Anaergia to Run Largest RNG Facility in North America

Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Renewable energy company Anaergia Incorporated (Burlington, Ontario) said it secured a 10-year deal to operate an organic waste-to-energy facility in California, a facility said to be the largest of its kind in North America.

Anaergia said it secured a 10-year operations and maintenance contract with Rialto Bioenergy Solutions LLC, an affiliate of Sevana Bioenergy LLC (Boise, Idaho), to operate the renewable natural gas (RNG) facility in Rialto, California. Claimed to be the largest of its kind in North America, the facility can process up to 1,000 tons per day of organic waste taken from landfills and municipal wastewater streams into either RNG or fertilizers.

RNG is finding its footing as a low-carbon alternative to natural gas, making it a key component of the energy transition. The decomposition of organic matter yields methane, which needs to be treated to remove any impurities to reach a near-pure level of 95% or greater before it's sent to consumers.

A report from multinational professional services firm Deloitte found uncaptured methane from municipal waste and wastewater treatment facilities is one of the largest sources of U.S.-based methane emissions. If captured and utilized, methane as RNG could replace about 4.4% of U.S. natural gas demand, Deloitte said.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Alternative Fuels Plant Database can click here for a plant profile of the California waste-to-energy facility.

California has some of the most stringent standards for fuel in the nation and the state's energy sector is evolving under new regulations. Boston, Massachusetts-based World Energy LLC is adding a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) unit at its biofuel refinery in Paramount, California, that will lift production to 340 million gallons per year. Subscribers can click here for the project report.

In Bakersfield, Global Clean Energy Holdings Incorporated (Long Beach, California) is revamping a shuttered refinery formerly owned by Delek US Holdings Incorporated (NYSE:DK) to produce 150,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) of renewable diesel using animal fats as one of its feedstocks. Subscribers can click here for the project report.

But it's not all good news for the state's energy sector. Last month, Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation, AGX2-1, that mandates refiners maintain fuel storage levels to avoid any supply-side issues that would lead to price spikes at the consumer level. The measure authorized the state energy commission to develop, regulate and enforce storage requirements for in-state refiners.

In the wake of the signing, Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) (San Antonio, Texas) said it was rethinking options for California refineries that combine for 223,000 BBL/d in processing capacity. Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) (Houston, Texas), for its part, announced plans to close two of its refineries in the Los Angeles area that have a combined capacity of 133,000 BBL/d.

Refineries, however, can usually switch to processing renewable feedstocks. Phillips 66 said it would work to ensure that demand is supported in part by supplies from its renewable fuels complex in the San Francisco Bay area.

The renewable natural gas sector, meanwhile, is still scaling up, using only the organic matter from landfills generated about 8.5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2022, the last year for federal data. That accounted for only 0.2% of total utility-scale power generation.

Subscribers can click here for a list of project reports mentioned in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).