October 10th was a beautiful fall evening and a major milestone for Energy Vision as we celebrated our 13th anniversary and annual awards reception at the Ramscale Studio Penthouse in NYC’s West Village. Our 150 guests included government and business leaders, environmental justice, civic and renewable energy pioneers, and students. Many stood on the terrace overlooking the Hudson, enjoying the setting sun and taking in the breathtaking views of the city’s skyline. Our guests shared hors d’oeuvres and fine wines, discussed sustainability initiatives, and bid on our silent auction.
The evening’s highlight was the presentation of our Energy Leadership Awards to three pioneers advancing farsighted policies and projects that address climate change, waste, and pollution. Their work highlights how this country’s vast stream of organic waste is being leveraged to tackle critical environmental problems. Energy Vision presented awards to New York Senator Todd Kaminsky, Chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, Juan Corcino, Director of Fleet Operations for Manhattan Beer Distributors, and Rudi Roeslein, Founder and CEO of Roeslein Alternative Energy, LLC in St. Louis
New York State Senator Todd Kaminsky
As Chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, Senator Kaminsky (D-9th Senate District) is at the forefront of efforts to protect the State’s air, water, and natural resources. He authored New York’s 2019 “Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act” – the nation’s most aggressive climate change program – putting the State on a path toward carbon neutrality and a green energy economy.
Also in 2019, his landmark proposal to divert discarded, inedible food to processing facilities that produce clean energy – and edible food to those who are hungry – was included in the New York State budget. The “Food Recovery & Recycling Act” will require supermarkets, restaurants and other large generators of excess food to donate their left-overs and send inedible food to processing facilities to be turned into compost and energy.
Manhattan Beer Distributors
In 2002, Manhattan Beer Distributors (MBD), the fourth-largest beverage distributor in the US, became the first company in the Northeast to convert a portion of its fleet from diesel to compressed natural gas (CNG). Over the following 17 years, MBD has expanded this fleet, now operating 180 CNG delivery trucks and 3 private fueling stations. Continuing its commitment to clean fuel and clean air, MBD will be among the first fleets in New York to use a new refueling station in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. The station will dispense only renewable natural gas made from decomposing organic waste, further improving air quality in the city’s five boroughs and on Long Island.
Roeslein Alternative Energy
Rudi Roeslein is the Founder and CEO of St. Louis-based Roeslein Alternative Energy (RAE), which is implementing his vision of using anaerobic digesters on large farms to produce RNG from animal waste and native prairie plant biomass. Roeslein has entered into a joint venture with Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer; that entity, Monarch BioEnergy, is currently producing and selling RNG in Missouri. By the end of 2021, all nine of Smithfield’s North Missouri farms will be producing RNG from manure. These projects are part of RAE’s larger, step-by-step conservation vision to cut GHGs, stop environmentally-damaging farm effluents, provide an income stream to help farmers stop planting seasonal crops on marginal land, replant native grasses and restore the prairie ecosystem and its diverse flora and fauna.
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