This event will bring together the world’s leading international technology and product suppliers under one roof, along with some of the most engaging and knowledgeable minds in the industry. For more information, visit their website or check out this great video about the conference:
The event will be an exciting time for everyone involved in our industry. In addition to the Trade Show, there is a 2-day conference and seminar program, with speakers from across the globe discussing broad topics as well as practical ‘how-to’ sessions that will help everyone run their businesses more effectively.
We’ll be posting more information about the agenda and speakers in the coming weeks until the conference. In the meantime, registration is still open, and the conference is free to attend. If you can make it, don’t forget to visit GMI’s booth: stand C604!
There was a lot of attention on cows this month – specifically on their belches, flatulence, and manure that are key sources of methane emissions. We here at GMI advocate capturing the methane from cow manure through anaerobic digestion to use as biogas, but an entrepreneurial Italian took our advice a step further – to use the remaining de-methanated concoction as a raw material to make plaster, bricks and other objects known as merdacotta, or literally, ‘baked poop.’. Meanwhile, scientists in other parts of the world are attempting to tackle methane emissions that result from enteric fermentation, from feeding the cows hops or a compound called 3-nitrooxypropanol to reduce methane emissions from digestion. Indians are taking a different approach by studying miniature Vechur cows for their dairy production needs that release only 10% the level of methane emissions of a normal-sized cow.
Output from CSIRO’s three-dimensional COSFLOW model used to characterize the mine’s structure and hydrology.
This week, we’re highlighting Dr. Hua Guo’s case study on Underground Coal Mine Methane (CMM) Capture and Emission Reduction. Dr. Guo, Coal Mining Research Director for Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), collaborated with staff from Glencore International’s (formerly Xstrata) Bulga Underground Coal Operation outside of Sydney. Studying the Blakefield South Mine, the project team worked to develop a holistic and optimal approach of planning, design and operational control of CMM drainage and ventilation systems to maximize methane capture and minimize fugitive emissions in gassy and multiple seam conditions.
Two-dimensional characterization of the Blakefield Mine site.
After extensively characterizing the mine complex’ hydrogeology and monitoring emissions, the project team used CSIRO’s COSFLOW model, combined with calibrated field studies, to develop a three-dimensional analysis of the mine strata, hydrology and gas to assess key parameters for the site’s gas drainage, and design an optimal gas drainage plan for the site.
The project team implemented a trial demonstration in a longwall mine including a goaf gas drainage system consisting of underground horizontal holes in the roof and floor seams. The trial resulted in improved gas capture performance, increased drainage efficiency, improved mine safety and coal productivity, and increased methane capture and emission reductions. To learn more about this innovative project, see the above presentation link.
Methane captured from the floor lateral holes is used in a 9-megawatt power generation unit.
The PAF incentivizes climate-friendly project developers to capture the methane byproduct by providing a price guarantee for selling carbon credits via a tradeable put option. The purchase of put options enables project developers to hedge the risk of low carbon credit prices that could make the methane capture project unviable. For this pay-for-performance tool, the World Bank will pay project developers only after independent auditors have verified the emission reductions.
Like the World Bank’s first PAF auction held last year, the auction conducted last week targeted eligible landfill, agriculture, and wastewater methane capture projects. Unlike the first auction where participants bid on a carbon credit strike price, the second auction used a ‘forward format’ that fixed the strike price at $3.50/credit while participants bid on the premium price. The premium price paid per carbon credit allows option holders the right to sell credits back to the PAF at $3.50 per credit before 2020. For a more detailed description on how the first and second auctions worked, see these helpful videos.
Twenty-one companies from 12 countries participated in the second auction on $20 million of climate funds. After 10 auction rounds, 9 methane project developers walked away with put options for up to 5.7 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emission reductions at a premium price of $1.41 per ton of CO2e. Upon purchasing the put options, auction winners may either sell eligible emission reductions to the PAF, trade the contracts on the secondary market, or let the contracts expire.
GMI is proud to have informed the development of the PAF mechanism, and welcomed its presence on the Global Methane Forum finance panel (see presentation). We look forward to the third auction to take place this Fall.
Participants in the 3rd Annual All-India GMI Oil & Gas Sector Workshop, held 11 March 2016 in Noida, India.
The meeting convened all the major players dedicated to methane mitigation in the oil & gas sector through policy development and technology demonstration and deployment. GAIL generously shared preliminary results from its testing of an innovative retrofit technology designed to cost-effectively capture methane emissions from wet seal centrifugal compressors. Additionally, some of the participating oil and gas production companies expressed interest in joining CCAC’s Oil & Gas Methane Partnership.
Mr. Scott Bartos, U.S. EPA, (left) and Mr. S.P. Garg, GAIL (right).
All in all, GMI’s Oil & Gas technical team remains impressed by India’s sustained commitment to methane reductions in the oil & gas sector, and looks forward to future collaborations with GMI stakeholders. Special thanks goes to Mr. S.P. Garg, GAIL’s General Manager, and Mr. Arvind Namdeo, GAIL’s Deputy General Manager for Health Safety, and Environment, for their leadership in organizing and convening the very successful event!
Dr. Bryan Willson, Program Manager for ARPA-E’s Methane Observation Network Technology to Obtain Reductions (MONITOR) Program highlighted ongoing projects working to provide cutting edge leak detection technologies to not only cost effectively locate leaks, but also quantify leaks. Dr. Willson’s presentation highlighted 11 ongoing projects that received awards from ARPA-E: six fixed systems, four mobile systems, and one enabling system. The technologies roughly break down into four categories: Point-Sensing, Aerial, Imaging, and Enabling Technologies. Below is a brief introduction and links for more information.
Aeris Technologies’ miniature sensor is small enough to fit in the palm of a hand.
Partners: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Rice University
Aeris’ Laser Spectrometer is sensitive to leaks smaller than one part per billion per second, exceeding detection limits of similar technologies.
LI-COR – Laser Spectroscopic Point Sensor Partners: Colorado State University, Gener8
LI-COR’s Laser Spectroscopic Point Sensor is suitable for continuous or intermittent monitoring and has both stationary and mobile applications.
IBM – Low-Cost On-Chip Optical Sensor Partners: Princeton University, Harvard University, Southwestern Energy
IBM’s sensor system communicates in real time with weather information and other cloud-based data to analyze, detect, and localize leaks.
Duke University’s coded aperture cathodes are just microns across.
Partners: RTI International
The mobile miniature mass spectrometer features field emission cathodes just a few microns across. The microfabricated, coded apertures contain advanced search/location algorithms for optimum sampling. It can detect methane as well as volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
PARC (a Xerox Company) – Printed Carbon Nanotube Sensors Partners: US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and British Petroleum (BP)
PARC’s Printed Carbon Nanotube Sensors are easy to scale up while still being low-cost (less than $350 per year per site), and can detect leaks at one part per million within a meter.
Distance-Sensing Technologies
University of Colorado (Boulder) – Frequency Comb-based Methane Sensing Partners: US National Institute for Standards and Tracking (NIST), US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
The novel design is simplified to reduce the cost of dual comb spectroscopy.
General Electric (GE) – Microstructured Optical Fiber Partners: Virginia Polytechnic University (Virginia Tech)
GE’s optical fiber methane sensors have broad applications throughout the oil and gas industry, especially for larger-scale infrastructure.
Aerial Technologies
Physical Sciences, Inc. (PSI) – UAV-based Laser Spectroscopy Partners: Health Consultants, ThorLabs, Princeton University, the University of Houston, Cascodium
Mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the device can operate in two modes: continuous monitoring to detect/quantify leaks with alarm notification and an active search to pinpoint them.
Bridger Photonics, Inc. – Mobile LiDAR Sensors
The drone-mounted LiDAR rapidly produces three-dimensional topographic maps and detect leaks at rates as low as one gram per minute.
Imaging Technologies
Rebellion Photonics – Portable Imaging Spectrometer
A miniature version of Rebellion’s Gas Cloud Imager (GCI), the long-wave camera is the size of soda can and can be incorporated into personal protective equipment.
Enabling Technologies
ThorLabs – Tunable Mid-infrared Laser Partners: Praevium Research, Rice University
The innovative mid-IR laser is applicable not only for methane detection but across many applications at a fraction of the cost of similar laser sensors.
All of the ARPA-E projects will be field-testing these incredible new technologies between now and 2018, and you can keep track of each project’s progress at arpa-e.energy.gov! You can find Dr. Willson’s presentation as well as other presentations from the Global Methane Forum at globalmethane.org/forum/presentations.html.
On April 22nd (Earth Day), world leaders from 175 countries signed the historic Paris climate accord, drawing attention to some of the world’s most pressing environmental issues – including methane.
The issue of food waste received a lot of attention during the month. According to Reuters, between 30 and 40 percent of food produced around the world is never eaten, because it spoils after harvest and during transportation or is thrown away by shops or consumers. Reuters’ report focused on a new study that concluded up to 14 percent of emissions from agriculture in 2050 could be avoided by managing food use and distribution better. The Washington Post also described different countries’ efforts to target this problem, from a bill in the UK that proposes targets for manufacturers and distributors to reduce certain food waste to an effort in California to change the wording on the expiration dates on packaged food to prevent consumers from throwing away products that are still safe to eat. Meanwhile, two articles detail anaerobic digestion projects in Colorado, USA and northwestern England that capture methane emissions from food waste.
Another big story was the upward revision of methane emissions from the oil & gas sector in the United States, surpassing ruminant livestock as the largest source of methane emissions. As the Aliso Canyon methane leak demonstrated, one of the greatest hurdles to reducing methane emissions is plugging leaks in the storage tanks, pipes, and other equipment that drillers use to extract and transport oil and gas. A Washington Post story delves in depth on whether the rise of U.S. methane emissions can be attributed to the oil & gas sector, featuring the Climate and Clean Air Coalition’s Drew Shindell. In northern Texas, so-called ‘methane sleuths’ have taken the initiative to monitor emissions from oil and gas drilling in the area.
Finally, Canada’s Global News reports on why it’s so critical to capture methane from coal mines – don’t forget to view the video.
Thanks to all who participated in the Global Methane Forum. We’ll be using this blog to highlight some of the presentations from the Forum in the coming weeks. In the meantime, enjoy this report on an integrated solid waste management training that took place in January.
The International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) held its “Winter School” in January 2016 at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) and The City of Denton, Texas. Organized by UTA’s Solid Waste Institute for Sustainability (SWIS), the training focused on providing waste professionals from 27 countries with the principles for integrated solid waste management (ISWM) and proper operation and management of landfills and landfill mining to ensure environmental protection, methane reduction, and protection of public health. Students of the Winter School participated in technical sessions on landfill design and operation and field trips to landfills for hands-on training.
The Winter School students completed an intensive 2-week program that ended with a “Global Waste Management Perspective” panel discussion from the local, national and global perspectives. Kata Tisza (ISWA); Vance Kemler (Solid Waste Operations of the City of Denton); Brenda Haney (City of Irving Landfill, Texas); David Biderman (SWANA); and Tom Frankiewicz (U.S. EPA Landfill Methane Outreach Program and Global Methane Initiative) presented in the panel. SWIS Director, Dr. Md. Sahadat Hossain, presented participants with their course completion certificate in the evening gala dinner. The program concluded with a group pledge to make a sustainable world where resource management will become the primary driver of waste management. Topics the Winter School students focused on included:
Emphasis on the “Three Rs” – reduce, reuse, and recycle – and other waste management alternatives including training on organic waste management, diversion techniques to avoid methane generation, and capture of methane generated from anaerobic digestion.
Sanitary landfills with capture, combustion or utilization of landfill gas (LFG) as a component of an integrated approach to solid waste management.
Proper landfill operation and management to facilitate capture and utilization of LFG as a critical component of environmental protection of air and groundwater.
For more information on landfills and ISWM, please visit the GMI MSW page and ISWA.
Hello again from the Global Methane Forum conference site at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.! We had an incredibly successful concluding day of the Global Methane Initiative portion of this week’s proceedings.
The morning session on country-level methane policies featured the approach of five countries toward methane policy, with representatives:
Breakout of SCLP policy measures and best practices.
Canada: Mike Beale, Assistant Deputy Minister, Environmental Stewardship Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada;
Colombia: Eduardo Sanchez, Climate Change Advisor, Ministry of Mines and Energy;
Mexico: Maria Amparo Martínez, Institute of Ecology and Climate Change;
Philippines: Emmanuel de Guzman, Secretary of Climate Change, Climate Change Commission; and
United States: Rick Duke, Deputy Director for Climate Policy, White House Office of Energy and Climate Change.
The key take-away from the policy session was that policies to mitigate methane are not one-size-fits-all, and depend upon the key methane sources in each country and the various levels of government’s willingness and capacity to address these sources.
Following the policy roundtable, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched its latest methane-focused voluntary effort in the oil & gas sector, the Methane Challenge. The Methane Challenge will provide partner companies with a platform to make company-wide commitments to cut emissions from sources within their operations by implementing a suite of best management practices within 5 years. Representatives from 41 companies from across the value chain participated in the ceremony with EPA Acting Assistant Administrator in the Office of Air, Janet McCabe.
U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy delivering a keynote presentation at the Global Methane Forum.
After the Methane Challenge launch, participants were treated to a keynote by the passionate, feisty EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy. Administrator McCarthy spoke about the value of methane mitigation in terms of environmental, health, and economic benefits, and how voluntary partnerships like GMI play an integral role.
“So much of our success to date has been possible because of the leadership and cooperation of the international community. When it comes to global challenges like climate change, partnerships and collaborations that can bridge national interests and bring us together are really the core, essential, ingredient for success,” she said.
Finally – the event we here at GMI had been awaiting – GMI’s Re-charter ceremony that officially extends GMI’s charter by a further 5 years, and formalizes new alliances with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The ceremony featured speeches from GMI, CCAC, and UNECE by Joe Goffman, Associate Administrator and Senior Counsel, Office of Air and Radiation, U.S. EPA; Rita Cerutti, Director, Multilateral Affairs, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Co-chair, CCAC Working Group; and Christian Friis Bach, Executive Secretary, UNECE, respectively.
Following another afternoon of intense sector-focused technical and policy sessions in the biogas, coal mines, and oil & gas sectors, participants finally got to indulge in some socializing and networking at the official reception hosted by the U.S. State Department. We would like to thank supporters FLSmidth and GHGSat for their assistance in providing libations to all Forum participants at this reception.
Thank you to our 500+ participants of the Global Methane Forum! Presentations from the sessions will be available in a few weeks on our website. Stay posted to our Twitter account for the latest happenings during the rest of the week. Moving on to the CCAC Science & Policy Dialogue today…
Hello from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., USA, where we have just completed the first morning plenary session of the Global Methane Forum! We had a packed house of methane mitigation enthusiasts ready to discover the importance of mitigating methane as part of a near- and long-term strategy for implementing the COP21 goal of limiting global warming below 2 degrees Celsius.
A packed house before the first Plenary Session of the 2016 Global Methane Forum. Photo credit: Christopher Voell, Director of the U.S. EPA’s AgSTAR program and Co-Chair of GMI’s Agriculture Subcommittee.
The first session kicked off with a talk by GMI Steering Committee Chair & Acting Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Janet McCabe on methane’s critical role as a short-term climate forcer and the global cooperative efforts on its mitigation, including the Global Methane Initiative. She also detailed U.S. domestic plans for methane mitigation in the oil & gas sector, including the recent announcement with the government of Canada. Her talk was followed by a complementary discussion on the outcomes of COP21 and the implications of future methane work by the U.S. State Department’s Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Change, Karen Florini. Ms. Florini also acts as a key player in the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), the co-host of the Forum.
In a panel of technical experts on coal mine methane, Scott Foster of the United Nations’ Economic Commission for Europe called for increased international cooperation. Photo credit: GMI project staff.
As the policymakers exited the stage, the scientists entered – CCAC’s Climate Advisory Panel scientists Dr. Johan Kuylenstierna, Deputy Director, Stockholm Environment Institute, University of York, and Dr. Drew Shindell, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University. In a ‘tag team’ talk, Dr. Kuylenstierna and Dr. Shindell explained the far-reaching impacts of methane emissions not only as a climate forcer, but on air quality as well – which negatively impacts human health, agricultural crop yields, etc.
The final session of the morning featured a roundtable moderated by Dianne Rudo, during which the speakers detailed varying approaches to methane project financing, including:
Steven Wan speaking on financing Ventilation Air Methane (VAM) projects after the collapse of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Photo Credit: GMI project staff.
Steven Wan, Fortman (Beijing) Clean Technology Co., Ltd., discussed establishing a public-private partnership with SinoSteel to finance coal mine methane projects.
Scott Cantor, Carbon Finance Specialist, World Bank described the World Bank’s new innovative, award-winning climate finance mechanism, the Pilot Auction Facility, based on providing a price guarantee for methane projects via auctioning put options.
Samuel Tumiwa, Deputy Regional Director, Asian Development Bank, outlined approaches to climate project financing in Asia, including smaller scale, easily replicated loans used to add biogas digesters to existing projects.
Laurence Blandford, Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP), presented on his recently-published CCAP paper on converting COP21 INDCs into action. The major takeaway: publishing a country INDC investment strategy.
Bob Ichord, Ichord Ventures, LLC, discussed improving enabling environments for mitigating methane emissions from the oil & gas sector. As he noted, oil and gas production will not cease anytime soon, so we must deal with the emissions.
All in all, a successful morning. Stay tuned to our Twitter page for live updates, and please check our website in a few weeks for presentation materials from this morning.
The Global Methane Initiative will be exhibiting at the United Kingdom’s Anaerobic Digestion & Biogas 2016 (UK AD & Biogas 2016, or ADBA) on 6 and 7 July in Birmingham, UK.
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Methane International 