“Humanising Energy,” a series of 12 short films, spotlights the organizations and communities embracing the move towards more renewable sources of energy, like those at Bar 20 Dairy Farms in Kerman, Calif. The Bar 20 film follows owner Steve Shehadey and his daughter Bonney, as they discuss the challenges and opportunities of running their multi-generational dairy business. The Bloom Energy project, winner of the American Biogas Council’s “Project of the Year” and the 2022 US Dairy Sustainability award, uses renewable biogas from the farm’s cows to provide all the electricity needed to run the operations.

The film is presented by the World Energy Council and produced by BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions for Bloom Energy. The series is the outcome of two organizations with rich 100-year histories shining a light on today’s rapidly changing energy landscape and showcasing clean and inclusive energy transitions around the world.

Dr. Angela Wilkinson, Secretary General and CEO of the World Energy Council, said, “The debate around clean energy transitions too often talks about grand roadmaps at a macro-level and leaves out the human element of stories across the world and what people are doing right now. The “Humanising Energy” series fills this gap by bringing people back to the center of the conversation and demonstrating how diverse communities are responding to the challenges of climate change.”

The film can be viewed here: https://www.bloomenergy.com/biogas-energy/

The post New Online Film Series Includes Bloom Energy Among Energy Transition Innovators appeared first on Bloom Energy.

In fact, natural gas use in the power sector grew rapidly this past decade, accounting for almost one-third of total energy demand growth. Its use in coming years is expected to keep growing strongly in all the scenarios studied by the IEA.

As grids modernize, natural gas-based generation is expected to replace coal generation, support growth of renewables and replace power currently provided by aging nuclear facilities.

Despite the interest in moving beyond fossil-based power generation, natural gas is likely to be a large part of the power sector mix globally in the near to medium term.  As Climate Chief John Kerry stressed during CERA Week in March, natural gas consumption and emissions cannot go on unabated. In order to achieve energy security and resiliency while accelerating our path to zero carbon emissions, natural gas must be consumed as efficiently as possible to reduce overall demand and emissions.

What We Can Do to Help

First, we can consume gas as efficiently as possible.  Bloom Energy’s non-combustion solid-oxide fuel cell platform produces power with one of the highest efficiencies available in power generation.  We achieve this with the limited release of air pollutants, no water consumption during normal operation, highly efficient land use and micro-grid configurations that eliminate the need to use diesel backup generation.

Secondly, we must reduce methane leaks in the natural gas value chain. Methane release, a result of gas production, is an extremely potent greenhouse gas. Methane has over 80 times the warming power as CO2 emissions within the first 20 years. In the U.S., the Oil and Gas sector contributes about 30 percent of methane emissions, according to an official document from the White House, resulting in over 84 million tons of methane emissions each year.

Bloom Energy recently announced a partnership with EQT to bring certified low-leak natural gas to current and future customers, leading the market for certified low-leak natural gas. Bloom Energy is the first customer of EQT’s certified natural gas, which became available for sale in January 2022 and is the realization of Bloom Energy’s commitment made in July 2021 to convert our fleet to certified gas.

By taking action to decarbonize today’s energy solutions we are laying the foundation for a net-zero future. By converting its U.S. fleet of fuel cell installations – deployed at more than 700 sites – to EQT’s certified natural gas, the release of harmful methane emissions can be actively prevented today. In fact, over 176,000 tons of CO2 emissions will be avoided per year. That’s equivalent to the emissions of 38,329 passenger vehicles taken off the road annually.

Learn more about our certificate process here.

Because methane is a super-pollutant that drastically affects climate change in the near term, acting today to reduce methane emissions results in near-term climate benefits, and is equally impactful in avoiding future climate change. By purchasing certified, responsibly sourced natural gas, we can act to reduce methane emissions today, providing time to continue to scale and invest in renewable, clean energy technology to achieve zero emissions in the future.

What is Certified, Responsibly Sourced Gas?

Certified, responsibly sourced gas is natural gas that has been produced along a specific set of sustainability criteria to minimize methane leakage and harm to the environment. These criteria, some of which are defined by the standards established by Equitable Origin and MiQ, include a focus on methane leakage as well as more comprehensive environmental impact, social impact, and corporate governance standards.

When natural gas is produced responsibly, it reduces methane leakage and emissions, resulting in a less carbon-intensive fuel. Reducing methane emissions from oil and gas operations is among the most viable and significant actions we can take in the near-term to help address climate change.

How Does Certified, Responsibly Sourced Gas Differ from Regular Gas?

The majority of methane emissions leaks occur during upstream production, in the extraction of fuels, which ultimately travel through the pipeline network to be used by utilities and end-users. Through certified production, upstream quality attributes can be selected for and demanded by downstream users, creating a market-based solution to an addressable climate issue.

Certificating attributes of production allows for a more scalable market and for downstream gas users like Bloom Energy to drive upstream transformation without taking physical delivery of gas.

Certificates are awarded on the MiQ registry to certified producers based on methane emissions performance during natural gas production. Grades are awarded to producers meeting methane emissions below a certain threshold, and company practices that promote a culture of emissions management. Equitable Origin has an additional set of criteria that include fair labor and working conditions and indigenous people’s rights.

The certificates are transferred from producers to downstream users as a representation of the social and environmental attributes of its production. The more certified gas demanded by downstream users, the greater the incentive for producers to advance responsible practices.

How Does Certification Address Climate Change?

The climate significance is that the leakage of methane from upstream oil and gas environmentally is incredibly impactful. Because methane is what’s referred to as a short-lived climate pollutant, it creates more damage over the next 20 years than other warming gases.

While we work toward our zero carbon climate goals globally, we must maintain focus on how we reduce near-term greenhouse gas emissions. Methane leaks are one area of the oil and gas supply chain that can be addressed today, with existing technology.

Though the technology exists to reduce methane leakage, there must be a larger demand for it from the downstream natural gas users. By partnering with EQT Corporation, one of the largest producers of natural gas in the U.S., Bloom Energy is helping drive the demand and accelerate the market for certified natural gas.

Powering a Better Tomorrow

Bloom Energy’s commitment is so important because we are among a handful of companies asking the oil and gas industry to address methane leakage now. We are paying premium prices for certificates of low-leak natural gas and supporting the creation of a new environmental commodity market.

We’re also in a unique position of being able to introduce this important climate action to hundreds of large and sophisticated customers who can utilize certified gas throughout their operations. Bloom Energy is working diligently with the standards and our customers to help make broader adoption of the market a reality.

Our customers can decrease their CO2 emissions, and help realize a more sustainable energy procurement process. They are positioned as early market makers addressing the climate challenges of natural gas production through a more sustainable energy procurement process.

Bloom Energy remains committed to protecting our planet. Learn more about the value of certified low-leak gas and how we invest in our planet’s future in our 2021 Sustainability Report.

The post What Certified, Responsibly Sourced Gas Does for the Environment and the Industry appeared first on Bloom Energy.

When organic matter, such as food, agriculture, and human and animal waste (an example cited often is cow waste) decomposes in an anaerobic environment (without any oxygen) it releases a blend of greenhouse gases, primarily methane and carbon dioxide (CO2). Biogas contains roughly 50-70 percent methane and 30-40 percent carbon dioxide with trace amounts of other gases.  Methane (CH4) is a powerful greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere more efficiently than carbon dioxide.

It is estimated that the US alone produces more than 70 million tons of organic waste each year, posing significant risk to the environment and public health. However, this organic waste challenge also represents a massive opportunity to accelerate toward a lower carbon future.

When released into the atmosphere, these greenhouse gases accelerate global warming. Fortunately, this biogas can be captured and utilized as zero-carbon fuel, while destroying the methane in the process. Waste that would otherwise contribute toward global warming as atmospheric greenhouse gases presents a significant opportunity to be a key driver of the world’s de-carbonization strategy.

What is Methane and Why Does Methane Matter?

Organic waste generates large amounts of methane as it decomposes anaerobically.  With a global warming potential more than 25 times greater than CO2 and a short (12-year) atmospheric life, methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is a key contributor to global climate change.

Most of the methane from waste processing is vented to the environment, flared, or burned to generate electricity through combustion engines – all three of which negatively impact both public health and the environment. The alternative involves significantly pre-treating the biogas to convert it into Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) before transporting as compressed gas or inserting into the natural gas pipeline, which is a costly process.

What is the Difference Between Biogas and Renewable Natural Gas (RNG)?

Raw biogas contains contaminants that are incompatible with modern engines and not suitable for injection into the natural gas pipeline. Biogas must be “cleaned up” in order to be used as a fuel in common applications.

When biogas is upgraded to pipeline-quality natural gas, the resulting RNG is utilized for natural gas-powered equipment and vehicles, injection into the natural gas pipeline, or generating electricity on site. While RNG used in this way lowers carbon emissions, it typically goes through a combustion-based process to generate heat or electricity – harming local air quality with particulate emissions, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur oxides that are hazardous for human health.

How is Biogas Used?

Captured biogas with no treatment or minimal treatment can be used to produce heat or electricity in fuel cells, engines, and microturbines. This electricity can be used onsite or exported into the local grid.

Fuel cells can uniquely generate electricity from biogas at high efficiency and without combustion (emitting near zero local air pollutants), avoiding a large portion of the costly treatment and conditioning process that is required to convert biogas into RNG.

The electricity generated in this way can be used onsite to lower the cost and carbon intensity output of a facility’s operations, while also granting improved resilience against power outages and other power disruptions from the local grid. This is a particularly attractive option for companies and municipalities that run facilities that produce biogas – such as dairies, landfills, and wastewater treatment plants.

Where is biogas produced?

Biogas is produced where there is an abundance of organic waste. Below are three of the larger sources of biogas in the US today.

• Landfill: Landfills are a major source of biogas. Using biogas to generate onsite electricity reduces the need for flaring, improving air quality in surrounding communities. This can also provide an important potential revenue stream for cities, which can help support other waste or sustainability related initiatives.
• Animal and Agriculture: Dairies see biogas as a revenue pathway and clean waste management method. Biogas also prevents waste overflow from the dairies into the ecosystem of the community and helps prevent manure odor. For dairies, biogas is the highest value feedstock available as a fuel source, with the lowest carbon intensity.
• Wastewater Treatment Plant: Biogas production from wastewater treatment facilities is inevitable and should be expected to increase with population. Additionally, WWT plants collectively use 3-4% of the energy consumed in the US, and have a strong need for resilient onsite power solutions. Efficient biogas utilization is top of mind for these facilities as they address both resilience and climate action planning.

Biogas can be efficiently converted into electricity at its source – giving operators a variety of benefits including lowering the cost of power, eliminating power outage risk, and improving sustainability profiles.

Why is Biogas Important?

It’s critical that we diversify away from fossil fuels to meet global energy demand with a sustainable energy source like biogas – an environmentally friendly energy source that solves many environmental, societal, and health problems simultaneously:

• Human waste will continue to increase as population grows, positioning biogas as a sustainable and scalable energy source.
• It helps with the global waste issue that releases dangerous levels of methane gas, dramatically reducing the impact of waste on global warming and climate changeIn the developing world, biogas utilization reduces water borne diseases since sewage and waste can be treated in a proper manner rather than increasing pathogens by simply flowing into water sources.
• Furthering the biogas ecosystem can enable community and rural electricity in the developing world and reduce indoor pollution through applications such as biogas-powered clean cook stoves.
• Farmers, landfill operators, and wastewater treatment facilities gain a combination of energy independence, new sources of income, clean water, and reduced odor.
• Biogas can be a zero-carbon source of power, even reaching negative-carbon in some applications.

How to Achieve Zero-Carbon Power with Biogas

Companies and municipalities can utilize biogas onsite to generate clean electricity. Because biogas enables the generation of electricity utilizing CO2 and methane that otherwise would have existed in the atmosphere as greenhouse gases, it is possible for facilities to reach not only zero-carbon, but negative carbon.

Using a fuel cell to generate electricity from biogas for EV charging is a good example of using a zero-carbon source of power to support a larger electrified and decarbonized ecosystem – instead of EV charging drawing on dirtier grid alternatives such as coal or imported fossil fuels.

If all of the economically viable dairy biogas in California was utilized to generate electricity, it would produce more than 300 megawatts of power. That’s enough to power approximately 600,000 EVs, each traveling 15,000 miles per year.

Biogas Powering the Future:

If all of the landfill gas in California were captured and converted into electricity using highly efficient, non-combustion technology such as a Bloom Energy Server, it could power 700,000 homes – roughly a city the size of San Diego. Similarly, New York’s landfill gas has the potential to power the state’s capital, Albany, four times over.

Bloom is deeply engaged with partners to advance biogas as a decarbonization pathway.

• To turn cow waste into renewable electricity, Bar 20 Dairy, a dairy farm in Kerman, California, combined a methane digester, gas clean-up skid, and Bloom Energy fuel cells for an end-to-end, waste-to-electricity solution. Excess power produced is used to charge electric vehicles.
• The California Bioenergy (CalBio) digesters capture biogas, primarily consisting of methane, released from the anaerobic decomposition of dairy manure. After being cleaned, the biogas is then converted to renewable electricity through an electrochemical process, without combustion through Bloom Energy’s fuel flexible, solid oxide fuel cells.

Access to clean, reliable, affordable power is more important than ever in today’s digital age. With biogas, a vision of powering every village and town in the world by utilizing local waste is a sustainable way to empower those communities and improve quality of life.

Biogas Solutions

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