This is the latest installment in Waste Dive’s Biogas Monthly series.
With earnings season nearing its end, major waste companies are reporting continued progress on their RNG projects. And while energy companies like BP have announced they’re pulling back on renewable investment, that has so far not led to a significant change in commitments for developers of landfill-gas-to-RNG facilities.
Financial filings shed additional light on project developments. WM reported having 16 third-party RNG facilities, completing five new facilities in 2024 compared to one in 2023.
Republic Services reported having a pipeline of 45 landfill-gas-to-RNG projects, most of which are developed through its joint venture with Archaea Energy, a BP subsidiary.
Republic also disclosed a $35 million equity investment in a joint venture to build RNG projects at the company's Illinois landfills. Republic invested about $98 million in Lightning Renewables last year.
Waste Connections reported having "over a dozen" RNG projects in development, and anticipates spending $100 million to $150 million on RNG in 2025.
Casella Waste Systems has one operational RNG facility at the Juniper Ridge Landfill in West Old Town, Maine, but it has plans for several more. The company has agreements for the construction of RNG facilities at the NCES Landfill in Bethlehem, New Hampshire; the Hyland Landfill in Angelica, New York; the Chemung County Landfill in Chemung, New York; and the McKean Landfill in Mount Jewett, Pennsylvania.
GFL Environmental executives also provided a detailed outlook of the company’s RNG portfolio at their investor day conference last week. The company has four operational facilities with plans to develop another 15. The company is currently selling its RNG on the open transportation market, but long term it wants to move the majority of its RNG to contracts with fixed prices once production stabilizes, according to Jennifer Ahluwalia, vice president of sustainability.
In 2028, the company projects its RNG projects could generate a combined 11.5 million mmBtus of RNG, contributing $175 million in adjusted earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Waga reports growing U.S. market share
French RNG project developer Waga Energy reported revenues were up 67% in 2024 year over year as RNG production revenues have grown. The company has signed 11 new contracts since the start of 2024, including four new U.S. projects over the last few months.
The balance of the company's portfolio is shifting to North America, as 79% of the units it has under construction today are in the United States. Waga currently operates 30 RNG production units, with 51% in Europe and 49% in North America.
Waga's installed capacity generates 4.8 million mmBtus of RNG, while its capacity under construction is expected to produce an additional 6.1 million mmBtus of RNG.
The company's most recently announced U.S. project was an agreement with Kern County, California, to build its proprietary Wagabox RNG production facility at the Bena Landfill.
Aemetis Biogas sells IRA credits from dairy digesters
A division of energy company Aemetis sold $7.7 million worth of Inflation Reduction Act tax credits to an undisclosed corporate purchaser, the company announced last week. The deal nets Aemetis $6 million, adding to $11 million worth of cash proceeds Aemetis already acquired from selling tax credits the previous month.
The sale stems from a network of anaerobic digesters built by Aemetis Biogas in and around Keyes, California. The network of digesters flows biogas from several dairies to a central gas processing facility run by Aemetis. The company is actively expanding the project and expects additional work to be completed in Q2. With those projects online, the Keyes network is expected to produce 550,000 mmBtus of RNG annually.
Martin Energy Group acquires producer of small digesters
Power generation firm Martin Energy Group has acquired Chomp, a producer of modular anaerobic digesters. Martin plans to scale the newly acquired company's reach as part of the deal.
“I am pleased to welcome Chomp to the Martin Energy Group family,” Marcus Martin, CEO of Martin Energy Group, said in a statement. “Chomp’s founder, Jan Allen, has deep experience in anaerobic digestion and has been a champion of small digesters. We are looking forward to working with Jan, Tim Tiscornia, Chomp’s CEO, and the rest of the Chomp team and to adding modular digesters to our offerings.”
Martin Energy Group has produced anaerobic digestion systems for dairy farms for more than 30 years, per a release. It plans to lend its "scaled manufacturing, remote monitoring technology and deep sales and policy expertise" to Chomp's team.
Founded 10 years ago, Chomp produces small digesters that are mainly designed for food waste generators. It was previously known as Impact Bioenergy.
Clean Energy Fuels reports rising RNG volumes
RNG fuel provider Clean Energy Fuels reported selling 236.7 million gallons of RNG fuel in 2024, a 4.9% increase year over year. The company also reported improving income in 2024, with a net loss of $83.1 million compared to $99.5 million in 2023.
Improving volumes were positively contributing to earnings, President and CEO Andrew Littlefair said in a statement. He also expects increased demand beginning later this year as the Cummins X15N engine, which provides a longer range for natural-gas fueled trucks, begins hitting the road.
Clean Energy Fuels reported several highlights in 2024 as well, including expanding the Los Angeles County Sanitation District's RNG fueling station. That project dispenses 1 million gallons of RNG a year, some of which comes from wastewater and organic matter in the district.
