News

Most multifamily buildings have a straightforward and actionable path to compliance.

Local Law 97 (LL97) is sometimes cast as a law about gleaming Manhattan office towers and luxury condos. While they draw the headlines, most of LL97’s 50,000 covered buildings are the more ordinary places where many New Yorkers live: co-ops, condos, market-rate rentals and rent-stabilized apartment buildings.

In the years ahead, these multifamily buildings face the biggest transition because they use far more fossil fuels than most commercial buildings. But improvements in these buildings don’t need to happen overnight, and there are increasingly generous government incentives to complete this work. Now is the time for building managers and owners—including co-op boards—to plan incremental investments over time to reduce energy use and cut carbon emissions. For most, that means starting with energy efficiency measures like upgrading lighting, improving steam radiators, adding insulation, and in some cases, electrifying hot water systems.

This week marks the issuance of the inaugural IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, designed to provide a global baseline of sustainability-related disclosures for the capital markets.

Better information leads to better economic decisions. IFRS S1 requires companies to communicate the sustainability-risks and opportunities they face over the short, medium, and long term. The requirements are designed to ensure that companies provide investors information relevant to decision-making. IFRS S2 sets out specific climate-related disclosures and is designed to be used with IFRS S1. Both Standards are based on recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

The IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) announced today the official launch of its new global sustainability and climate disclosure standards, expected to form the basis for emerging sustainability reporting requirements by regulators around the world, and marking a major step towards the integration of sustainability reporting into the broader financial reporting process.

The new standards will begin applying for annual reporting periods beginning as of January 2024, with companies beginning to issue disclosures against the standards in 2025.

An innovative biogas-to-grid project has been celebrated at the New York City Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP's) Newtown Creek Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
DEP and National Grid were joined by New York City Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi, EPA Region 2 Administrator Lisa Garcia, elected officials and community members last week.
The project, a first of its kind, is producing a reliable source of clean, renewable energy, reducing the amount of organic waste sent to landfills, and is already improving air quality, according to NYC.

In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, AstraZeneca (AZN) is partnering with Vanguard Renewables to enable the delivery of renewable natural gas (RNG) to all of its sites in the United States by the end of 2026.

From June 2023, AstraZeneca will begin purchasing RNG produced by Vanguard Renewables for its Newark Campus in Delaware, where the Company packages 26 medicines for distribution across the U.S. and makes medicine formulations for global supply. By 2026, this collaboration will enable as much as 650,000 million British thermal units (MMBtu), or 190,500 megawatt hours (MWh) per year, of RNG to be used across AstraZeneca’s U.S. sites, equivalent to the energy required to heat more than 17,800 U.S. homes for a year.

The I-REC Standard Foundation (“I-REC Standard”) is partnering with a new international consortium to develop a standardized tracking methodology for biomethane and biogas to support greater decarbonization through alternatives to natural gas. I-REC Standard and the new consortium (the “Consortium”) formed by Instituto Totum, M-RETS, and Evident have finalized a memorandum of understanding to develop a Product Code for biogas and biomethane (the “I-REC(G) Product Code”) that will adhere to the strict requirements of the I-REC Standard’s International Attribute Tracking Standard.

The program’s biggest change to date would set long-term renewable natural gas targets, add credits for powering electric vehicles and much more. WM, Republic Services, Anaergia and others weigh in.
Proposed changes to the federal Renewable Fuel Standard program could be a financial boost for operators generating energy from landfills and anaerobic digesters, depending on how the final details shake out.

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- This past December, EPA proposed adding an electric-renewable identification numbers program, or e-RINS, to the Renewable Fuel Standard to grow biogas-based electricity production to help fuel electric vehicles. During a recent public hearing, environmentalists expressed concern the new program would lead to a proliferation of new confined animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, as more farmers try to capture the potential value of methane from increased manure production.

State regulators have approved a plan by Roanoke Gas Co. to convert biogas from a sewage treatment plant into natural gas for distribution to customers in the region.

In an order issued Monday, the State Corporation Commission found that the joint project with the Western Virginia Water Authority is in the public interest.

BP (BP.L) will buy U.S.-based renewable natural gas (RNG) producer Archaea Energy Inc (LFG.N) for about $4.1 billion, the companies said on Monday, as the British energy major seeks to expand its alternative fuels business.

The deal will be the largest ever RNG acquisition, topping Chevron Corp's (CVX.N) $3.15 billion buyout of biodiesel maker Renewable Energy Group Inc earlier this year.

Clean hydrogen and related technologies can play a key role in decarbonizing many sectors, including medium- and heavy-duty transportation; industries such as ammonia and steel; heating applications; and power generation, including enabling long duration energy storage.

The past few years have seen much ado about ESG — shorthand for “environmental, social, and governance,” a trio of non-financial factors that have become priorities for the public, investors, and regulators. But as ESG has begun to shift from a talking point to a regulatory mandate, consensus has given way to controversy, polarizing debate over its very definition, reliability, and benefit.

Canadian energy infrastructure company TC Energy said October 17 it had made its first foray into renewable natural gas (RNG) with a C$29.3mn (US$21.2mn) investment into an RNG facility at the iconic Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee.

Owned by Lynchburg Renewable Fuels, the facility will produce RNG with a carbon intensity score 50% lower than traditional natural gas, preventing about 16,000 mt/yr of CO2 emissions. The project is being developed by 3 Rivers Energy Partners, which is also an owner in Lynchburg Renewable Fuels, and is expected to be operational in 2024.

Feedstock is a byproduct of the Jack Daniels distilling process, broken down to generate methane gases. A biogas upgrade plant will remove contaminants to produce pipeline-quality RNG that will be directly connected to a local natural gas utility. Liquid fertiliser will also be produced for local agricultural markets.

Seventeen years after its founding, the nation’s first cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases has become a flashpoint across the eastern United States, with lawmakers in two states vowing to exit the program and environmental advocates calling to reform it.

After several start/stops with its Build Back Better legislation in 2021, Congress is once again trying to enact a spending bill that will spur investment in America’s energy transition. While the spending package is far from final, RISE is here to provide the essential information on how the energy portions of the proposed law will impact your business.

Archaea Energy Inc. (“Archaea”) (NYSE: LFG), an industry leading renewable natural gas (“RNG”) company, announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary Archaea Energy Marketing LLC has entered into a medium-term RNG purchase and sale agreement with UGI Utilities, Inc. (“UGI Utilities”), a Pennsylvania-based natural gas and electric utility and wholly-owned subsidiary of UGI Corporation (NYSE: UGI). UGI Corporation is a distributor and marketer of energy products and services, including natural gas, liquified petroleum gas, electricity and renewable energy solutions.

Efforts to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 are likely to remain out of reach as copper supply fails to match demand amid growing use of solar panels, electric vehicles and other renewable technologies, data from S&P Global showed on Thursday.

The European Parliament on Wednesday backed EU rules labelling investments in gas and nuclear power plants as climate-friendly, throwing out an attempt to block the law that has exposed deep rifts between countries over how to fight climate change.

The Environmental Protection Agency cannot set fleet-wide greenhouse gas emissions limits for existing power plants under the Clean Air Act’s Section 111(d), the Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The latest quarterly Net-Zero Tracker published by MSCI, a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community, reinforces the urgent action required from the world’s listed companies to meet the 1.5°C target set by the Paris Agreement. All listed companies must each reduce their total carbon intensity by 8-10% every year until 2050 if the 1.5°C target is to be met. Only 39% of companies reduced emission intensity by that amount between 2019 and 2020.

New York City’s oft-maligned Local Law 97, which requires owners of most larger buildings to reduce their carbon emissions, has been subject to criticism and even a lawsuit calling the measure financially burdensome and unconstitutional. But for some developers, the law has proven to be a welcome catalyst for pursuing environmentally friendly developments — ones with the potential to be quite profitable.

PJM Interconnection announced today the successful procurement of resources in its annual capacity auction to meet electricity needs and ensure reliable service for the 2023/2024 Delivery Year. The auction results reflect a reliable and lower-carbon resource mix achieved at a low cost to consumers. Prices for the 2023/2024 Delivery Year were lower than in the previous auction for the 2022/2023 Delivery Year. As a result, sufficient resources plus robust reserve levels were procured at a cost of $2.2 billion, compared with approximately $4 billion for the current 2022/2023 Delivery Year.

Volvo Trucks said Monday that it had begun to test vehicles that use “fuel cells powered by hydrogen,” with the Swedish firm claiming their range could extend to as much as 1,000 kilometers, or a little over 621 miles.

Natural gas prices plunged on Tuesday, after Freeport LNG said its facility that had a fire last week likely won’t be back up and running soon.

OGCI Climate Investment (OGCI CI), a specialist decarbonization investor, today announced that its 23 Catalyst Fund I portfolio companies have realized a GHG impact of 30 million tons of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) of GHG emissions between 2019-2021, the equivalent to 500 million tree seedlings growing for 10 years.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released a Notice of Intent (NOI) to fund the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $8 billion program to develop regional clean hydrogen hubs (H2Hubs) across America. H2Hubs will create networks of hydrogen producers, consumers, and local connective infrastructure to accelerate the use of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier. The production, processing, delivery, storage, and end-use of clean hydrogen, including innovative uses in the industrial sector, is crucial to DOE’s strategy for achieving President Biden’s goal of a 100% clean electrical grid by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Today, the Commission is considering a proposal to improve disclosures by certain investment advisers and funds that purport to take Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors into consideration when making investing decisions. I am pleased to support this proposal because, if adopted, it would establish disclosure requirements for funds and advisers that market themselves as having an ESG focus.

Hydrogen has become one of the most debated topics in the energy industry. As an energy vector, hydrogen has been touted as a possible path to decarbonize energy sectors that are considered difficult to electrify, such as heavy-duty transport. While hydrogen expansion faces challenges associated with introducing it into new sectors and decreasing the cost of green (or low-emission) hydrogen, major economies such as China, the EU, and the United States have been looking to integrate its use into their decarbonization strategies. Demand for hydrogen could more than quintuple in a global net-zero-carbon-emissions scenario.

In late February, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) set biomethane procurement targets for utilities to reduce short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) emissions. The decision establishes a biomethane procurement program crafted to help achieve the state’s goals that require the reduction of emissions of methane and other SLCPs by 40% below 2013 levels by 2030. “Renewable gas procurement will reduce otherwise uncontrolled methane and black carbon emissions in our waste, landfill, agricultural and forest management sectors,” noted the CPUC in its announcement of the procurement targets. It cites 2019 California Air Resources Board data that identified those sectors being responsible for more than 75% of the state’s methane emissions.

The IFRS Foundation and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) have announced today a collaboration agreement under which their respective standard setting boards, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), will seek to coordinate their work programmes and standard-setting activities.

U.S. Gain, a leader in the development and distribution of alternative fuel and renewable thermal energy, is excited to announce its renewable natural gas (RNG) supply will be used as a feedstock into hydrogen production, enabling a greener fueling solution for the California transportation market.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) released the “Pennsylvania Food Waste to Renewable Energy Assessment” in late December. “The assessment is a first of its kind attempt to understand the amount of industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) food waste diverted via anaerobic digestion (AD) and composting in Pennsylvania,” explains Robert Young, Energy Program Specialist at PADEP. “Prior to this assessment, no publicly available dataset comprehensively identified all AD and composting facilities processing ICI food waste or documented the amounts accepted and the additional capacities available.” The assessment was conducted by MSW Consultants and Coker Composting and Consulting; BioCycle was responsible for the case studies in the report.

Archaea Energy Inc., an industry-leading renewable natural gas (RNG) company, announced Dec. 30 the successful start-up of Project Assai, an RNG facility located at the Keystone Sanitary Landfill in Dunmore, Pennsylvania. Pipeline-quality RNG has been produced and commercial operations were achieved on Dec. 30, 2021. Assai is now the highest capacity operational RNG facility in the world.

Voluntary Carbon Markets hit a record $1 Billion in 2021 as new trades are reported by EM Respondents. This special State of the Voluntary Carbon Markets (SOVCM) bulletin from Ecosystem Marketplace shows that prices are on the rise and that projects with additional co-benefits achieve higher prices than the rest.

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Archaea Energy Inc. (“Archaea”) (NYSE: LFG), an industry leading renewable natural gas (“RNG”) company, announced today that its subsidiary Archaea Holdings, LLC has entered into a long-term RNG purchase and sale agreement with Northwest Natural Gas Company (“NW Natural”), a subsidiary of NW Natural Holdings (NYSE: NWN). NW Natural provides natural gas service to approximately 2.5 million people in Oregon and Southwest Washington.

Washington, DC – November 9, 2021 – The RFS Power Coalition today commended Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) for introducing H.R. 5899, the “Biomass and Biogas for Electric Vehicles Act” late last week. If passed, this bill will require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to finally process the outstanding project and pathway applications for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) which have been waiting for EPA’s action for many years.

The U.S. announced a broad expansion and strengthening of rules to limit methane emissions from oil and natural gas Tuesday as President Biden seeks to assert U.S. leadership on global warming at the climate summit in Glasgow.

Enviva Partners LP and GreenGasUSA, an integrated renewable natural gas (RNG) solutions provider, announced on Oct. 20 a 10-year RNG offtake agreement to decarbonize natural gas-related emissions in Enviva’s operations. The agreement is expected to eliminate more than 64,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent from the atmosphere every year, which equates to 14,000 passenger cars being removed from the road.

A multi-year partnership that has been announced between Tallgrass Energy and Project Canary would make Tallgrass’ Rockies Express Pipeline (REX) the first interstate natural gas transmission pipeline in the United States to receive a comprehensive and independent environmental assessment and certification from Project Canary. The certification standards will be focused on environmental stewardship, operational excellence and real-time emissions detection and monitoring.

MBL Bioenergy, LLC (“MBL Bioenergy”) announced today that it has entered into definitive agreements to develop several clusters of dairy farm digester projects to produce renewable natural gas (“RNG”) from multiple farms in South Dakota. MBL Bioenergy is a joint venture funded by UGI Energy Services, LLC (“UGIES”) as well as subsidiaries of California Bioenergy LLC (“CalBio”) and Sevana Bioenergy, LLC (“Sevana Bioenergy”). UGIES is a subsidiary of UGI Corporation (NYSE: UGI).

Rice Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: RICE) (“RAC”), a special purpose acquisition company focused on the energy transition sector, today announced that its stockholders approved all proposals related to the proposed business combination (the “Business Combination”) with Aria Energy LLC (“Aria”) and Archaea Energy LLC (“Archaea LLC”), which will create the industry-leading renewable natural gas (“RNG”) platform, at a special meeting of stockholders held earlier today. In addition, RAC’s stockholders have expressed strong support for the Business Combination, with stockholders electing to redeem less than 0.2% of RAC’s outstanding shares of Class A common stock.

The Landfill Group and LS Power today announced that Enerdyne Power Systems, a Landfill Group company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, has begun construction on a state-of-the-art renewable natural gas (RNG) project at the Twin Chimneys Landfill site in Honea Path, South Carolina. The Twin Chimneys Power Producers project is expected to achieve commercial operations by the fourth quarter in 2022...