To Whom It May Concern:

Anew Climate, LLC (“Anew”) was formed through the merger of Element Markets and Bluesource in February 2022. Anew is one of the largest climate solutions providers in North America and, through its legacy companies, has a successful track record over the past two decades in  developing and marketing carbon credits, renewable natural gas, low carbon fuels, electric vehicle credits, emissions credits, and renewable energy credits, in both compliance and voluntary markets, and in supporting client companies in quantifying and reporting on their greenhouse gas (“GHG”) inventories and developing corporate climate strategies and targets. 

Anew applauds the Virginia Department of Energy for evaluating policy options to encourage the capture and beneficial use of Coal Mine Methane (CMM). We appreciate the opportunity to submit the following comments:

1. Virginia Should Incentivize the voluntary Capture and Use of Coal Mine Methane Because of its Significant Environmental and Economic Benefits

A well-designed Virginia policy program could significantly reduce the amount of methane that is vented into the atmosphere. This would:

• contribute to federal and state climate goals by reducing US GHG emissions,
• improve local safety and air quality, and
• create new economic opportunities in rural areas facing challenges from the energy transition.

CMM is defined as voluntarily captured methane that is liberated from coal mines. Methane is released before, during and after coal mining activities take place; in active, closed, as well as abandoned mines. For safety reasons, federal laws require mine operators to actively vent methane at underground mining sites to assure that concentrations of this explosive gas do not reach harmful levels. Even after active mining has ceased, waste methane may continue to seep for many years. Under current federal regulations, waste methane from mining activities may be released into the atmosphere unmitigated.  This methane is a greenhouse gas that is more than 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide on a mass basis over a 100-year period. According to the US EPA, methane emissions from coal mining and abandoned coal mines accounted for 8% of total US methane emissions in 2019, making it the fifth largest source of this powerful greenhouse gas.[1]  According to the U.S. EPA’s GHG Inventory, about 41.5 million tons of GHG emissions (CO2e) could have been avoided in 2021 through CMM capture from underground coal mines[2].

• In addition, when CMM emissions are not captured, they are not only a potent GHG contributor but also represent a wasted potential source of energy. In 2022, thirteen mines in the US reported destruction or capture devices to EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. 2022 EIA reports cite 539 active US coal mines. Therefore, only 2.4% of 2022 US active coal mines have some form of capture equipment and there is substantial opportunity to leverage this wasted resource under properly incentivized beneficial use programs. [3]^,[4]

Importantly, the majority of CMM potential is in Justice40 areas covering large segments of Virgina, West Virgina, and Kentucky [5]. There are significant socioeconomic benefits associated with the development of CMM as it creates jobs in communities that are hit hardest by the energy transition.[6]

2. Overview of Existing CMM Capture and Use Incentives

The following state, voluntary, and federal programs and initiatives are focused on creating avenues for beneficial use of CMM as a low carbon fuel resource. While these pioneering programs create a welcome recognition of the benefits of waste gas capture, we highlight that most place restrictions either on the qualifying end use or sourcing (e.g. from abandoned mines only) of CMM, so no comprehensive framework for driving beneficial use of CMM in the US exists today:

• Pennsylvania Renewable Portfolio Standard Recognizes CMM as a qualified resource for the generation of Tier 1 Alternative Energy Credits. Under this program, CMM displaces traditionally extracted natural gas for use in power generation, taking full advantage of the thermal and environmental benefits of methane capture for beneficial use.
• CMM is recognized as a recommended resource under the Colorado Clean Heat Standard for both its thermal and environmental benefits.  The legislation directs gas distribution utilities in Colorado to submit “clean heat plan” to cut CO2 and methane emissions from delivered gas. Reduction measures include energy efficiency programs, biomethane, hydrogen, recovered methane from active and abandoned mining projects, leak detection, and electrification.
• Ohio’s Renewable Portfolio Standard allows for the generation of compliance renewable energy certificates (RECs) associated with pipeline-injected gas from abandoned coal mines.
• Since 2104 California’s Cap and Trade program, AB23, compliance protocol also recognizes the GHG benefits of CMM destruction under a flaring protocol, but crucially the maximal benefit of injecting CMM to a common carrier pipeline for beneficial use is not recognized.  
• The American Carbon Registry (ACR) has recognized CMM for carbon offset generation since 2014. This protocol does allow for common carrier pipeline injected CMM to qualify under specific circumstances, however these circumstances place significant financial and operational burdens on projects, leading most sites and project developers to elect to flare waste methane[7],[8].
• Since 1994, EPA's Coalbed Methane Outreach Program (CMOP) has been working with coal mining sector in the U.S. to reduce CMM emissions. As of January 2023, EPA’s CMOP had identified 25 coal mine methane projects at 16 active mines and 35 abandoned mine methane projects at 66 abandoned (closed) mines nationally. Its mission is to promote the profitable recovery, utilization, and mitigation of coal mine methane, which the EPA recognizes as a valuable energy resource[9].

3. Recommendation

Programs targeted at supporting the beneficial use of CMM through gas capture, upgrade, and pipeline injection are an essential component of reducing emissions associated with necessary mine safety precautions. Beneficial use of CMM – alongside its GHG impact and social, economic benefits – is a powerful tool for the remediation of coal mines. By incentivizing the capture and use of CMM, state and local governments and communities will reduce costs and impacts associated with environmental mitigation from closed or abandoned mine operations, which do not cease to produce waste methane at the cessation of mining operations. If not captured and put to beneficial use, CMM would otherwise be wasted; released into the atmosphere rather than as an alternative source of methane for power generation, heating, transportation, and key energy transition fuels such as SAF, hydrogen, and ammonia. With proper programmatic support at the state level, CMM could become a driver of economic and environmental success in Virgina.

We therefore recommend that the Virginia Department of Energy design a policy that would incentivize the capture and beneficial use of CMM. As an established leader in the environmental markets with broad experience navigating different policy programs, Anew would welcome the opportunity to engage in further dialogue with the Department to support the analysis of different policy options and scenarios.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide these comments.