Category: Renewable Energy

TURLOCK, Calif. — Amid intense heat waves that strained the California energy system this month, attention has been placed on efforts to build on renewable energy in the country’s most populous state. At the state level, California is gradually taking steps to run on carbon-free electricity by 2045, and legislation pushing for that calls on retail and state-run electricity sold to come from renewable sources. The transition has reached the automotive industry, with recent legislation pushing for more electric vehicles to be sold and the slow phasing out of sales of gasoline-powered cars. Large investments in clean energy infrastructure will be needed to meet California’s renewable energy goals, but some, like the state’s oldest irrigation district, are getting creative in how to get there. Irrigation districts are tasked with the distribution and management of water that has beneficial uses like agriculture or drinking.

Last year, a study published in Nature Sustainability by researchers from University of California at Santa Cruz along with UC Merced found that it may be possible to tap into the network of public water delivery canals as a way to both conserve water and advance the state’s renewable energy efforts. The researchers studied the concept of “solar canals,” which includes assembling a canopy of solar panels to prevent evaporation while also generating electric energy. The idea is being put to the test in an experiment called Project Nexus. Brandi McKuin, the lead researcher on the study and current assistant project scientist at UC Merced, said the amount of evaporation from canals in California varies by location and time of year. Placing solar panels over the water channels would not only help reduce a percentage of evaporation, but could also boost energy production, she said, since water cools slower than land.

For now, Project Nexus is starting small and is mainly a test of whether the research can hold true in practice, McKuin said. But the project views the state’s canals as a gold mine for not just energy, but information that can inform future energy projects. Those involved are going in with more questions than answers. The research suggests that covering all of California’s canals – spanning roughly 4,000 miles – with solar panels could save up to 63 billion gallons of water and generate 13 gigawatts of renewable power annually. One gigawatt is equal to the energy consumption of 100 million LEDs, or as others put it, enough to power 750,000 homes.

Other benefits include reducing weed growth in the canals and replacing diesel-powered irrigation pumps with solar-powered engines, which lessens the impact on air quality from nitrogen oxide and tiny particulate matter given off by the diesel pumps. While the solar canal idea is new for the region, it’s a sign that “out-of-the-box” ideas are worth exploring to meet the state’s renewable energy capacity, McKuin said. But she said more research is needed, as well as policy, to drive new types of solutions. “There isn’t a single silver bullet solution to our water crisis,” McKuin told the PBS NewsHour. “California is facing a challenging water future, and it’s our job as researchers to find solutions wherever we can, and solar canals is just one of the solutions that can contribute to drought resilience for the state.” The project has a $20 million backing in the state’s current budget, and construction is expected to be completed in 2023.

Eye on local, statewide benefits

The idea of solar canals struck a chord with the Turlock Irrigation District, which operates about 90 miles north of Fresno. The agency provides both water and electricity – a rare operation in the state. mMost irrigation districts just deliver seasonal water to farms and communities, but the Turlock Irrigation District is one of eight “electric balancing authorities” in the state, which help maintain “consistent electric frequency” of the grid, according to the California Energy Commission. The Turlock district’s venture into electric utility began in 1923 after the Don Pedro Dam was built at the Don Pedro Reservoir in the foothills east of the city of Turlock, giving the district an opportunity to generate its own electricity. The following year, the district supported more than 3,000 customers with electricity. Today, nearly 250,000 customers are provided electricity by the district.

The largest balancing authority in California is the Independent System Operator, providing 80 percent of the state’s power load. During the heat wave in early September, which brought record triple-digit temperatures to much of the West, the California ISO issued a Flex Alert to cellphones calling on consumers to conserve energy by shutting down appliances in order to avert an energy shortage. mThe Turlock Irrigation District also saw historic energy peaks, but it did not issue similar urgent calls to conserve energy, said Josh Weimer, a spokesperson for the district, mainly because the district has been able to carefully manage its own water and power distribution, as it has always done in its 135-year history.

However, in recent years, the district, like many other agencies, has had to reconsider how much water it is able to deliver to its customers as it faces the increasing challenges of drought and heat. Sustained drought in the West has led to dwindling water supply in recent years, leaving key reservoirs like Lake Mead at historically low levels. The growing uncertainties that come with climate change are hitting in many places and pose tough questions about California’s Sierra Nevada snowpack, where the irrigation district’s water begins to form. Forecasts suggest the Sierra will have less snowpack in coming years due to the effects of greenhouse emissions, and rainstorms have the potential to be wetter than usual. Those events could have effects downstream for communities. “We’re not left out of being impacted by a change in climate and multi-year consecutive drought,” Weimer told the NewsHour.

It’s why the idea of placing solar panels over roughly two miles of its more than 250 miles of canals in the middle of California seemed worth exploring, Weimer said. His district could use more water to grow walnuts, peaches and almonds and feed its dairy industry in addition to examining an idea that could potentially improve the district and state’s energy supply. And though the district will be the first in the nation to jump into the solar canals idea, “it’s worth changing the status quo and how we operate our system because of the potential benefit,” Weimer said. The solar canal study suggests conserving water in the canals could reduce groundwater pumping and lead to fewer deserted fields due to water shortages. Communities in the San Joaquin Valley have routinely dealt with unreliable water supply from drought and over pumping. The state’s Department of Water Resources supports the project, and if the test run at the Turlock Irrigation District is able to produce the intended results, the agency will be a crucial body to extend the project to the state’s water systems. “As California prepares for a possible fourth dry year, the state is excited to examine new ways that will improve water conservation, provide a clean energy resource, and build drought resilience,” Karla Nemeth, director of the Department of Water Resources, said in a statement.

Origins of the idea

Inspiration for placing solar panels over canals came from a similar project in Gujarat, India, in 2014. The developers of Project Nexus and founders of Solar AquaGrid LLC commissioned the study of solar canals with support from Texas-based NRG Energy and Bay Area-based Citizen Group. The India project informed U.S. researchers. Jordan Harris, co-founder and CEO of AquaGrid, said the new solar canals can use 50 percent less raw material than the India project, in addition to allowing for more space around the panels for easy maintenance. Project Nexus will include various solar canopies designed for the shapes and sizes of different canals within the experiment to study the impact of each type of canopy, Harris said.

The Turlock district’s operation as a water and electricity provider gave the founders of AquaGrid extra interest because searching for land to build solar farms can be expensive and difficult. Placing solar panels over existing waterways and property is not only cost-effective but removes the possibility of building on unused land that could negatively impact the environment. Solar farms take up a large area, and sometimes the problem is finding enough space to construct them. “There simply isn’t enough land to build that much solar and wind,” Harris said. “So, the idea of looking at already disturbed space [like] in every rooftop, every parking lot and 4,000 miles of canals and reservoirs, is a huge opportunity to solve problems.”

Ultimately, Harris said he hopes a project like Project Nexus in California’s Central Valley will help reimagine the way people think of canals and other infrastructure in the move toward renewable energy. He added the state’s engineering of thousands of miles of canals that divert water to major cities and industries will have a chance to adapt to the changing climate conditions, if the project were expanded. If California were its own country, it would have the fifth-largest economy in the world, but Harris said such prosperity can’t continue if the environment is ignored. “In our quest to satisfy human needs, we’ve often been irresponsible, and built big cities where there aren’t the natural resources, so we figure out how to bring the resources. I think there’s a way to honor the landscape and the land, and show responsibility and respect, and I think that’s what this type of innovation can do,” Harris said.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/heres-how-californias-canals-could-advance-the-states-renewable-energy-goals

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Sealed Air (NYSE: SEE) has invested $9 million in a solar farm that is now powering its Madera, California manufacturing facility. The solar panels, which sit on 11 acres of company-owned land adjacent to the facility, are expected to help reduce energy spend at this site by $1 million annually. The 265,000 square foot plant, which manufactures BUBBLE WRAP^® brand original cushioning, SEALED AIR^® brand Korrvu^® retention and suspension packaging, mailers, and other solutions, will have 98% of its electricity powered by the solar field. “The installation of these solar panels contributes to SEE’s overarching sustainability strategy and advances our transition to net-zero carbon emissions in our operations by 2040. Through these solar panels, we are advancing our use of renewable energy, lessening the energy intensity of operations and reducing the company’s greenhouse gas emissions,” said Emile Chammas, SEE’s Chief Operating Officer. “We are on a journey to leave our world better than we find it and the completion of this project is an important milestone in the strategic investments we’re making to achieve that goal.”

SEE partnered with TotalEnergies (which recently acquired SunPower Commercial and Industrial Solutions) to design and install the 3.5-megawatt ground mount solar project, which includes 8,975 solar panels, along with a 770 kW/3,080 kilowatt-hour battery storage system. “TotalEnergies is proud to be SEE’s energy transformation partner as they invest to achieve ambitious sustainability targets,” said Eric Potts, vice president of TotalEnergies Distributed Generation USA. “Renewable energy is a business priority for both of our companies, so we are thrilled that this project will deliver long-term benefits to SEE’s Madera facility while advancing global progress toward carbon neutrality.”

Over the course of the first year, the solar project will help avoid 4,982 metric tons of carbon dioxide and 72,172 metric tons of carbon dioxide over 15 years, which is equivalent to:

• Greenhouse gas emissions from more than 15,000 passenger vehicles driven for one year
• The carbon dioxide emission from annual electricity use for more than 14,000 homes
• Carbon sequestered by nearly 1,200,000 tree seedlings grown over the course of a decade

About SEE

Sealed Air (NYSE: SEE) is in business to protect, solve critical packaging challenges, and make our world better than we find it. Our automated packaging solutions promote a safer, more resilient, and less wasteful global food supply chain, enable e-commerce, and protect goods transported worldwide. Our globally recognized brands include CRYOVAC^® brand food packaging, SEALED AIR^® brand protective packaging, AUTOBAG^® brand automated systems, BUBBLE WRAP^® brand packaging, SEE Automation^™ solutions and prismiq^™ smart packaging and digital printing.

SEE’s Operating Model, together with our industry-leading expertise in materials, engineering and technology, create value through more sustainable, automated, and digitally connected packaging solutions. We are leading the packaging industry in creating a more environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable future and have pledged to design or advance 100% of our packaging materials to be recyclable or reusable by 2025, with a bolder goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions in our global operations by 2040. Our Global Impact Report highlights how we are shaping the future of the packaging industry. We are committed to a diverse workforce and caring, inclusive culture through our 2025 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion pledge.

SEE generated $5.5 billion in sales in 2021 and has approximately 16,500 employees who serve customers in 114 countries/territories. To learn more, visit sealedair.com.

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We routinely post important information for investors on our website, sealedair.com, in the Investors section. We use this website as a means of disclosing material, non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors should monitor the Investors section of our website, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls, presentations and webcasts. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this document.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 concerning our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by such words as “anticipate,” “believe,” “plan,” “assume,” “could,” “should,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “potential,” “seek,” “predict,” “may,” “will” and similar references to future periods. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release regarding our strategies, prospects, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding expected future operating results, expectations regarding the results of restructuring and other programs, anticipated levels of capital expenditures and expectations of the effect on our financial condition of claims, litigation, environmental costs, contingent liabilities and governmental and regulatory investigations and proceedings. The following are important factors that we believe could cause actual results to differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements: global economic and political conditions, currency translation and devaluation effects, changes in raw material pricing and availability, competitive conditions, the success of new product offerings, consumer preferences, the effects of animal and food-related health issues, the effects of epidemics or pandemics, including the Coronavirus Disease 2019, negative impacts related to the ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and related sanctions, export restrictions and other counteractions thereto, changes in energy costs, environmental matters, the success of our restructuring activities, the success of our merger, acquisition and equity investment strategies, the success of our financial growth, profitability, cash generation and manufacturing strategies and our cost reduction and productivity efforts, changes in our credit ratings, the tax benefit associated with the Settlement agreement (as defined in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K), regulatory actions and legal matters, and the other information referenced in the “Risk Factors” section appearing in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and as revised and updated by our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Any forward-looking statement made by us is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

https://www.sealedair.com/company/media-center/press-releases/see-madera-renewable-energy

Aemetis, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMTX), a renewable natural gas and renewable fuels company focused on below zero carbon intensity products, today announced the completion of 20 miles of biogas pipeline and approval for construction of the remaining biogas pipeline in Merced County, California.  Construction of the 39-mile main biogas pipeline is on schedule for completion in Q4 2022. “Issuance of the Phase Two Pipeline permit and construction of the main pipeline in Merced County is a very significant milestone for the Aemetis Biogas RNG project,” said Andy Foster, President of Aemetis Biogas, Inc. “California and Merced County recognize that the adoption of dairy biogas as a negative carbon intensity fuel to replace diesel in heavy trucks and buses is essential if we are to make strides to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions. Aemetis continues to rapidly deploy the infrastructure necessary to connect our network of dairy digesters and increase the production of carbon negative dairy renewable natural gas.”

This project milestone allows the installation of biogas pipeline in Merced County for construction of a pipeline for a total of 39 miles from the Aemetis ethanol plant in Keyes, California to dairies in Stanislaus County and Merced counties. The pressurized pipeline conveys conditioned, pressurized biogas from dairies to the Company’s centralized gas cleanup facility and the Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) interconnection system to inject renewable natural gas (RNG) into the gas utility pipeline. At the Keyes plant, the biogas is upgraded to negative carbon intensity RNG for use as a transportation fuel in cars, trucks, and buses. The RNG is either delivered into the PG&E utility pipeline located onsite at the Aemetis ethanol plant, dispensed to trucks at fueling stations across California or at the RNG fueling station being built at the Aemetis plant.

Previously, Aemetis announced that it received approval for the biogas pipeline from the Merced County Board of Supervisors for the Phase Two pipeline, as well as an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) for the entire pipeline project, the key approval necessary to meet the permitting requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) prior to pipeline construction. The CEQA approval confirms that mitigation measures in the biogas project will avoid or mitigate any impacts on the environment. The Company completed the permitting for 20 miles of biogas pipeline in Stanislaus County in August 2021 to connect dairies to the Aemetis biogas cleanup facility at the ethanol facility. The initial four-mile Phase 1 pipeline project was completed and commissioned in the third quarter of 2020 in conjunction with the completion of the Company’s first two dairy digesters, and the 20 miles of Stanislaus County pipeline has now been completed.  Additional pipeline will be added to connect digesters to the main biogas pipeline.

Once complete, the Aemetis biogas digesters and clean-up facility will produce more than 1.65 million MMBtu of RNG each year. Aemetis received a negative -426 Carbon Intensity pathway for biogas from the company’s first two dairy digesters, which is currently being utilized as process energy at the ethanol facility. When built, the system will eliminate emissions from approximately 1 million cars per year and eliminate about 5 million metric tonnes of CO2 per year. The pipeline project and the $12 million biogas cleanup facility are funded in part by a $4.2 million grant from the California Energy Commission.

About Aemetis

Aemetis has a mission to transform renewable energy with below zero carbon intensity transportation fuels. Aemetis has launched the Carbon Zero production process to decarbonize the transportation sector using today’s infrastructure. Aemetis Carbon Zero products include zero carbon fuels that can “drop in” to be used in airplane, truck, and ship fleets. Aemetis low-carbon fuels have substantially reduced carbon intensity compared to standard petroleum fossil-based fuels across their lifecycle.

Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Aemetis is a renewable natural gas, renewable fuel and biochemicals company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of innovative technologies that replace petroleum-based products and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Founded in 2006, Aemetis has completed Phase 1 and is expanding a California biogas digester network and pipeline system to convert dairy waste gas into Renewable Natural Gas. Aemetis owns and operates a 65 million gallon per year ethanol production facility in California’s Central Valley near Modesto that supplies about 80 dairies with animal feed. Aemetis also owns and operates a 50 million gallon per year production facility on the East Coast of India producing high quality distilled biodiesel and refined glycerin for customers in India and Europe.  Aemetis is developing the Carbon Zero sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel fuel biorefineries in California to utilize distillers corn oil and other renewable oils to produce low carbon intensity renewable jet and diesel fuel using cellulosic hydrogen from waste orchard and forest wood, while pre-extracting cellulosic sugars from the waste wood to be processed into high value cellulosic ethanol at the Keyes plant. Aemetis holds a portfolio of patents and exclusive technology licenses to produce renewable fuels and biochemicals.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding assumptions, projections, expectations, targets, intentions or beliefs about future events or other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation, statements relating to the development and construction of the biogas pipeline, biogas digesters, our compliance with governmental programs, and our ability to access markets and funding to execute our business plan.  Words or phrases such as “anticipates,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “projects,” “showing signs,” “targets,” “view,” “will likely result,” “will continue” or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current assumptions and predictions and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties.  Actual results or events could differ materially from those set forth or implied by such forward-looking statements and related assumptions due to certain factors, including, without limitation, competition in the ethanol, biodiesel and other industries in which we operate, commodity market risks including those that may result from current weather conditions, financial market risks, customer adoption, counter-party risks, risks associated with changes to federal policy or regulation, and other risks detailed in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and in our subsequent filings with the SEC.  We are not obligated, and do not intend, to update any of these forward-looking statements at any time unless an update is required by applicable securities laws.

https://www.aemetis.com/aemetis-completes-20-miles-of-biogas-pipeline-and-receives-merced-county-approval-for-final-stage-of-main-pipeline-construction/

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/local-ag-waste-prized-as-fuel-source-carbon-for-storage/article_e292237e-c88c-11ec-a8ba-e372047a3983.html

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/biodiesel-refinery-celebrates-expansion-that-makes-it-largest-of-its-kind-in-western-u-s/article_cf5fd0a0-bc46-11ec-87de-5bf9d8e1b0ae.html

A Merced dairy is converting cow waste into renewable energy. Eileen Martinho works for Maas Energy Works and tells us how it’s done. “This is a dairy digester cluster project, where each dairy is a digester on their facility,” she said. “Then, they are sending methane gas from their digester, which is the purpose of the digester, is to collect the methane gas off of the manure.” After the manure is collected from thousands of cows, a special contraption called a Digester is used to help create renewable natural gas or “biomethane” before it’s sent back through a pipeline to one central location.

Local dairy producer Alex Dejager was hesitant when he was first approached about this project, not knowing the benefits or what it would turn into almost two years later. “Maas Energy came to us, basically knocked on our door and said we have a big dream of doing a project out here to capture emissions from 15,16 different dairies in one little area, pipeline it all to on essential area and basically move that gas to PG&E, and we kind of all laughed at him,” he said.

A first-in-the-nation project to build solar panels over irrigation canals will get underway later this year in Stanislaus County. Turlock Irrigation District expects to break ground in the fall on building solar panels at multiple locations within the 250 miles of its canals. The agency expects to produce renewable energy and reduce water evaporation. Called Project Nexus, the plan is a concept developed by UC Merced and funded with $20 million by the California Department of Water Resources. According to the UC study, if the state’s 4,000 miles of canals were covered, it could result in a savings of 63 billion gallons of water annually and generate 13 gigawatts of solar power, or one-sixth of the state’s current installed capacity.

Josh Weimer with Turlock Irrigation says Project Nexus will put that theory to the test. “[It will] provide a model to not only California but the rest of the country to utilize our existing water infrastructure to produce renewable energy and potentially save water,” Weimer said. Weimer says the panels will be placed at three different locations. The pilot project will put to the test the feasibility of covering the state’s 4,000 miles of canals with solar panels. “We are excited of the potential,” he said. “The potential to save water from evaporation and also to minimize the amount of maintenance that we have to do in our system to ensure reliability of irrigation deliveries to our growers.”  The project should be completed by 2024.

https://www.capradio.org/articles/2022/02/16/stanislaus-county-will-pilot-plan-to-put-solar-panels-over-irrigation-canals/