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Centre County Recycling & Refuse Authority Moves To Renewable Natural Gas, Away From Shale Gas, To Power Vehicles

On December 7, Clean Energy Fuels Corp. announced it has begun providing renewable natural gas (RNG) for the Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority in Bellefonte, Centre County, supporting a transition to a cleaner, low-carbon fuel produced from organic waste.

“The recycling and refuse industry has long embraced natural gas to mitigate the impact of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Chad Lindholm, senior vice president, Clean Energy. “Our CCRRA station is one of the first on the East Coast to transition to RNG, and will further our sustainability goal of providing RNG at all of our stations by 2025.”

Clean Energy constructed the station, located at 100 Transfer Road, which will provide fuel for both CCRRA vehicles and other fleets, and is expected to dispense an estimated 500,000 gallons of RNG annually.

Switching the station from conventional natural gas to RNG will reduce carbon emissions by 3,696 metric tons each year – the equivalent of removing 803 passenger cars from the road, recycling 1,484 tons of waste instead of landfilled, and planting 61,601 trees.

“As a refuse and recycling authority, we are constantly promoting the benefits of a circular economy by purchasing products generated from the materials we handle daily,” said CCRRA Executive Director Ted Onufrak. “Migrating to RNG is just another example of how closing the loop can be beneficial economically and environmentally.

CCRRA also collaborated with the local WM affiliate to provide RNG as fuel for eight new CNG tractor-trailer units hauling over 4,300 loads of waste annually. This will support WM in meeting its goals of fleet conversion from diesel to RNG.

“WM is proud to work with the Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority and commends their transition to a cleaner, renewable fleet with renewable natural gas,” said Christopher Pilzer, director of sustainable growth, WM Capitol Area. “WM is committed to the growth of our natural gas fleet and investing in renewable energy through RNG. The Centre County RRA’s investment in an RNG fueling station will help support our efforts locally.”

"The Borough of State College has a longstanding commitment to sustainability, and we are continually seeking ways to reduce our carbon footprint and to make our systems and operations more efficient and sustainable. We commend sustainability efforts made by our partners, and CCRRA's conversion to fleet fuels with lower carbon emissions is an important step forward," said State College Borough Mayor Ezra Nanes.

For more information, visit the Clean Energy Fuels Corp website.

DEP Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Dec. 3 to 9 [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 50 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In The Dec. 10 PA Bulletin [PaEN]

Related Articles This Week:

-- Sign Petition Urging Governor-Elect Shapiro To Prioritize Banning Roading Dumping Of Conventional Drilling Wastewater [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues Orders To Equitrans To Plug Additional Wells At Cambria County Underground Natural Gas Storage Facility, Bring Other Wells Up To Current Casing Standards And Take Other Actions [PaEN]

-- Delaware River Basin Commission Adopts A Ban On Discharging Wastewater From Hydraulic Fracturing Drilling Operations, Strengthens Rules On Exporting, Importing Water To Support Fracking [PaEN]

-- Bob Donnan Blog: Comparing How The Delaware River Basin Commission And The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission Address Shale Gas Industry Wastewater

-- Bay Journal: Hellbender Habitat Slammed By Pollution From Shale Gas Development In PA's Loyalsock Creek - By Ad Crable, Chesapeake Bay Journal [PaEN]

-- DCED’s Conventional Oil & Gas Drilling Advisory Council Meets Dec. 15 On Radioactive Drilling Waste; Road Dumping Wastewater; Limits On Methane Emissions; More [PaEN]