Energy Vision, a New York based non-profit committed to low-carbon transportation fuels, held its 13th annual Energy Leadership Awards Reception on October 10th at the Ramscale Studio Penthouse in New York City’s West Village. This year, Energy Vision presented three awards to:
New York State Senator Todd Kaminsky, Chair of Senate Environmental Conservation Committee.
Juan Corcino, Director of Fleet Operations, for Manhattan Beer Distributors.
Rudi Roeslein, Founder and CEO of Roeslein Alternative Energy, LLC.
Rudi Roeslein receives Energy Vision Leadership Award
Roeslein was honored as the Founder and CEO of St. Louis-based Roeslein Alternative Energy (RAE), for his vision of using anaerobic digesters on large farms to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) from animal waste and native prairie plant biomass. Roeslein’s RNG is currently being used in California as transportation fuel and has received the lowest Carbon Intensity score ever recorded by the California Air Resources Board.
“RNG is a decarbonization strategy that’s ready to go today, and we’re ready to make it go,” said Joanna Underwood, founder of Energy Vision. “There is enough organic waste in the US to fuel every bus and truck fleet in every city in this country.”
Roeslein has entered into a joint venture with Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer. That entity, Monarch Bio Energy, is currently producing and selling RNG in Missouri. By the end of 2021, all nine of Smithfield’s northern Missouri farms are expected to be producing RNG from swine manure.
“Our company is about more than just capturing methane and converting it to RNG. It’s also about what we can do to keep soil from eroding, to stop nutrient runoff before it gets into streams and rivers and causes hypoxia, and what we can do provide clean water and air. We are working on a market-based solution to restore ecological services and wildlife benefits. And all this could inject $67 billion back into our agricultural economy,” said Rudi Roeslein.
It was also recently announced, RAE was named the winner of the 2019 Project of the Year Award by the American Biogas Council for their work on The Calumet Renewable Energy project as well as the Valley View Project. The Calumet Renewable Energy project was presented the award for the use of an innovative business model to manage dairy RNG through a virtual pipeline, and the Valley View project earned the same honor for the commitment from Roeslein and Smithfield to generate clean, renewable RNG from hog waste.