Association News

American Biogas Council and US Composting Council Join Forces
The American Biogas Council (ABC) and the U.S. Composting Council (USCC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which the organizations say has been created to help accelerate the growth of the organics recycling industry.

According to a joint announcement, each organization is a leading advocate for its industry and together they represent more than 900 organizations.

“Organic material is a valuable resource and should be treated as such,” says Michael Virga, executive director of the USCC, Bethesda, Md. “Federal, state and local policy should reflect this fact and facilitate the handling of organic material according to its highest and best use.”

According to the associations, composting and biogas systems both use natural processes that yield a variety of saleable products from the organic materials fed into them. Both reduce greenhouse gas emissions, recover valuable soil nutrients and reduce the need for additional landfill or incineration capacity.

Biogas systems produce a renewable substitute for natural gas and yield nutrient-rich residuals that the associations say can be naturally processed into compost or fertilizer products.

The USCC and ABC say that in addition to reducing water pollution, improving soil health and stimulating plant growth, the organics recycling industry employs more people per ton of material than do landfill disposal or incineration.

“However, today, the political and regulatory infrastructures do not support these fundamental, natural and energy-producing processes that are essential to the economic, environmental and social needs of a sustainable community,” the press release states.

“We can create thousands of U.S. projects and jobs if, as a society, we all get smarter about how to use our food residuals, yard clippings, wastewater sludge and all the organic material we put into our trash every day,” says Patrick Serfass, Executive Director of Washington, D.C.-based ABC. “Three key steps will get us there: educating leaders and citizens about biogas system and composting benefits, leveling the playing field with smart policies and removing unnecessary barriers to project development.”

Biomass Power Association Applauds Passage of American Taxpayer Relief Act
The Biomass Power Association (BPA), Portland, Maine, has applauded the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which includes tax provisions that will allow biomass facilities to qualify for what the association says are crucial production tax credits (PTC).

“The Biomass Power Association is grateful to Congress and the administration for reaching an agreement and for including legislation that will allow the biomass industry, and all dispatchable power renewables, to continue to grow,” says Bob Cleaves, president and CEO of BPA. “This is a small accommodation that costs the government very little in additional revenue but will make a tremendous difference for qualifying facilities.”

The fiscal deal includes language that alters the date by which a renewable energy facility can qualify for a production tax credit (PTC). Instead of having to begin producing energy by a “placed in service” date to qualify, new facilities can now become eligible for these essential credits based on the date they begin construction. Without these important amendments, the current “placed in service” deadline of Dec. 31, 2013, would have made it nearly impossible for any new open-loop facility to qualify for the credits, according to the BPA.

In early December 2012, BPA joined with the National Hydropower Association, the Geothermal Energy Association and the Energy Recovery Council to send a letter to the Obama administration on the importance of these credits. The letter states, in part, “A rule that will allow renewable projects to go forward based on when construction begins is a major policy improvement that will allow many more clean energy projects to move forward during the statutory duration of the Section 45 Production Tax Credit.”

The Senate Finance Committee originally passed this legislation in its “Family Business and Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012,” Aug. 2, 2012.