EnviroPolitics Blog

Funding advances anaerobic digestion projects in Philly, Delaware and New Jersey

Cole Rosengren reports for WasteDive

Leyline Renewable Capital recently announced new bridge financing for RNG Energy Solutions to develop two anaerobic digestion projects. Each will see approximately $3 million for pre-construction activities such as permitting, engineering, site analysis and securing interconnection agreements.

One RNG Energy site will be in Philadelphia, on a former refinery site, and plans to create renewable natural gas to be sold as transportation fuel. The other, in Linden, New Jersey, will be focused on creating pipeline quality gas. The two sites, each with processing capacity for up to 1,100 tons per day, are expected to begin construction in Q3 of 2020.

Meanwhile, Bioenergy DevCo (BDC) signed a 20-year deal with Perdue Farms to manage poultry waste by constructing a new digester near Seaford, Delaware. The site is projected to have at least 274 tons per day of capacity. The company also acquired Perdue’s existing Sussex County AgriRecycle composting operation and will continue to run it as a companion project, in part to handle digestate from the new facility.

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What you get when you mate a Porche 911 with a Ford-150

Elon Musk introduces his all-electric ‘Cybertruck’ for late 2021 production. Base model priced at $39,900 and, yes, he’ll take you $100 deposit now.

By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics editor

It looks like something out of a Mad Max movie. According to Tesla’s Elon Musk, the electric vehicle will combine the performance of a Porsche 911 sports car with the functionality of Ford’s industry-leading F-150.

PV Buzz has the details:

Tesla unveiled the first version of its all-electric pickup truck. The company says it will be capable of towing up to 14,000 pounds, with a maximum payload of 3,500 pounds.

That it can withstand sledgehammers and bullets, but apparently not metal balls that are thrown at close range.

What Happened?

Elon Musk introduced the Cybertruck at an event on Nov. 21, 2019. An on-stage demo that was supposed to showcase the truck’s breakproof glass went wrong as the glass broke.

The cybertruck, which looks like something out of a 1980s post-apocalyptic movie, will have three versions. The base model is $39,900, with a range of 250 miles and a towing capacity of 7,500 pounds.

A second model will be $49,900, with a range of 300 miles and a towing capacity of 10,000 pounds. The $69,900 Tesla cybertruck will have a range of 500 miles and a towing capacity of 14,000 pounds.

Self-driving features, which are not yet available, will cost $7,000. Reservations start at $100.

Why It Matters

Analysts expect the Tesla pickup, which Musk has said would combine the performance of a Porsche 911 sports car with the functionality of Ford’s industry-leading F-150 full-size truck, to debut in late 2021 or early 2022.

The pickup’s introduction will shift Tesla more toward trucks and SUVs, where Detroit’s automakers get most of their profits.

Tesla has so far sold mostly Model S and Model 3 sedans, but it also offers the Model X SUV and, starting next year, the Model Y compact SUV.

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American Water selling off its NY operations. Exec calls it a ‘very difficult decision’

Linda Lindner reports for NJBIZ

American Water Works Co. Inc. announced Thursday it entered into an agreement to sell its New York operations to Liberty Utilities, the regulated utility business of parent company Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., for approximately $608 million in cash.

Susan Story, president and chief executive officer of American Water, said the company ensures that no jobs will be lost as a result of the transaction with Liberty Utilities. Under the terms of the deal, Liberty Utilities committed to maintaining existing employment terms for two years following the closing, including keeping salaries and benefits comparable for the New York American Water employees.

“This was a very difficult decision for American Water, as we have had the privilege of serving customers and communities in New York for more than 130 years,” said Story. “After a careful and comprehensive analysis, we believe it is in the best interest of our customers in New York to sell to Liberty Utilities, which already has water utility operations and will have a larger presence in New York once the transaction closes. We are committed to working together to ensure that the transition is unnoticeable to our customers and that safe and reliable water service continues throughout the transition and beyond.”

Liberty will work closely with New York American Water and the New York Public Service Commission to ensure a smooth transition. Under Liberty Utilities’ commitment to a local, responsive and caring operating model, local management and operations teams will be maintained and empowered to continue to deliver safe and reliable service that customers expect.

Liberty Utilities said that customers should not expect any impact on water rates as a result of the acquisition.

The company stated it is also committed to continuing to invest in the water system to improve water quality, customer education on conservation and community outreach. They will also work with regulators and other state officials as well as with New York American Water during the transition to address the burden of local taxes on New York American Water’s customers, which can account for more than half of their monthly bills.

American Water and Liberty Utilities anticipate the sale will close in the latter half of 2020. The completion of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of various conditions including regulatory approval by the New York Public Service Commission and the receipt of other various customary closing consents and approvals.

Keystone Clearwater Solutions sale

Meanwhile, American Water also announced an agreement to sell its Keystone Clearwater Solutions operations to SC Water LLC, a Pennsylvania-based natural gas and oil industry investment group.

The completion of this transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Both companies are committed to a seamless transition for Keystone’s employees and customers. American Water anticipates this sale will close before the end of 2019.

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New president at NJ Utilities Association

Eric Strauss reports for ROI-NJ

Thomas R. Churchelow of the New Jersey Utilities Association.

The New Jersey Utilities Association, the statewide organization for investor-owned utilities, has named a new president, it announced Monday.

The association, which includes water, wastewater, electric, natural and gas and telecommunications utilities, said Thomas R. Churchelow will succeed Andrew Hendry, who served as its CEO and president for more than six years.

“We are pleased to have Tom at the helm of NJUA as the association continues its important work on behalf of New Jersey’s investor-owned utilities,” Jim Fakult, chairman of NJUA’s board of directors and president of Jersey Central Power & Light, said in a prepared statement. “Tom’s years of experience and insight into utility law and policy, understanding of NJUA member companies, and reputation amongst decision-makers in New Jersey as a known resource on utilities issues will be especially important as the industry addresses new challenges and opportunities in all sectors.”

Churchelow has been the NJUA’s director of government and public affairs since 2013, providing legal and policy analysis and developing and implementing legislative, regulatory and other strategies. He also has worked for the New Jersey Office of Legislative Services and is a member of the New Jersey state bar.

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Mark Ruffalo hopes his ‘Dark Waters’ film leads to environmental ‘revolution’

The actor’s new legal thriller is already generating Oscar buzz

Actor and producer Mark Ruffalo speaks during a press conference to discuss the ‘Fight Forever Chemicals’ campaign on Nov. 19. The campaign coincides with the release of his film “Dark Waters,” inspired by the story of Robert Bilott, a corporate defense attorney who discovers a community has been dangerously exposed for decades to deadly chemicals. (Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call)

Clyde McGrady reports for Roll Call

Mark Ruffalo wants a revolution.

“Are we a country that is going to be responsive to people and make sure that our people remain healthy?” star of the upcoming film “Dark Waters,” asked a crowd gathered Tuesday on Capitol Hill. “Or are we going to be responsible only to the bottom line of corporations and their greed? Because right now the people are losing.”

In “Dark Waters,” which opens in theaters on Nov. 22, the Academy Award nominee plays real-life Cincinnati lawyer Robert Bilott, who sued the DuPont chemical company for polluting a West Virginia community’s water supply. In 2017 DuPont agreed to pay more than $670 million to settle 3,550 damage claims related to the exposure.

The legal thriller, being described by some as “grim” and “urgent,” is generating Oscar buzz. Some Wall Street analysts even predict the film could become a major hit, to the point that it could scuttle a potential deal as DuPont looks to sell off some of its businesses.

Ruffalo, an outspoken liberal activist, made a point to “thank these native lands for having us here,” before addressing the crowd, something he says his “native brothers and sisters” taught him.

Then, striking a decidedly populist tone, the “Avengers” actor lit into “big corporations,” and a regulatory regime he believes favors businesses over communities. Washington should place “the people and our needs and our health before the health and the economic wealth of corporations,” he said.

Ruffalo, along with Reps. Dan Kildee of Michigan and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, called on the federal government to make several changes to the way it regulates PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of chemicals that are raising serious pollution and health concerns as communities around the country discover their water is contaminated with them.

The threat posed by PFAS, which are so slow to degrade they’ve been nicknamed “forever chemicals,” and safety concerns about their replacements have become a new national environmental crisis.

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Rhode Island governor hails community solar facility project next to Superfund site

Michael Bates reports for Solar Industry

TurningPoint Energy and TurningPoint Energy have broken ground on the King community solar project in North Smithfield, R.I. The project, originally developed by TurningPoint Energy and now owned by Nautilus, is being constructed by DEPCOM Power as part of the State of Rhode Island’s Community Net Metering Pilot Program.

The project includes two solar arrays totaling 12.44 MW AC of community solar capacity and is expected to be operational in 2020.

The King community solar project abuts the Landfill Resource and Recovery Superfund site that is currently undergoing a long-term remedial response under the oversight of the Environmental Protection Agency. TurningPoint Energy and Nautilus have coordinated closely with Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and EPA representatives to ensure that the project design has considered any potential future remediation which may be required. The project will incorporate environmental measures including a pollinator-friendly seed mix around and underneath the array.

“Projects like this, which simultaneously clean up our land and make our economy more green, are the future of our state,” says Governor Gina M. Raimondo. “I’m thrilled that once this array is complete, more than 3,000 Rhode Island households will have the option to use clean energy and save money.”

This is TurningPoint Energy’s and Nautilus Solar’s second Rhode Island community solar project to break ground as part of the Community Net Metering Solar Pilot Program, created in 2016. The Hopkins Hill community solar project broke ground earlier this year.

Nautilus is the owner of the project and responsible for managing the project, overseeing construction, and maintaining its long-term performance.

Above photo: Courtesy of Scott Lapham Photography. Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo (second from right) joined State Representative Carlos Tobon, Jared Schoch (president of Turning Point Energy), Laura Stern (co-CEO of Nautilus Solar Energy), Gary Ezovski (town administrator of North Smithfield) and Carol Grant (commissioner, Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources) for a ground-breaking ceremony at the King community solar project. Facebook10TwitterPrintEmail

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