Climate Action Offsetter: California Dairy Digester Helping to Balance the Grid

By Kasey Krifka, Marketing & Communications Manager for The Climate Trust

The Climate Trust’s Van Warmerdam project is an anaerobic digester in Sacramento County, California. Maas Energy Works—a company specializing in turning methane gas generated by cow manure into electricity—constructed the digester on-site at the Van Warmerdam Dairy.

This facility that milks 1,000 cows became operational in July 2013, with the first round of offsets delivered in December 2015. The Climate Trust has committed to buy the methane emissions that are not released into the atmosphere due to the installation of the anaerobic digester, and has already retired the first delivery of credits.

Farms have historically scraped their manure into uncovered lagoons, which generate methane and release it to the atmosphere. The digester covers the existing lagoon at the dairy with a flexible, high-density polyethylene cover, which stores up to two days of biogas production. Manure from the lagoon is piped to a covered digester tank which captures and combusts this methane in a generator which delivers electricity to the grid. Essentially, the digester is used like a battery, combusting the gas to generate electricity only during peak times.

“The Van Warmerdam project is a big deal for renewables,” said Peter Weisberg, Program Manager for The Climate Trust. “We don’t have power over when the sun shines or the wind blows—so balancing the grid is essential and biogas lets us do it with more renewables.”

The combined heat and power engine of the digester has a capacity of 600 kw, and the project has a twenty-year Power Purchase Agreement to sell this power and its Renewable Energy Certificates to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. Based on a modeling of the methane emissions from the pre-digester lagoon at the Van Warmerdam Dairy, the project is anticipated to deliver 68,500 credits over a ten-year crediting period.

Biogas utilization projects such as Van Warmerdam offer a host of beneficial revenue streams for farmers, from clean energy to tipping fees to organic fertilizer. The methane destruction benefits are significant as this greenhouse gas is 84 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.

The Van Warmerdam project is listed under the Climate Action Reserve (2013-2014 vintage). To date, The Climate Trust (The Trust) has retired 9,004 Climate Reserve Tonnes from the Van Warmerdam Project on behalf of our Oregon Program. Across its portfolio, The Trust has retired an impressive 615,163 Climate Reserve Tonnes from sixteen projects. Diverse project types include: Landfill Gas Capture, Livestock Gas Capture, Organic Waste Composting, and Improved Forest Management. This amount of tons retired is comparable to removing over 129,500 cars from the road for an entire year!

Throughout the duration of our partnership, Maas Energy Works has worked closely with The Trust to develop and operate projects under the rigorous quality standards of the Climate Action Reserve that benefit farms and the environment. The Trust is proud of our role in the Van Warmerdam Project and will continue to find ways to prove itself a friend of the livestock digester industry.

Overall, California has a very large and mostly unrecognized opportunity to develop biogas projects. This is The Trust’s first California project and therefore an important first step towards future work in the state with Maas Energy Works and others.

More About The Trust’s Oregon Program

As the nation’s first compliance carbon provider and manager, The Trust has a long history of meeting the unique needs of utilities and their stakeholders. We remain the only organization qualified to administer the Oregon Carbon Dioxide Standard, the first legislation in the nation to curb carbon emissions. New fossil fuel-fired power plants provide us with funding to comply with the law and we invest those funds into high-quality projects that reduce pollution.

Since its inception, The Trust has committed $31.6 million to greenhouse gas emission reduction projects across a broad array of sectors. The cornerstone of our business, the Oregon Program, has built a strong legacy of innovation that delivers results for our compliance partners and the environment year after year.

The majority of our projects and programs are locally focused, enabling The Trust to grow strong grassroots support for climate action. In fact, 56% of the money we invest on behalf of utilities stays in Oregon. Additionally, our Oregon-based projects are from diverse sectors, including transportation, renewable energy, forestry, biogas, energy efficiency, and landfill & waste.

For more information on The Climate Trust, please visit www.climatetrust.org.

Environmental initiatives we LOVE in our community

With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’d like to highlight the local environmental initiatives that we LOVE in our community. We’re very fortunate to have a great plenitude of diverse and effective environmental programs in our neighborhoods! Please feel free to share your favorite local environmental initiatives in the comments section below. We’ll send the first 5 commenters a handy journal book. Thanks!

	As an avid surfer, who spends a lot of time at the beach and in the ocean, I try to be very aware of the impact of my sport and waste that makes its way to the oceans. Traditional surfboards are made of some pretty nasty materials!! But I love the efforts of the locally based non-profit Sustainable Surf, who is working to bring awareness and change to the surfing industry through eco-board certification, program to recycle styrofoam into new surfboards, and their education programs on how to live a “deep-blue life,” as well as locally based eco-surfboard manufacturer E-Tech (who I can’t wait to buy my first eco-board from!). I also love local beach clean-ups run by Heal the Bay and our local Surfrider Foundation chapter. Beach clean ups are a great way to involve people of all ages throughout the community while teaching them about the importance of preventing litter from entering our storm drains and waterways and keeping our beaches and oceans clean and healthy!! – Teresa
	My community in the Santa Monica mountains is working with Citizens for Los Angeles Wildlife (CLAW) to erect barn owl nesting boxes as an alternative to rodenticides. I love this program as it’s an important step in helping to reduce the vulnerability of wildlife and domestic animals in the area. – Gillian
	These guys are doing some amazing work – very informative and very inspiring: www.hokunui.com – Sami
	There is a wonderful organization based in Manhattan Beach called Grades of Green that got its start at my daughter’s elementary school by four moms wanting a better world for their children. With a vision of making environmental protection “second nature” in young minds, this program to promote student environmental responsibility at one school was so successful that the founders decided to start a non-profit so that other schools would have free and easy access to the tools and information needed to green schools. From trash-free lunch challenges to “Walk to School Wednesdays” to reduce transportation emissions, Grades of Green is inspiring and empowering students and their broader school communities to protect the environment. – Rachel
	I’m a big fan of the local bicycling co-ops in our community: Bicycle Kitchen, Bike Oven, Bikerowave. They empower bicyclists with essential bike repair skills, get more bikes onto LA streets, and make our planet less dependent on fossil fuels. – Rhey
	I’ve spent the last three plus years working with communities in rural El Salvador to build climate change resilience and enable the sustainable management of natural resources. EcoViva is a small nonprofit based in Oakland CA that works directly with these communities to help provide technical capacity and build strategic alliances. Working with such visionary community leaders was an honor and incredible educational experience in organizing community efforts to build sustainable livelihoods and strong environmental policies. – Amy
	Working on the Reserve’s Organic Waste Composting Project Protocol has allowed me to fully understand and appreciate the enormous benefits that comes from composting not just to the climate, but also to soil and vegetation. Composting helps prevent food waste from releasing methane during decomposition in landfills and helps our drought-stricken community have healthy soil for our gardens. The City of LA hosts composting workshops to teach residents about backyard composting, worm composting, grasscycling, and smart gardening techniques. They also offer residents discounted compost bins for the price of $5 (worm bin) or $20 (backyard composter). – Andrew
	Tree People has been a major promoter of rainwater harvesting – particularly during California’s drought. Southern California has yet to see much rain during this El Nino year, so every little bit counts! Their partnership with Rain Barrels International makes it really easy for locals to pick up a low-cost rain barrel to install at home. – Sarah

Carbon offset usage in the first compliance period of California’s Cap-and-Trade program

Here’s a visual analysis of carbon offset usage in the first compliance period of California’s Cap-and-Trade program.

A special note from our Board Chair

It is bittersweet to share with all of our friends and colleagues that Gary Gero will be retiring as president of the Reserve at the end of this year and will then continue serving the organization in a senior advisory role. He was at the helm when the organization transitioned from the California Climate Action Registry, and he’s led the organization’s growth into the leading offset project registry in North America. Today, the Reserve’s standards and integrity are internationally recognized and its work is integrated into the world’s most comprehensive cap-and-trade program. It was Gary’s leadership that helped earn this reputation and success. In his own actions, he exemplified everything the Reserve strives to achieve – integrity, transparency and passion for addressing climate change. We could not have found a stronger, more fitting leader to make the Reserve what it is today and put it in a position for an even greater future.

I am confident that I speak on behalf of the Board members and the staff when I say we are all honored to have worked with such an inspiring, passionate leader and we know he will bring that same energy to his future endeavors. I hope you will join us in wishing him the best of luck and thanking him for his invaluable contributions to the growth of the Reserve, the offsets market and successful efforts to address climate change.

Linda Adams
Chair, Climate Action Reserve Board of Directors

Making an Impact through Composting

Food waste is a serious and mounting problem. Approximately 40 percent of food in the U.S. goes to waste. According to the U.S. EPA, 37.06 million tons of food waste went to the landfill in 2013. Not only is this tremendously wasteful but it’s also tremendously damaging to our environment. When food waste breaks down in landfills, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas that has a global warming potential 23 times greater than carbon dioxide. That means it’s 23 times more destructive to the atmosphere.

The Reserve’s Organic Waste Composting Protocol aims at diverting food waste and food-soiled paper from municipal sources and grocery stores that is headed towards landfills. Projects registered under this protocol – and all Reserve protocols – go above and beyond business as usual practices. That means that without the protocol and a market for carbon offsets, food waste from these projects would have most likely gone to the landfill. So far, the Reserve has issued 428,562 offset credits to composting projects, which is the equivalent to removing 90,224 cars from the road for an entire year. Plus, using the compost created from organic waste composting projects improves soil health and reduces the need for applying fertilizers and pesticides.

A large percentage of food waste comes from sources like grocery stores, farms and restaurants, but consumers also contribute to the problem. This means there’s also tremendous potential to reap environmental benefits from composting at an individual level. Read about our staff’s adventures in composting below!

Jennifer W:
In Seattle, which is the city I call home, residences and commercial properties have been required to divert food waste from the garbage since January 1, 2015. Prior to implementing this city ordinance, Seattle sent approximately 100,000 tons of food waste to the landfill annually. Seattle Public Utilities estimates this new law will divert 38,000 tons of that food waste. Plus, it will help the city achieve its goal of recycling and composting 60 percent of its waste this year. To enforce this, residents will be fined $1 and businesses will be fined up to $50 for each violation of dumping food waste into their garbage starting January 1, 2016.

Cedar Grove, a local company, is one of two companies that turns the city’s food waste, food-soiled paper, paper towels, napkins and compostable food containers into compost. The compost is sold for professional and consumer use. And, until Seattle passed its city ordinance requiring composting, Cedar Grove had a project under the Reserve’s Organic Waste Composting Protocol. It’s satisfying knowing that you helped produce the compost that you can buy at the store.

Seattle is one of only a few cities that requires composting. But composting doesn’t have to occur if it’s just mandated by law. If more municipalities offered composting, the practice could become a way of life for more people and make a significant impact on methane emissions, not to mention all of the other benefits that come along with composting.

Of course, a better solution to stemming food waste is to not waste food in the first place by doing simple activities like not purchasing too much food, eating leftovers, using food scraps and properly storing food. There is much to discuss in this area. So much, in fact, that it could be another blog post…

Craig E:
I have been composting my food waste for about 15 years, including in Arlington, VA and now in LA. It has never been required, but I have found it an easy practice to undertake. My composting habits between Arlington and LA have been very different. In Arlington it was a more typical composting style that led to great soil I could add to my garden. In LA I didn’t want to have to worry about adding moisture to my composting operation so I converted a large green yard waste bin into my composting container. I am not sure how it happened, but my composting bin never needs turning and rarely needs emptying. The reason is a voracious population of grub worms that have taken over my composting bin and reduce everything in it to a lovely organic black slime. Anything that does not get eaten by my two teenagers or three dogs makes its way to the composting bin.

I have noticed that there is often confusion between recycling and composting that, frankly, can defeat the purpose of both. The confusion can happen among even those of us who are very environmentally aware. In our LA office, we do not have a way to compost, and compostable, food-containing items have found their way into the blue recycling bin. Yes, I know the materials are often recyclable, but if any materials thrown into a recycling bin are soiled by food, LA will discard those items as trash and not recycle them. That may not seem to make sense, but soiled materials (even if made out of recyclable material) foul recycling operations. So it’s important to always be mindful of the difference between recycling and composting and remember to either clean containers before throwing them into the blue recycling bin or toss them into the trash to avoid contaminating the entire recycling bin. Otherwise, we end up doing harm instead of good.

New policies released concerning assessment of regulatory compliance and risk factors for water quality violations at livestock facilities

Revised Program Manual is now available

Internationally recognized climate change expert Craig Ebert joins Climate Action Reserve as VP of Policy

Ebert brings veteran voice and experience to the Reserve’s core work and upcoming initiatives

LOS ANGELES, CA – Environment and energy expert Craig Ebert has joined the Climate Action Reserve as VP of Policy. During his career, he has helped create the foundations for international, national and state policies to address climate change, including pioneering efforts on carbon accounting principles. Craig also has been a key technical advisor during the development of landmark international climate change agreements and one of the key architects behind the construction of national GHG inventories. He joins the Climate Action Reserve, an environmental nonprofit organization and North America’s premier carbon offset registry, after advising the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) and nearly 34 years at ICF, a top-ranked environmental consulting firm.

“I am thrilled to announce Craig Ebert has joined the Reserve team. He has been a very influential voice in the shaping of carbon accounting principles and policies and an instrumental figure in applying those principles and policies in the real world. The way his work intersects with the Reserve’s makes him a natural fit for the vice president role. Additionally, his specific expertise and experience will strongly support the growth of the Reserve and our upcoming initiatives,” said Gary Gero, President of the Reserve.

Craig has deep roots in environmental policy and methodologies. He served as the technical director of Estimation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, which was adopted by the IPCC as its GHG Inventory Programme. He directed the development of the official U.S. national GHG inventory, beginning with the country’s very first inventory, to meet commitments under the UNFCCC. Craig supported U.S. negotiations on international climate change agreements, including negotiations leading up to the creation and signing of the Kyoto Protocol, and also helped develop the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) provisions under the protocol. Other work with market mechanisms and emissions reductions has included support of emissions offset methodologies under the CDM and support of California’s cap-and-trade program under AB 32.

As VP of Policy at the Reserve, Craig will be responsible for overseeing the development of offset project protocols, developing climate change policies and programs for the Reserve and leading the launch of new initiatives.

“I am excited to be joining the Reserve at this important juncture in international action on climate change. The Reserve’s stellar reputation and cutting edge work offers an enormous opportunity to continue my work towards avoiding dangerous human impacts on our global climate,” said Craig. “There is a tremendous amount of work to be done, and the Reserve is well-positioned to bring robust, concrete solutions to the global transformation to a low carbon economy.”

Climate Action Reserve veteran Rachel Tornek takes leadership post as VP of Programs

Tornek builds on over a decade of helping guide the growth and strategic development of the Reserve

LOS ANGELES, CA – Greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting expert Rachel Tornek has assumed the role of VP of Programs for the Climate Action Reserve, an environmental nonprofit organization and North America’s premier carbon offset registry. For over 10 years, Rachel has helped guide the strategic growth of the organization and pioneered the creation of standards for reducing GHG emissions. She’s gained expertise in a number of sectors, including mining, local governments, waste industrial facilities and livestock operations. In her new role as VP of Programs, she oversees the reporting and verification of offset projects in the Reserve program and leads the organization’s work as an Offset Project Registry in California’s cap-and-trade program.

“Rachel has been instrumental in helping the Reserve become what it is today. Her contributions started with the California Climate Action Registry and have continued through the launch and expansion of the Climate Action Reserve. And her work speaks for itself. She is widely respected as an expert in greenhouse gas accounting. We are excited to have her continue building the organization through her new position,” said Gary Gero, President of the Reserve.

Throughout her tenure at the Reserve, Rachel has helped shape the organization’s strategic vision and establish its globally recognized programs in GHG accounting. Most recently, Rachel served as Policy Director, and in that capacity she planned and managed the development of new offset project protocols. Her work on the Policy team helped develop offset project standards that were adopted by California for use in its cap-and-trade program and helped pioneer new emissions reduction standards for industries like coal mining, ozone-depleting substances and nitric acid production. Additionally, Rachel led the development of the California Climate Action Registry Local Government Operation Protocol and supported hundreds of member organizations in creating company-wide GHG inventories.

“I am excited to take on this new role at such a pivotal time for both the Reserve and for climate action across the globe. I am proud of the model offset program we have created here and look forward to expanding upon that success as we move forward,” said Rachel.

Grassland Project Protocol Version 1.0 was adopted by the Reserve Board on July 22, 2015