In August 2019, SCS Energy broke ground on construction of a 4,000-scfm landfill gas to renewable natural gas (RNG) plant in Indianapolis. Indy High Btu, LLC engaged SCS Energy to build the RNG plant under an engineer/procure/construct (EPC) agreement. Indy High Btu, LLC is jointly owned by Kinetrex Energy, Southside Landfill, and EDL Energy.
The RNG plant employs an iron redox scrubber for hydrogen sulfide removal, membranes for carbon dioxide removal and pressure swing adsorption for nitrogen removal. The plant is on schedule to achieve commercial operation in February 2020.
Kinetrex, as a major distributor of LNG, intends to convert the RNG into LNG. RNG from the plant will fuel trucks replacing nearly 8 million gallons of diesel a year. RNG is less expensive than diesel and significantly reduces the emission of methane and other greenhouse gases.
The Indy High Btu RNG plant is the third landfill gas-to-RNG plant designed by SCS to employ nitrogen removal, meeting pipeline specifications and maximizing gas recovery. Two other plants, including a 5,000-scfm project in Kentucky, which commenced operation in March 2018, and a 5,000-scfm project in Texas, which is currently under construction and scheduled to begin operations in November 2019, are both SCS Energy designs.
SCS Energy is a practice of SCS Engineers specializing in Biogas, Anaerobic Digestion, Renewable Natural Gas and Energy Systems for industrial and agricultural operations.
An aggressive carbon abatement goal often referred to as deep decarbonization, requires systemic changes to the energy economy. The scale and complexity of these projects are enormous, but achievable in our children’s lifetime. Legal Pathways recently published a legal toolkit Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States containing key recommendations and information from its larger publication to be released later this year. Both are a treasure trove for public and private decision-makers who desire pathways to a smaller carbon footprint.
The slimmer version works as a legal guide for businesses and municipalities interested in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the U.S. While each entity may draw on some, but not all, of the publication, it is a significant resource for public and private decision-makers who desire, or are working toward meeting stricter regulatory policies.
The authors identify all the legal options for enabling the U.S. to start addressing a monumental environmental challenge. Decision-makers can use combinations of resources to achieve their desired goals by employing these legal tools.
Thirty-four chapters cover energy efficiency, conservation, and fuel switching; electricity decarbonization; fuel decarbonization; carbon capture and negative emissions; non-carbon dioxide climate pollutants, and a variety of crosscutting issues.1 Each topic area identifies the main legal issues; then covers the options involving federal, state, and local laws.
With enough detail for readers to comprehend pathways best suited for them, the book is written for those who do not have legal or environmental engineering backgrounds. The authors include options even if they are not politically realistic now, recognizing that some may have value over time by becoming a legal pathway.
Get started by downloading this informative Environmental Law Institute publication.
Notes and Citations
1 “Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States,” by M. Gerrard and J. Dernbach, Editors, 2019, Retrieved from https://www.eli.org/eli-press-books/legal-pathways-deep-decarbonization-united-states
