Contract expands installation of Avitas’ LUMEN Terrain continuous methane emissions monitoring technology from four to 22 biogas production lagoons
HOUSTON – June 24, 2021 – Avitas, a Baker Hughes business, has been awarded a contract from renewable energy operator Roeslein Alternative Energy (RAE) to provide continuous methane emissions monitoring at its 22 biogas lagoons in Missouri. The expanded contract, which was booked in the first quarter of 2021, follows a successful pilot test as part of RAE’s program to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) production from agricultural waste.
Avitas will install its LUMEN™ Terrain methane emissions monitoring technology at the additional 18 RAE sites over the next two months and expects the overall system to be fully operational by end of the summer. The LUMEN Terrain platform uses advanced sensor and AI technology to detect leaks from geotextile tarps covering RAE’s lagoons that capture biogas emitted from animal waste through the natural process of anaerobic digestion. Data received through continuous monitoring is processed in the cloud and sent to a computer dashboard to notify RAE teams of action needed to address methane emissions.
“Avitas’ LUMEN Terrain platform provides us with 24/7 autonomous, actionable and cost-efficient biogas emissions monitoring on a real time basis,” said Chris Roach, president of RAE. “Based on the success of pilot tests, we expect the expanded LUMEN installation to help us advance RNG as a safe, reliable and sustainable fuel for a variety of uses.”
“One of the most cost-effective ways to manage methane emissions is through better emissions monitoring. Baker Hughes’ Avitas emissions management technologies support customers’ goals to move the world closer to net-zero energy,” said Rami Qasem, executive vice president of Digital Solutions at Baker Hughes. “Our work with RAE is another example of how we are applying our digital and AI technology to reduce methane emissions from various sources and positioning our company for growth across renewable and traditional gas markets.”
In addition to LUMEN Terrain – which utilizes ground-based sensors to collect methane emissions data on a continuous basis – LUMEN Sky collects methane emissions data through unmanned aerial vehicles that can survey about 500 acres in 15 minutes, potentially visiting 30 to 50 sites a day, and can catch leaks as small as 2 standard cubic feet per hour. LUMEN’s ability to apply advanced machine learning and computer vision analytics to localize and quantify site emissions levels allows customers to be immediately equipped with actionable information and an auditable means of demonstrating their methane reductions.
Emissions verification is increasingly important. Northeast Natural Energy recently announced it would deploy LUMEN Terrain in its work to achieve independent certification of its natural gas production under the Equitable Origin and MiQ standards. See customer examples of our work to detect and reduce methane emissions in the Permian Basin here.
About Baker Hughes
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