TRACK E: MSW, LFG, RNG, SUSTAINABILITY, GREEN, CLIMATE, CO2 CAPTURE, ESG, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
E1
RNG LFG PERMITS | DECARBONONIZATION | UTILITY WOOD STRUCTURES | FLEET CARBON | CO2
Oct 6, 2022
7:30 to 9:30 am
Patrick Sullivan
E 1.1 Air Quality Permitting Issues for Landfill Gas to Energy Projects
E1.1 Air Quality Permitting Issues for Landfill Gas to Energy Projects
Patrick Sullivan – SCS Engineers
Landfill gas to energy projects can have some unique air permitting issues that complicate efforts to obtain permits and to keep permitting and pollution control costs affordable. These issues include assessing best available control technology (BACT)/lowest achievable emission rate (LAER), finding cost effective control options that meet BACT/LAER, managing impurities in the gas that can impact emissions and controls, gas treatment technologies necessary to remove contaminants in the gas or to create renewable natural gas (RNG), avoiding or reducing costs for emission reduction credits (ERCs), and determining whether third party plants are under common control with the landfill. The presentation will cover the following energy recovery technologies: reciprocating engines, gas turbines, microturbines, boilers, and treatment plants that create renewable natural gas (RNG). Several case studies of recent projects will be included to illustrate the key themes.
Chris Peterson
E 1.2 RNG at Dairy Farms: Critical Issues re Manure Supply Agreements
E1.2 RNG Project Development at Dairy Farms: Critical Issues When Negotiating Manure Supply Agreements
Christopher Peterson – Husch Blackwell
The terms of the Manure Supply Agreement play a critical role in the economic viability of each dairy waste RNG project. Access to public and private funding sources often hinges on a carefully-drafted agreement with provisions protecting the interests of such third parties. This presentation will discuss many of the important issues to consider when negotiating the terms of such agreements, including alternative solutions in addressing such issues, while taking into account the different interests of the farmer, developer and financer of the project.
Chad Hering
E 1.3 Reduce environmental impacts of overhead structures
E1.3 Reduce environmental impacts of overhead structures
Chad Hering – Bell Lumber & Pole Co.
The materials you use impacts the environment in different ways. Utilities with carbon reduction initiatives should record and consider different materials carbon footprint in their project evaluations. We will demonstrate how utilities can calculate the amount of carbon sequestered and carbon dioxide (CO2) removed from the atmosphere by utilizing wood utility structures. This information can assist a utility in achieving its commitment to the environment using scientifically derived information.
Austin Wentworth
E 1.4 LCFS Optimization and Reaching Fleet Carbon Neutrality
E1.4 LCFS Optimization and Reaching Fleet Carbon Neutrality
Austin Wentworth – STX
Using our 16 years of expertise in the global renewable energy markets, we will aim to both educate the audience on how to achieve zero emissions in their fleet operation as well as inform them on cost efficient structures in order to meet their sustainability goals. We will touch upon the use of renewable energy for EV fleets, renewable gas for CNG fleets, biofuels and offsets from a local – up to a global scale.
Carolyn Hillebrand
E 2.5 CO2 Capture Readiness: Planning for the Future of Fossil Power
E3.3 CO2 Capture Readiness: Planning for the Future of Fossil Power
Carolyn Hillebrand – Sargent & Lundy
Many facilities may have financial incentive to implement carbon capture while achieving decarbonization targets due to expansion of US 45Q tax code. This is applies to coal and natural gas-fired power facilities, and industrial facilities, such as cement kilns, steel mills, and oil and gas markets. This presentation discusses requirements for installing CO2 capture technology with a focus on retrofits, identifying good candidates considering technology applicability, and a case study of coal plant life extension through sale of CO2. Site selection criteria and integration will be discussed, highlighting key plant readiness criteria helping streamline project development and lower implementation costs.
E2
LFG | LECHATE | RNG | CO2 CAPTURE
Oct 6, 2022
10 am to 12 pm
Alex Stege
E 2.1 Understanding the uncertainty in LFG recovery forecasts used for planning RNG projects
E2.1 Understanding the uncertainty in LFG recovery forecasts used for planning RNG projects
Alex Stege – SCS Engineers
LFG generation and recovery forecasting is critical for evaluating suitable RNG project sizes and potential revenues. Yet the forecasts struggle to overcome large uncertainties arising from limitations that will be discussed in this paper, including: the lack of measurements of methane generation or moisture conditions in the landfill impacting generation, limited data on the types of wastes disposed, reliance by the LFG industry on regulatory LFG emissions models without knowledge of how to adjust them for site-specific conditions, and the inability of the models to account for expected changes in waste composition as organics diversion programs expand.
Anthony Cirillo
E 2.2 Landfill or Land Full ….of Opportunity?
E2.2 Landfill or Land Full ....of Opportunity?
Anthomy Cirillo – SunEast Development
Our country creates nearly 300 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) per year, of which about 50% is disposed of in landfills. There are currently over 2,600 MSW disposal sites, covering nearly 130,000 acres of land, in the U.S. today. Additionally, a nominal 1,050 coal combustion residue (CCR) landfills cover almost 74,000 acres of real estate. These sites exclude the real estate consumed by those used for industrial, hazardous, and mixed-use waste disposal. Given the various ages, composition, and gestation phases of these sites, coupled with their prognosis for use upon closure, they represent unique short- and long-term opportunities to both generate electric power and to protect the environment. Whether capturing and combusting landfill gas (LFG), primarily methane, or capping the landfill and ‘planting’ solar panels, or both, this presentation will quantify and explore the possibilities; the possibilities of how real estate, otherwise scarred by landfills, can be put to beneficial use. A use which, as our economy accelerates its moves toward greener electric power production and the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG), offers hope to recast the stigma of a landfill into a land full of opportunity.
Ben Laurent
E 2.3 Innovative On-site Treatment of Landfill Leachate Reverse Osmosis Concentrate
E2.3 Innovative On-site Treatment of Landfill Leachate Reverse Osmosis Concentrate
Ben Laurent – Heartland Water Technology
This presentation will focus on both technical and commercial elements of landfill fluid management and project success.
Technically, Heartland Water Technology has successfully delivered multiple projects treating challenging leachate reverse osmosis (RO) concentrate. By treating this challenging liquid on-site, landfill operators reduce the landfill’s carbon footprint, increase site efficiency, and improve site economics. In the presentation we will review a case study in which Energy Power Partners and the Cumberland County Improvement Authority partnered with Heartland Water Technology to use waste heat from an on-site LFG to energy plant to treat RO concentrate.
Commercially, we will present two case studies where municipalities selected a comprehensive, turnkey approach to leachate treatment. In both projects Heartland provided engineering design and managed installation of the leachate treatment facilities. One case study will highlight a twenty year build own and operate arrangement requiring no capital investment from the municipality. Using a water treatment as a service model, the municipality is able to secure the same benefits of on-site treatment without incurring a capital expense.
Jeffrey Pierce
E 2.4 Flip or Flop: Conversion of Biogas Power Generation to RNG
E2.4 Flip or Flop: Conversion of Biogas Power Generation to RNG
Jeffrey Pierce – SCS Engineers
Landfill gas and digester gas are currently widely used in the United States to produce renewable power; however, solar and wind have generally become more cost-effective sources of renewable power. The value of biogas as a source of renewable power has receded. Credits under the Federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS 2) Program and the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Program now combine to create a market value for renewable natural gas (RNG) exceeding $30/MMBtu. RNG’s link to these programs is that RNG is dedicated for vehicle fuel use in the form of compressed natural gas (CNG). Large to moderately sized biogas power plants are now being shut down, and RNG plants are being constructed, using the freed-up biogas. The payback on the RNG plants is generally less than two years. The presentation will address: 1) An overview of the workings of the RFS 2 and LCFS programs – explaining how the credits are monetized, and reviewing the historic and possible future trend of RNG prices; 2) An overview of the technologies used to convert biogas to RNG – a natural gas equivalent. The RNG can then be injected into natural gas pipelines for transport to CNG users; 3) The pipeline interconnection process and governing pipeline quality standards will be briefly discussed; and 4) Construction cost, operation/maintenance cost and performance of a typical RNG plant will be presented.
Robert Richardson
E 2.5 Green Capture and Repurpose of CO2
E3.1 Green Capture and Repurpose of CO2
Robert Richardson – Pacific Rim Design & Development Inc.
Provide details on how National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is working with PRDD to naturally heal ocean acidification?
• How can CARBON CREDITS make the PRDD processes profitable?
• Is PRDD ready to commercialize its CO2 Capture & Repurpose processes?
PRDD has developed and verified through bench scale testing, a process that removes 99% CO2, 90%NOx & 99%SO2 ( target gases) from combustion and chemical process exhaust gas. • This proprietary technology for land and ocean vessel applications requires a small physical “footprint” and creates a very small carbon footprint. All three target gases are sequentially removed in a continuous mist phase reaction vessel not much larger in diameter than conventional duct for a given exhaust gas flow. • The combined CO2, NOx and SO2 abatement processes are collaborative. Chemical use is minimized because reaction products from one process are often reagents in another. • The primary consumable for all three processes is sodium chloride (table salt). The energy required to convert sodium chloride into other consumables is included in the energy balance shown below. • Most of the chemicals used in the CO2, NOx and SO2 capturing processes are recycled. All the reagent recycling only requires waste heat from combustion and nominal electrical power to operate pump etc. • The processes generate commercially viable effluent like sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). • The process is dramatically energy efficient. Because the chemical recycling is done with waste heat from combustion, a system sized for a large ocean-going vessel only requires 98 gallons of HFO/hour.
E3
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE | ESG
Oct 6, 2022
2 to 4 pm
Melvin Stroble
CHAIR
E 3.1 Environmental Justice Considerations in the Transition to Natural Gas and Renewables Energy
E4.1 Environmental Justice Considerations in the Transition to Natural Gas and Renewables Energy
Melvin Stroble – EA Engineering
Electric power generation has always had a disproportionately adverse impact on low-income and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. According to the Energy Justice Network, sixty-eight percent of African-Americans live within thirty miles of a coal-burning power plant. As the transition to natural gas and renewable resources for electric power generation steadily grows, it will be beneficial to integrate environmental justice into siting options for solar, wind, and biomass and natural gas pipelines. Also, environmental justice considerations should be given to electric transmission resiliency planning. The presentation will discuss environmental justice regulations, and considerations that would be beneficial in the transition from coal- to natural gas-fired generation and renewable energy.
Julie Lemay
E 3.2 Environmental Justice Initiatives and Risk Assessment: Consideration for Utilities
E4.2 Environmental Justice Initiatives and Risk Assessment: Consideration for Utilities
Julie Lemay – Gradient
The Biden administration is dedicating significant resources to addressing Environmental Justice (EJ) concerns, which will involve consideration of EJ issues in federal rulemaking and permitting, increased enforcement activities, and investment in research. This presentation provides an introduction to EJ initiatives including existing and planned mapping tools that are be used to support the identification of communities with EJ concerns, as well as risk assessment approaches that will be used to inform regulations. While the developing EJ activities will crosscut industries, this presentation will focus on the intersection between EJ and utility-related environmental issues.
James Shapard
E 3.3 Equity and Environmental Justice Meets Transmission Routing
E4.3 Equity and Environmental Justice Meets Transmission Routing
James Shapard – HDR
In recent months Equity and Environmental Justice has become a topic of increasing conversations. The recent Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA) has increased discussion as projects compete for money. Power projects involving Routing transmission lines and Siting of power facilities, is in many cases controversial from the public viewpoint. The presentation will provide an overview of Environmental Justice, the IIJA and potential avenues of improvements related to transmission route and site selection.
Renee Lenore
E 3.4 Putting the Pieces Together: Managing Emerging ESG Requirements With Current Systems and Teams
E3.4 Putting the Pieces Together: Managing Emerging ESG Requirements With Current Systems and Teams
Renée Lenore – Wolters Kluwer Enablon
With Wall Street’s sudden focus on ESG, many companies are finding themselves with new voluntary and/or regulatory reporting requirements, and an uncertainty about how to address them. But, there’s good news: many companies are already collecting much of the required data and at least touching on some of the required practices. In this session, Ms. Renée Lenore from Wolters Kluwer Enablon will discuss how tools like software or consultants can help meet the requirements of this quickly-evolving space, largely with teams and systems you already have in-place.
3 Short Questions:
Q: What is the best software/Who is the best consultant for ESG Reporting?
A: The answer to this is largely dependent on your specific requirements – it’s best to talk to a few about your specific needs.
Q: How soon is mandatory reporting required under the SEC Disclosure Rule?
A: Depending on your SEC Registrant Type, as soon as 2023.
Q: What are Scope 1/2/3? What is ESG?
A: This session assumes an understanding of basic ESG terms. Let’s chat if something is unclear.
John Niemoller
E 3.5 ESG data is the key to accurate metrics and reporting
H4.2 ESG data is the key to accurate metrics and reporting
John Niemoller – Perillon Inc
Global corporations will not be able to rely on public relations to meet Environmental, Social and Governance standards. Companies will need good data, not just goodwill, based on a comprehensive and centralized EHS system of record. Modern, global enterprise EHS software has evolved and corporations can now be aware and ready to lead ESG initiatives. Learn about the newest EHS software solutions designed for frontline workers who need an intuitive and quick user experience for capturing operational ESG data at the source. Operational ESG data is the key to accurate metrics and reporting, enabling corporations to establish a corporate behavior of record.
Dr. Bapanaiah Penugonda
E 3.6 Sustainability at NYU and New York City (Virtual)
E3.2 Sustainability at New York University and New York City
Dr. Bapanaiah Penugonda – NYU Dentistry
Bapanaiah Penugonda and Arjun Kini, New York University, New York