Green-e® Certification for Renewable Fuels: 2nd Open Stakeholder Comment Period

Biomethane, also known as renewable natural gas (RNG), is increasingly becoming a solution for commercial and residential customers who want an effective way to address the greenhouse gas impacts of their natural gas use, and offers a pathway to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy. Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) has embarked upon a process to create a new Green-e® standard and certification program for biomethane products and associated environmental attributes. The second stakeholder comment period for the draft standard is open August 31-October 30, 2020. The objective of the Standard and certification program is to accelerate the adoption of biomethane in place of fossil natural gas, while ensuring that the gas is from sustainable renewable resources, meets the highest environmental standards, and that customers are protected in their purchase and ability to make verifiable usage claims.

Attend this webinar to learn about the program and stakeholder comment period. The webinar is free and the stakeholder comment period is open to everyone. Feedback in the stakeholder comment period is requested on the following topics:

Definitions
Utility program requirements and residential customers
Feedstocks, including wastewater and energy crops
Use of animal waste and confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs)
Production requirements, including permit violations and digestate management practices
Carbon Intensity, including thresholds, leakage, and calculation methodologies
Vintage of renewable production
Production Facility Age
Raw Biogas
Certification program structure and options

Stakeholder feedback will inform a final version of the Standard that will be brought to the Green-e® Governance Board for review later this year.
Learn more at Green-e Renewable Fuels

Speaker
Rachael Terada, Director, Technical Projects, CRS

Transcript

1. Green-e® Certification for Renewable Fuels: 2nd Open Stakeholder Comment Period Rachael Terada October 8, 2020 CRS Webinar
2. PAGE 2 Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) creating policy and market solutions to advance sustainable energy since 1997. • Expert assistance • Renewable energy and climate policy • Renewable Energy Markets annual conference • Green-e® certification for suppliers and users of renewable energy and carbon offsets in the voluntary market Center for Resource Solutions © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
3. PAGE 3 • Global leader in clean energy certification • Consumer protection for voluntary renewable energy purchases • Over 68 million MWh in retail transactions certified in 2019, enough to power over half of U.S. households for a month. Green-e® Certification © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
4. PAGE 4 Current representatives from: • Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) • Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) • CDP • National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) • Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) • Southern Environmental Law Center • Renewable Northwest • WSP • Sacramento Municipal Utility District (retired) • Friedman Solar • CRS Board Representative Plus, non-voting members from 3Degrees, Puget Sound Energy, Carbon Solutions Group Green-e® Governance Board © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
5. PAGE 5 Objectives • Accelerate the adoption of renewable fuels, while ensuring that the gas is from sustainable renewable resources and meets the highest environmental standards • Ensure customers are protected in their purchase and ability to make verifiable usage claims Green-e® Renewable Fuels © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
6. PAGE 6 • Advisory Group • Working Group • Terms of Reference • Draft Standards • Stakeholder comment periods • Independent Green-e® Governance Board votes on the final draft of the Standard Timeline: plan to release the final Standard by the end of 2020 Standard Setting Process © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
7. PAGE 7 Lessons Learned from the Electricity Market • Certification is crucial in a nascent market • Stakeholder feedback helps create robust Standard and program • Standard must be adaptable but clear Green-e® Renewable Fuels © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
8. • Initial focus on biomethane from waste sources; may be expanded in the future • Covers U.S. and Canada • Regulatory surplus required: no RINs or LCFS credits for the same dekatherm sold in a Green-e® certified transaction • Book-and-claim accounting, for both bundled and unbundled transactions • Verification and audit required • Consumer disclosures and marketing compliance review • No double counting, double selling, double claiming Standard 2nd Draft PAGE 8 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
9. 2nd Open stakeholder comment period open August 31-October 30, 2020. Feedback is requested on: • Definitions • Utility program requirements and residential customers • Feedstocks, including wastewater and energy crops • Use of animal waste and confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) • Production requirements, including permit violations and digestate management practices • Carbon Intensity, including thresholds, leakage, and calculation methodologies • Vintage of renewable production • Production Facility Age • Raw Biogas • Certification program structure and options Stakeholder Feedback PAGE 9 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
10. Definitions PAGE 10 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
11. Definitions PAGE 11 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
12. Participants PAGE 12 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
13. Utility program requirements and residential customers PAGE 13 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
14. Utility program requirements and residential customers PAGE 14 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
15. Utility program requirements and residential customers PAGE 15 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
16. Utility program requirements and residential customers PAGE 16 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
17. Production Pathways PAGE 17 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
18. PAGE 18 Production Pathways © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved. A. Fuel Type: Biomethane B. Sources of Production: 1. Digester Gas 2. Landfill Gas C. Feedstocks for Anaerobic Digestion A. Municipal Wastewater B. Organic component of municipal solid waste when separated prior to landfilling C. Food waste D. Vegetative matter, such as yard waste, shrub, or chaparral E. Crop residue
19. PAGE 19 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved. Feedstock Questions • “De minimus” definition for non-organic MSW and wood waste • Wastewater treatment facility types (municipal, commercial, industrial) • Energy Crops
20. Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) PAGE 20 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
21. Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) PAGE 21 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
22. Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) PAGE 22 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
23. Production Requirements PAGE 23 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
24. PAGE 24 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved. Production Requirements Questions • Permit violations • Digestate management practices for different feedstocks
25. Carbon Intensity PAGE 25 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
26. PAGE 26 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved. Carbon Intensity (CI) Questions • CI thresholds compared to fossil natural gas • Pipeline leakage • Inclusion in the CI score? • Methodologies for calculation • Landfill emission factor calculations for extraction and efficiency • CI calculators
27. Vintage PAGE 27 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
28. PAGE 28 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved. Vintage Questions • Vintage windows for injection into the pipeline, compared to sale date • 12 years to start • 5 years in 2023 • 2 years in 2026 • Leakage from transmission and storage
29. Production Facility Age PAGE 29 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
30. Raw Biogas PAGE 30 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
31. PAGE 31 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved. Raw Biogas
32. PAGE 32 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved. Raw Biogas Questions • Risks, emissions, or pollutants associated with raw biogas combustion?
33. Utility Waitlists PAGE 33 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
34. PAGE 34 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved. Utility Waitlist Questions • Given short supply, are waitlist restrictions appropriate?
35. Certification Program Structure and Options PAGE 35 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
36. PAGE 36 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
37. Next Steps PAGE 37 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
38. • Working Group for treatment of bioenergy and biofuels across all scopes • CRS is co-leading the development of the chapter on treatment of certificates • Final draft released next year WRI Process PAGE 38 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
39. 2nd Open Stakeholder Comment Period is open August 31-October 30, 2020 60-day comment period—please provide feedback www.green-e.org/renewable-fuels Next Steps PAGE 39 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
40. © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved. Contact. Rachael Terada DIRECTOR, TECHNICAL PROJECTS rachael.terada@resource-solutions.org +1.415.561.2135 www.resource-solutions.org
41. Q&A PAGE 41 © 2020 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.