Renewable natural gas (RNG), also known as biomethane, is natural gas produced by the decomposition of organic matter under anaerobic (oxygen-free) conditions.1 The gas is captured and then purified to remove components such as water, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide.
The Hawaii State Energy Office's Renewable EnerGIS map provides a large amount of information on renewable energy production and potential in Hawaii. The interactive map includes:
The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a hearing to discuss the Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act (H.R.2663), a bipartisan bill with 67 cosponsors that was introduced by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) in 2015.
The Solar Fuels Innovation Act (H.R.5638) and the Electricity Storage Innovation Act (H.R.5640) passed the House by voice vote this July. The bills, which require the Department of Energy (DOE) to carry out two new basic research initiatives, received bipartisan support.
The Marine Cadastre National Viewer is a joint product of the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The viewer contains an enormous amount of information relevant to marine and coastal issues in interactive map form. Over 275 different map layers are available on a wide range of topics. The geoscience-related layers include:
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, under the direction of the U.S. Department of Energy and using data from the Energy Information Administration, has produced flow charts showing the major sources and uses of energy in every U.S. state in the year 2014.
Inspired by recent milestones in domestic offshore wind energy and persistently low oil and gas prices, Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW 2016) included a panel on potential changes to U.S. offshore energy portfolios.
About 18 percent of U.S. oil and natural gas is produced offshore and production is growing. Globally, the offshore provides 30 percent of oil and natural gas.
Offshore wind is also a growing source of electricity, especially in Europe. The U.S. has significant offshore wind power potential, but no commercial wind facilities are in development [2017 update: the first offshore wind project in the United States went live in December 2016 off the coast of Rhode Island].
Ongoing technological advancements assure all these resources will continue to grow while addressing heightened environmental concerns.