing RNG in state. CenterPoint is currently in the process of developing a petition for an interconnection tariff, which will enable Minnesota RNG producers to connect to CenterPoint pipelines and infrastructure.
The Minneapolis workshop assembles government, industry, academic, and NGO experts exploring many of the same issues the PUC identified, such as RNG tracking and verification, RNG’s climate and economic benefits for Minnesota, and scaling up RNG consumption and production in the state. Journalists and bloggers are invited to attend and cover.
WHO? Experts speaking and participating in panel discussions at the workshop and available for side interviews include, among others:
- Bill Edmonds, Director, Environmental Management & Sustainability, NW Natural
- Benjamin L. Gerber, Executive Director, Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System
- John Heer, Director of Gas Control and Peak Shaving, CenterPoint Energy
- Margaret Cherne-Hendrick, Director, Beneficial Electrification, Fresh Energy
- John Jaimez, Organics and Recycling Specialist, Hennepin County Environmental Services
- Nancy Lange, Former Chair, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission
- Stephanie Meyn, Climate Program Manager, Port of Seattle
- Audrey Partridge, Regulatory Policy Manager, Center for Energy & Environment
- Matt Tomich, President, Energy Vision
- Joanna Underwood, Founder, Energy Vision
WHERE & WHEN? “The Power of Organic Waste” workshop takes place September 26, 2019 from 8:30am to 3:00pm, at Loring Social, 1629 Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis. The agenda is posted here. The event is free and journalists and bloggers are invited to attend and cover. Side interviews with presenters and sources are available on request. For more information, to RSVP for the workshop, or to arrange an interview, contact Stephen Kent, skent@kentcom.com, 914-589-5988
Energy Vision is a non-profit organization whose mission is to research and promote technologies and strategies needed to achieve a sustainable, low-carbon energy and transportation future.