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Fuels

Reduce the climate impact of the production, delivery, and use of fuels through clean fuel standards, alternative fuels, electrification, and related measures to phase down fossil fuel dependence.

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127 resources

Resource States and State Governments

New York Property Tax Exemption for Farm Waste

New York exempts property containing a solar, wind, or farm waste energy system approved by NYSERDA from taxation for 15 years. Jurisdictions have the power to opt out or back into this exemption.
Example States and State Governments

Washington State’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard

Washington House Bill 1091 (HB 1091) calls for a 10% reduction in the carbon intensity (CI) of transportation fuels by 2028 and a 20% CI reduction by 2035, targeting producers and importers of transpo...
Resource Executive Branch

US GAO report, Pipeline Permitting

The US Government Accountability Office’s 2013 report, Pipeline Permitting: Interstate and Intrastate Natural Gas Permitting Processes Include Multiple Steps, and Time Frames Vary, which reviewed rele...
Resource Private Entities

ABC RNG Purity Recommendation

Renewable natural gas producers represented by the American Biogas Council have argued that there is not a justification for applying different quality standards to natural and renewable gas, and ther...
Resource Executive Branch

Report, Lost But Not Forgotten: The Hidden Environmental Costs of Compensating Pipelines for Natural Gas Losses

Webb’s 2015 report examines the current frameworks for recovery of lost and unaccounted-for gas in each U.S. jurisdiction, and recommends changes to those frameworks to encourage improved management o...
Example States and State Governments

Hawaii’s Proposed SB 2818 SD 2

Hawaii’s proposed SB 2818 SD2 HD1 (2020), if passed, would “fund and require the public utilities commission to conduct a study regarding the availability, feasibility, and costs of the use of renewab...
Example Congress

Biomass Research and Development Act

The Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000 created funding streams for biomass R&D through the Depts. of Energy and Agriculture. It was amended in 2008 through the Food Conservation and Energy A...
Resource States and State Governments

Hawaii’s Proposed SB 698

In 2015, Hawaiian legislators considered a bill to prevent the state Public Utility Commission from approving a power purchase agreement if the agreement prohibits the sale of renewable energy to thir...
Resource Executive Branch

Biogas Opportunities Roadmap

The USDA’s 2014 report, Biogas Opportunities Roadmap: Voluntary Actions to Reduce Methane Emissions and Increase Energy Independence, identifies voluntary actions that can be taken to reduce methane e...
Resource Private Entities

Report, Making Your Organization Carbon Neutral with Renewable Natural Gas

Ameresco’s 2019 white paper offers the private sector insights on RNG suppliers, procurement options, and contracting models.
Example Foreign

EU Fuel Quality Directive

The European Fuel Quality Directive requires the road transport fuel mix in the EU to be 6% less carbon intensive by 2020, compared to a 2010 fossil diesel and gasoline baseline. These gains must be s...
Resource Congress

Report, The Potential Role of Biohydrogen in Creating a Net Zero World

This January 2023 report from the Columbia SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy offers a technical analysis of the emerging applications for biohydrogen (or Bio-H2, hydrogen produced from organic waste...
Example States and State Governments

Georgia Bioenergy Sales and Use Tax Incentives

Georgia adopted exemptions to its sales and use taxes for biomass used to generate electricity.
Resource Congress

The Inflation Reduction Act

New: The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and Environmental Defense Fund are announcing the launch of an additional resource on the Inflation Reduction Act Tracker website: the IRA litigation case ...
Example Local Governments

Rockville Forest and Tree Preservation Ordinance

Rockville, MD’s Forest and Tree Preservation Ordinance establishes requirements that protect trees and forests during and after development activity, and requirements for afforestation and reforestati...
Resource States and State Governments

Report, Defining Biomass as a Source of Renewable Energy

Zeller-Powell’s 2011 thesis, Defining Biomass as a Source of Renewable Energy: The Life-Cycle Carbon Emissions of Biomass Energy and a Survey and Analysis of Biomass Definitions in States’ Renewable P...
Resource Congress

Report, Climate Consequences of Low-Carbon Fuels

Hill et al.’s 2016 report, Climate Consequences of Low-Carbon Fuels: The United States Renewable Fuel Standard, offers insight on the economic rebound effect for global fossil fuel consumption in a sc...
Example States and State Governments

Oregon Forest Practices Act

The Oregon Forest Practices Act (FPA) sets standards for all commercial activities involving the establishment, management, or harvesting of trees on Oregon’s forestlands. The Act provided for field i...
Example States and State Governments

Colorado Pipeline Leaks Regulations

Colorado requires producers to inspect facilities for leaks (using audio, visual, or olfactory methods) every month, and undertake more comprehensive leak survey (using equipment to detect gas in the ...
Example States and State Governments

Massachusetts RPS

Massachusetts’ RPS provides for biomass life cycle analysis, setting a standard for ensuring the carbon benefit of biomass production. Biomass facilities must provide a statement of qualification that...
Example States and State Governments

NY Proposed Assembly Bill A862 (2021)

This NYS Assembly Bill establishes the low carbon fuel standard of 2021; such standard is intended to reduce carbon intensity from the on-road transportation sector by 20% by 2032, with further reduct...
Resource Foreign

IRENA report, Hydrogen from Renewable Power

IRENA’s 2018 report, Hydrogen from Renewable Power, assesses the state of power-to-gas technologies, hydrogen applications in end-use sectors, developing a hydrogen supply chain, and makes recommendat...
Example States and State Governments

California Renewable Gas Interconnection Incentive

California established a $40 million monetary incentive program under which certain renewable gas producers can recover a portion of their interconnection costs from gas utilities. A 2016 bill, AB 231...
Example States and State Governments

Oregon’s SB 98

Oregon’s SB 98 (2019) adopts new portfolio targets for the use of renewable natural gas by Oregon’s natural gas utilities and directs the Oregon Public Utility Commission to establish mechanisms by wh...
Resource Private Entities

Report, Task Force on Biofuels Infrastructure

A 2009 report from the National Commission on Energy Policy surveyed current biofuels transportation infrastructure and proposed a phased approach to biofuels infrastructure expansion.
Example Executive Branch

Advanced Biofuel Production Payments

Through the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels, eligible producers may receive payments to support expanded production of advanced biofuels. Payment amounts will depend on the quantity and durati...
Example Congress

Pipeline Safety Act

The federal Pipeline Safety Act gives the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration broad authority to adopt regulations, prescribing minimum standards for the construction, operation, an...
Resource States and State Governments

Report, Portfolio Standards and the Promotion of Combined Heat and Power

EPA’s 2016 report, Portfolio Standards and the Promotion of Combined Heat and Power, catalogs states with RPS, CES, APS, and EERS requirements or eligibility for CHP. It makes recommendations for how ...
Resource Congress

Report, Reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard

Columbia’s Center on Global Energy Policy published a 2018 report, Reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard, which recommended sharply reducing the compliance costs of blending ethanol into E10; promotin...
Resource States and State Governments

Report, Promoting Renewable Natural Gas in Washington State

Washington State University’s 2018 report to the Washington State legislature identifies opportunities to support renewable natural gas in the state, including through public procurement and developme...
Example States and State Governments

Utah’s Tax Incentives for Hydrogen Production

In March 2021, Utah adopted state tax incentives for the production of hydrogen fuel. HB0223 provides that a taxpayer may claim a refundable tax credit of 12 cents per kg of hydrogen produced during t...
Example Executive Branch

Advanced Biofuel Production Grants and Loan Guarantees

The Biorefinery Assistance Program provides loan guarantees for the development, construction, and retrofitting of commercial-scale biorefineries that produce advanced biofuels. Grants for demonstrati...
Resource Congress

Report, Options for Reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard

The Bipartisan Policy Center released a 2014 report, Options for Reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard, which addressed how to solve for uncertainty in annual mandated biofuel volumes, as well as vola...
Example States and State Governments

Kansas rules for repair of grade 3 pipeline leaks

Kansas is among a minority of states that have passed required timelines for repairing even pipeline leaks deemed “nonhazardous” (Grade 3). Kansas requires Grade 3 leaks to be repaired within 30 month...
Example States and State Governments

Tennessee Growth Policy Act

Tennessee’s Growth Policy Act established a comprehensive growth policy for the state, part of which was a requirement to designate urban growth boundaries, planned growth areas, and rural areas based...
Example States and State Governments

California Forest Practice Act

The California Forest Practice Act requires preparation of a timber harvesting plan for any timber subject to commercial harvesting in the state, regeneration of forest resources, old growth timber pr...
Resource Private Entities

ConservationTools.org (Pennsylvania Land Trust Association)

The Pennsylvania Land Trust Association publishes guides on topics including transferrable development rights and conservation easements, as well as model documents, maps and GIS, and lists of regiona...
Example States and State Governments

New Hampshire’s Renewable Natural Gas Legislation

In June 2022, New Hampshire approved a bill allowing utilities to procure up to 5% of gas supplies from renewable natural gas and make upgrades to their distribution infrastructure to lower emissions....
Example States and State Governments

Maine’s Wood Energy Investment Program

Maine’s LD912 establishes a wood energy investment fund and creates the Wood Energy Investment Program within the Efficiency Maine Trust. It requires the trust to use funds from the fund, if there are...
Resource Congress

Report, Expanding Natural Gas Pipeline Infrastructure

The Keystone Center’s 2002 report, Expanding Natural Gas Infrastructure to Meet the Growing Demand for Cleaner Power, lists recommendations of the Pipeline Siting Work Group of the Interstate Oil and ...
Model Law States and State Governments

LPDD Model Law: Requiring a Renewable Gas Study

Since states will have different capacities for manufacturing or acquiring renewable gas, before adopting a renewable gas standard, the appropriate agency within a state should first undertake a study...
Resource States and State Governments

Report, Environmental Justice in the Renewable Energy Transition

Ourka’s 2012 report provides a comparison of variable state definitions of biomass at page 86.
Example States and State Governments

California RPS biomass verification requirements

California’s RPS imposes a reporting requirement that applicants submit information on the type and source of biomass used. However, it does not impose further standards for cultivation, collection, o...
Resource Private Entities

Utility RNG Quality Standards

Biogas World notes that several gas utilities in the USA have RNG programs and their own requirements for the quality of RNG injected into their grid. A table summarizes critical parameters of RNG/bio...
Example Executive Branch

Multiple-Use and Sustained Yield Act of 1960

The Multiple-Use and Sustained Yield Act of 1960 regulates the “multiple Use” function of forest resources, which includes the “management of all the various renewable surface resources of the nationa...
Example Foreign

Brazilian ethanol and biodiesel targets

Brazil is second to the United States as the world’s top producer of ethanol. Brazil’s current standards require a 27% blend of ethanol in gasoline C, and gradually require an increase in biodiesel bl...
Example Public Utilities

California’s Biomethane Procurement Program

In February, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved biomethane procurement targets for utilities in a bid to meet the broader goal of reducing methane and other short-lived climate...
Resource Congress

Forest Legacy Program

The Forest Legacy Program enlists federal and state forestry agencies in preventing the conversion of private forestlands to non-forest uses, including through the establishment of conservation easeme...
Resource Private Entities

RNG Interconnect Guidance Document

The Northeast Gas Association prepared a 2019 RNG Interconnect Guidance Document, which aims to provide the technical framework and guidance necessary for the introduction of RNG into the natural gas ...
Resource Congress

Report, Improving Regulation of Gas Pipeline Leaks

Webb’s 2015 report, Safety First, Environment Last: Improving Regulation of Gas Pipeline Leaks, analyzes the current state and federal regulations with respect to leak detection, repair, and reporting...
Example States and State Governments

Oregon’s Woody Biomass Conversion Program

Passed in August 2023, Oregon’s HB 3409 Section 30 directs the College of Forestry at Oregon State University to develop methods and data to establish clean fuels pathways for low carbon fuels derived...
Resource States and State Governments

Report: Rethinking Manure Biogas: Policy Considerations to Promote Equity and Protect the Climate and Environment

This August 2022 report from the Environmental Justice Clinic at the Vermont Law and Graduate School dives deep into the existing policies incentivizing manure biogas operations, the environmental jus...
Example Private Entities

Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation

AzCATI offers innovative research, education and collaboration opportunities that collectively help to advance algae technology platforms, including biofuel research. Since its inception in 2010, AzCA...
Resource Executive Branch

DOE report on ethanol pipelines

Congress directed DOE to study the feasibility of constructing and using pipelines dedicated to the transportation of ethanol. In a 2010 report to Congress, DOE considered dedicated pipelines for etha...
Example States and State Governments

Oregon Clean Fuels Program

Oregon’s Clean Fuels Program is a state-level standard designed to shift transportation fuels away from high-carbon petroleum. The 2009 Oregon Legislature passed HB 2186 authorizing the Oregon Environ...
Example States and State Governments

Missouri rules for repair of grade 3 pipeline leaks

Maine is among a minority of states that have passed required timelines for repairing even pipeline leaks deemed “nonhazardous” (Grade 3). Missouri requires that pipeline operators repair Grade 3 leak...
Example States and State Governments

Idaho Forest Practices Act

The Idaho Forest Practices Act promotes active forest management and identifies standards for logging, road building, reforestation, streamside protection and other forest practices. The Dept. of Land...
Example Foreign

UK Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation initially required that 5 percent of all road vehicle fuel be supplied from sustainable renewable sources by 2010. It has been amended to target 12.4% of road v...
Resource Congress

Proposed Methane Emissions Mitigation Act

2015’s proposed Methane Emissions Mitigation Act was aimed at supporting the development of new technologies to address natural gas pipeline leaks, providing $225 million for research on leak control ...
Example States and State Governments

California Low Carbon Fuel Standard

California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard is the first state-level standard designed to shift transportation fuels away from high-carbon petroleum. It establishes separate standards for gasoline and diese...
Resource Executive Branch

Catalog of state and federal biofuels incentives

DOE maintains a catalog of state and federal biofuels incentives on its website.
Example States and State Governments

Virginia Bill on Natural Gas Replacement

In April 2022, both houses of the Virginia legislature passed legislation that allows natural gas utilities to include in their fuel portfolios supplemental or substitute forms of gas sources — define...
Model Law States and State Governments

LPDD Model Law: Carbon-Neutral Bioenergy Acquisition Law

As states consider carbon neutrality plans, the emissions profile of biomass as a resource in the statewide energy portfolio must be considered. A number of peer reviewed studies have maintained that ...
Resource Private Entities

Report, Biofuels Infrastructure in the United States

Ruscoe’s 2012 paper for the OECD surveys existing ethanol refineries, the rail lines that deliver their product to market, and infrastructure challenges facing expanded biofuel production, including t...
Model Law States and State Governments

LPDD Model Law: Designating State Lead Agency for Biogas Permitting

To support the increased production of biogas and the delivery to end users, the LPDD text identifies the need for changes in the regulatory framework over biogas production and delivery facilities. A...
Model Law Local Governments

LPDD Model Law: Biogas Zoning Ordinance

One of the challenges to biogas production is that production facilities are not readily classified under most existing zoning laws, which can slow project development and increase transaction costs f...
Example Executive Branch

Rural Energy for America Program

The REAP program provides grants up to $500,000 and loans to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for energy systems. While REAP funding is available for renewable gas systems, numerous r...
Resource Congress

Report, Carbon Balance Effects of US Biofuel Production and Use

DeCicco et al.’s 2016 report, Carbon Balance Effects of US Biofuel Production and Use, suggests the carbon balance effects of starch-based fuels such as corn ethanol and biodiesel may tip toward a net...
Example States and State Governments

California EO B-52-18

California EO B-52-18 was issued to support the state’s resilience to wildfire and other climate impacts, address extensive tree mortality, increase forests’ capacity for carbon capture, and improve f...
Example Executive Branch

National Forest Management Act

The National Forest Management Act implements a multiple-use, sustained-yield mandate on federal forestlands. This Act could be interpreted to grant the US Forest Service the regulatory authority to r...
Example States and State Governments

Florida rules for repair of grade 3 pipeline leaks

Florida is among a minority of states that have passed required timelines for repairing even pipeline leaks deemed “nonhazardous” (Grade 3). Florida requires above-ground, Grade 3 leaks be repaired wi...
Example States and State Governments

Michigan RPS Biomass Definition

Michigan’s RPS defines biomass to exclude trees and wood unless that are derived from sustainably managed forests or procurement systems.
Resource Foreign

Biofuels Digest Report, Biofuels Mandates Around the World

Biofuels Digest’s 2019 summary report, Biofuels Mandates Around the World, surveys 65 countries with targets or mandates for biofuel consumption.
Resource Congress

Report, Soil Health and Carbon Sequestration in US Cropland

UC Berkeley’s 2016 report, Soil Health and Carbon Sequestration in US Croplands: A Policy Analysis, estimates that while agricultural soils currently only sequester 8.4 million metric tones of CO2-e p...
Example States and State Governments

Oregon’s Urban Growth Boundary Plan

The state of Oregon’s Urban Growth Boundary Plan requirements protects rural agricultural and forestlands outside the boundary. To meet the requirements of SB 100 (1971), the Columbia Region Associati...
Resource Executive Branch

CHP Policies and Incentives Database

The CHP Policies and Incentives Database is an online database that allows users to search for CHP policies and incentives by state or at the federal level.
Example States and State Governments

New York’s Leaked Gas Cost Recovery Methodology

In New York, gas rate recovery is not linked to actual leakage each year, but rather fixed every three years to reflect historical averages. This gives pipeline operators some incentive to continuousl...
Example Private Entities

Exxon Mobil Advanced Biofuels Research Program

Exxon Mobil declares that it is investing “hundreds of millions” of dollars into algal biofuel research, noting that algal biofuels may have about 50 percent lower life cycle greenhouse gas emissions ...
Resource Congress

Healthy Forests Reserve Program

The Healthy Forests Reserve Program helps landowners restore, enhance, and protect forestland resources on private lands through easements and financial assistance. The US Forest Service could use its...
Example States and State Governments

Washington Forest Practices Act

Title 222 WAC contains forest practices rules which establish standards for timber harvesting, pre-commercial thinning, road construction, fertilization, forest chemical application and other forest p...
Resource Local Governments

RAP Report, Principle of Smart Heat Electrification

RAP’s 2020 report surveys policies that impact smart heat electrification, including electricity pricing, energy efficiency obligations, carbon intensity standards, financial support schemes, building...
Resource States and State Governments

Report, Optimal Pathways to Achieve Climate Goals – Inclusion of a Renewable Gas Standard

The Center for Renewable Gas prepared a 2018 report analyzing the challenge of meeting California’s carbon goals, and recommended developing a Renewable Gas Standard.
Example Foreign

British Columbia Renewable and Low Carbon Fuel Requirements Act

British Columbia’s Renewable and Low Carbon Fuel Requirements Act initially mandated fuel suppliers in B.C. to sell gasoline and diesel containing 5% and 4% percent renewable fuels, respectively, by 2...
Example Congress

Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act

The Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act funds state initiatives aimed at helping private forest owners achieve helping private forest owners achieve forest stewardship management planning. This progra...
Example States and State Governments

Maine rules for repair of grade 3 pipeline leaks

Maine is among a minority of states that have passed required timelines for repairing even pipeline leaks deemed “nonhazardous” (Grade 3). Maine requires that pipeline operators repair Grade 3 leaks w...
Example Congress

Federal Renewable Fuel Standard

The federal Renewable Fuel Standard was enacted as part of the Energy Policy Act in 2005. It was revised to include more feedstocks and prioritize GHG reductions as part of the Energy Independence and...
Example States and State Governments

Maryland Forest Conservation Act

The Maryland Forest Conservation Act requires counties in the state with less than 200,000 acres of forest to set aside forest acreage for preservation. Examples of community plans include Washington ...
Example Executive Branch

EO 13624

A 2012 Executive Order tasked the Depts. of Energy, Commerce, Agriculture, and the EPA, in coordination with other agencies, with developing policies to encourage investment in industrial efficiency. ...
Resource Congress

Proposed Biofuels Market Expansion Act

The Proposed Biofuels Market Expansion Act of 2011 would have made renewable fuel pipelines eligible for loan guarantees for projects that reduce GHGs and employ new or significantly improved technolo...
Example Executive Branch

DOE Bioenergy Research and Development Portfolio

The DOE has funded several bioenergy R&D projects, including a 2018 announcement of 36 projects totaling $80 million of support to develop drop-in renewable hydrocarbon fuels, bio-based products, and ...
Example States and State Governments

Oregon Clean Fuels Program

Oregon’s Clean Fuels Program is a state-level standard designed to shirt transportation fuels away from high-carbon petroleum. The 2009 Oregon Legislature passed HB 2186 authorizing the Oregon Environ...
Example Foreign

EU Renewable Energy Directive

The EU RED-II Directive dictates that member states must require fuel suppliers to supply a minimum of 14% of the energy consumed in road and rail transport by 2030 as renewable energy. The RED II def...
Example States and State Governments

South Carolina Bioenergy Production Incentives

South Carolina adopted production incentives for biomass power plants paying $0.01 per kilowatt hour. The incentive was available for ten years, from 2008 through June 30, 2018.
Resource States and State Governments

Report, Securing Rights-of-Way to CO2 Pipeline Corridors in the United States

Raven and Matsushita’s 2017 report examines the U.S. pipeline system and the regulatory regime for the transportation of CO2 across public and private land, as well as some of the potential means of s...
Resource Executive Branch

DOE’s Billion-Ton Report

DOE’s 2016 Billion-Ton Report on Advancing Domestic Resources for a Thriving Bioeconomy identifies potential biomass resources of one billion tons or more per year in the United States. For more than ...
Model Law States and State Governments

LPDD Model Law: State Renewable Gas Standard

This LPDD model state legislation addresses renewable portfolio standards with respect to renewable gas. The model legislation was prepared based on California’s proposed SB 687, which would have esta...
Resource Congress

Report, Internationally Compatible Biofuel Standards

Representatives of Brazil, the EU and the U.S. agreed to promote, whenever possible, the compatibility of biofuels-related standards in their respective regions. A tri-party task force report examined...
Example Congress

Biomass Assistance Program

The 2008 Farm Bill’s Biomass Assistance Program was the first federal subsidy program for energy biomass. It provides financial assistance for the growth of biomass crops as long as feedstocks are ren...
Resource Congress

Report, Biogas in the United States

The Nicholson Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions’ 2014 report, Biogas in the United States: An Assessment of Market Potential in a Carbon-Constrained Future, finds that generation of biogas ...
Resource Executive Branch

EPA Report, Improvements Needed in EPA Efforts to Address Methane Emissions from Natural Gas Distribution Pipelines

EPA’s 2014 report focusing on its own regulatory power over pipeline leaks recommends that the EPA work with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, develop a strategy to address t...
Resource Executive Branch

Report, Investing in the US Natural Gas Pipeline System to Support Net-Zero Targets

This April 2021 paper, part of the work by Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy on natural gas and the energy transition, examines projections of continued natural gas use and the zero...
Resource States and State Governments

Report, Growing Oregon’s Biogas Industry

Weisberg and Roth’s 2011 paper, Growing Oregon’s Biogas Industry, surveys the biogas production potential in Oregon and recommends production incentives and bridge loan programs to help realize these ...
Example Executive Branch

Advanced Biofuel Payment Program

The federal Advanced Biofuel Payment Program provides incentives for anaerobic digestion projects, including those targeted for pipeline injection, a use often excluded from state programs. The ABPP d...
Resource Executive Branch

United States Mid-Century Strategy for Deep Decarbonization

The US’s Mid-Century Strategy for Deep Decarbonization (2016), which aims for emissions reductions of at least 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2050, projects a prominent role for bioenergy feedstocks ...
Example Congress

Biomass Research and Development Initiative

USDA and DOE provides grant funding for projects addressing research, development, and demonstration of biofuels and bio-based products and the methods, practices, and technologies for their productio...
Resource States and State Governments

Report, Technical Potential of Renewable Natural Gas

Olafsson’s 2014 thesis, The Technical Potential of Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) in the United States, and the Economic Potential of Methanation-derived RNG in Texas, uses a thermodynamic balance to det...
Resource Congress

Proposed METHANE Act

2019’s proposed Methane Emissions from Transmission Harm American Neighborhoods and the Environment (METHANE) Act would require owners and operators of pipelines and pipeline facilities to use the bes...
Resource States and State Governments

Report, Design Principles for a Renewable Gas Standard

ICF published a 2018 white paper exploring the regulatory and policy context for RNG, RNG supply, the costs associated with RNG production, and key considerations in the development of a Renewable Gas...
Resource Private Entities

Green-e RNG standards

Green-e has embarked upon a process to create a new Green-e standard and certification program for renewable gas products and associated environmental attributes. Publication is expected in mid-2020.
Example States and State Governments

Arizona rules for repair of grade 3 pipeline leaks

Arizona is among a minority of states that have passed required timelines for repairing even pipeline leaks deemed “nonhazardous” (Grade 3). Arizona requires that pipeline operators repair underground...
Example States and State Governments

Oregon Bioenergy Tax Credit

Oregon offers a bioenergy tax credit for agricultural producers and collectors.
Example Congress

US Woody Biomass Utilization Strategy

The Woody Biomass Utilization Strategy contemplates the use of excess woody materials from national forests for energy generation in order to, among other things, improve ecosystem health, restore for...
Example Congress

California Biogas Quality Standards

In response to state legislation, the California PUC finalized quality standard for biogas. They prescribe acceptable concentration levels for 17 constituents of concern in biogas, including arsenic, ...
Example States and State Governments

New Jersey’s A2371 (2020)

New Jersey’s A2371 (2020) amends the state RPS’s definition of “Class I renewable energy” to include methane gas from a biomass facility (provided that the biomass is cultivated and harvested in a sus...
Example Executive Branch

FERC’s Cost Recovery Mechanism for Modernization of Natural Gas Pipelines

FERC’s 2015 rule allowed pipeline operators to recover repair and replacement costs annually, rather than waiting for the next rate case. This addressed an incentive problem in pipeline maintenance, w...
Example Executive Branch

Healthy Forests Restoration Act and Applications

The Healthy Forests Restoration Act outlines the federal government’s policy guiding wildfire management on federal forests. Under the HFRA’s Hazardous Fuel Reduction on Federal Lands provisions (16 U...
Example States and State Governments

Massachusetts Forest Cutting Practices Act

The Massachusetts Forest Cutting Practices Act regulates commercial timber cutting of wood products greater than 25,000 board feet on any parcel at a given time. The statute requires forest owners to ...
Resource Congress

Proposed Biofuels Pipeline Act of 2008

The proposed Biofuels Pipeline Act of 2008 would have changed the tax code to provide the same incentives for ethanol pipeline builders that oil pipeline builders receive.
Example States and State Governments

Texas rules for repair of grade 3 pipeline leaks

Texas is among a minority of states that have passed required timelines for repairing even pipeline leaks deemed “nonhazardous” (Grade 3). Texas requires pipeline operators to repair Grade 3 leaks wit...
Resource States and State Governments

California’s proposed SB 687

Proposed SB 687 would have established a Renewable Gas Standard requiring an average carbon intensity reduction of one percent in 2020, increasing to 10 percent in 2030.
Example Congress

Biomass Research and Development Initiative

The BR&D Initiative receives funding through US DOE and the Dept. of Agriculture. The BR&D Initiative is legislatively directed to address technical areas including feedstock development; biofuels and...
Example States and State Governments

California SB 1440

California’s SB 1440 requires the state’s PUC to consider adopting specific biomethane procurement targets or goals for each gas corporation. The bill would require the PUC to take certain actions in ...
Resource States and State Governments

Renewable Fuels Roadmap and Sustainable Biomass Feedstock Supply for New York State

NYSERDA’s 2010 report (and 2012 update) estimates the sustainable level of woody biomass that could be harvested from forests in New York on an annual basis and used for the production of biofuels, bi...
Resource Private Entities

Renewable Natural Gas Coalition

The Renewable Natural Gas Coalition is a non-profit organization composed of RNG industry members dedicated to the sustainable advancement of RNG or biogas-derived biomethane as an alternative and dom...
Example States and State Governments

Washington’s Office of Renewable Fuels Legislation

In April 2022, Washington adopted SB 5910, establishing the statewide Office of Renewable Fuels within the Department of Commerce to support renewable fuel and electrolytic hydrogen development. The O...
Example States and State Governments

California Low Carbon Fuel Standard

California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard is the first state-level standard designed to shift transportation fuels away from high-carbon petroleum. It establishes separate standards for gasoline and diese...
Example Congress

Federal Renewable Fuel Standard

The federal Renewable Fuel Standard was enacted as part of the Energy Policy Act in 2005. It was revised to include more feedstocks and prioritize GHG reductions as part of the Energy Independence and...