Gevo Inc (NASDAQ:GEVO) has announced that its Northwest Iowa Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) project, Gevo NW Iowa RNG, LLC, has obtained the approval of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to participate in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program ahead of schedule.
“The work we are doing at the Northwest Iowa RNG operations is critical to Gevo’s work in the reduction of the carbon intensity of fuels,” Gevo president and chief operating officer (COO) Dr Chris Ryan said in a statement.
“While Gevo RNG is just one piece of the circular economy that Gevo is building, the capture of manure to make RNG in the production of transportation fuels is a very important component,” he added.
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Gevo had previously estimated that approval for RFS Renewable Identification Numbers (RINS) through RFS and carbon credits through California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program would be granted in late 2022 or early 2023.
The company said the early approval is a reflection of the quality work by Gevo’s expert operations, sustainability, and compliance teams as well as its dedicated project partners.
"Meeting the EPA registration requirements ahead of schedule is the direct result of the efforts of a dedicated team of hard-working individuals who demonstrate our collective commitment to this mission," COO Ryan added.
The RNG Project generates renewable natural gas captured from dairy cow manure supplied by three dairy farms located in Northwest Iowa totaling more than 20,000 milking cows.
At full operational capacity, the RNG Project is expected to generate approximately 355,000 MMBtu of RNG per year, which will be marketed by BP Canada Energy Marketing Corp. and BP Products North America Inc in California on behalf of Gevo.
Gevo’s mission is to transform renewable energy and carbon into energy-dense liquid hydrocarbons. These liquid hydrocarbons can be used for drop-in transportation fuels such as gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel, that when burned have the potential to yield net-zero greenhouse gas emissions when measured across the full life cycle of the products.
Gevo uses low-carbon renewable resource-based carbohydrates as raw materials, and is in an advanced state of developing renewable electricity and renewable natural gas for use in production processes, resulting in low-carbon fuels with substantially reduced carbon intensity, which is the level of greenhouse gas emissions compared to standard petroleum fossil-based fuels across their life cycle.
Gevo’s products perform as well or better than traditional fossil-based fuels in infrastructure and engines, but with substantially reduced greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to addressing the problems of fuels, Gevo’s technology also enables certain plastics such as polyester, to be made with more sustainable ingredients.
Gevo’s ability to penetrate the growing low-carbon fuels market depends on the price of oil and the value of abating carbon emissions that would otherwise increase greenhouse gas emissions.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com