ESI to Provide EPC, O&M Solutions for Two LFG to RNG Facilities in North Carolina

FACILITIES TO SUPPORT BP'S TRANSITION TO NET ZERO

Energyneering Solutions (ESI) is pleased to announce the engineering design and construction of two new Landfill Gas (LFG) to Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) facilities in North Carolina, poised to convert methane—a natural byproduct of landfills—into RNG.

The Upper Piedmont Renewables Project in Person County, NC and the Foothills Renewables Project in Caldwell County, NC are both being developed by the renewable industry veterans of EVENSOL LLC, while ESI’s own seasoned team will deliver development support, design, permitting, construction, startup and commissioning services—in addition to ongoing facility maintenance and operations once the facilities are complete.

Said Benny Benson, President, ESI, “With our extensive feedstock experience in Landfill Gas (LFG), design-for-operability approach, and our innovative services portfolio of SCADA analytics, capacity optimization, and predictive maintenance monitoring, ESI is uniquely positioned to deliver continuous lifetime value (LTV) improvements in performance, efficiency—and ROI—of these assets.”

State-of-the-Art Facilities

ESI has designed the renewable natural gas facilities using state of the art Biogas upgrading technologies based on our extensive LFG upgrading experience.

The Upper Piedmont and Foothills facilities will process over 3000 SCFM of landfill gas using Vilter Feed Compression, Air Liquide CO2 removal and Guild N2 separation. This process eliminates methane emissions from the local community and will generate 730,000 MMBTU per year of RNG at its peak.

Construction of the facilities is already underway, with both expected to be operational by mid-2022.

Environmental Benefits

By capturing landfill gas, which is primarily methane, and processing it into renewable natural gas, the Foothills and Upper Piedmont Renewables Projects positively impact the environment by converting a natural byproduct of landfill waste into energy, rather than allowing the gas to simply release into the atmosphere as it normally would. As a greenhouse gas (GHG), methane is more than 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat within the atmosphere. ¹

The North Carolina facilities will sell the produced RNG to British multinational BP plc ², whose mission is to transform itself from an international oil company (IOC) to an integrated energy company (IEC)—with the ambition to become a net zero company by 2050, or sooner. ³

By utilizing RNG, bp will directly aid the reduction of GHG emissions through LFG capture—and will further reduce air pollution by offsetting the use of non-renewable sources such as oil, coal, or natural gas, to produce the same amount of energy—a win-win for the environment.

Partnerships for Success

EVENSOL LLC, which develops and acquires renewable fuels-based assets in the biogas and biofuels sectors both domestically and abroad, pursues the acquisition and development of distressed, sub-optimal, and undervalued assets requiring deep knowledge and understanding of the associated technical, process, and/or environmental constraints present—and exhibiting a need for flexibility in commercial and/or financial contract structure to turn these assets around.

As a single-source, industry solution provider within the biogas industry since 2007, ESI's technical skills have been integral in the development and operation of over 100 biogas utilization projects, delivered to a diverse client base throughout the US and globally, making the company a perfect match to advance these complex projects and manage the completed assets successfully.

RNG is a variable-priced product by nature, which can often make RNG-related project financing costly. In partnership with Greater Commercial Lending (GCL), EVENSOL was able to leverage an available federal program at a low, stable interest rate. Thanks to GCL’s assistance EVENSOL was able to finance a significant portion of the required capital for these projects at very competitive rates, paving the way for a financially successful outcome. ⁴

For further details, see the GCL related press release here.

References:

1. EPA Importance of Methane [Mar. 1, 2022] https://www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane#:~:text=Methane%20is%20the%20second%20most,trapping%20heat%20in%20the%20atmosphere.
2. Greater Commercial Lending/GCL [press release - Feb 10, 2022] - https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/greater-commercial-lending-completes-financing-for-two-landfill-gas-to-renewable-natural-gas-projects-in-north-carolina-301479627.html
3. bp website [Who We Are/Our Ambition - Mar. 1, 2022] https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/who-we-are/our-ambition.html
4. Greater Commercial Lending/GCL [press release - Feb 10, 2022] - https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/greater-commercial-lending-completes-financing-for-two-landfill-gas-to-renewable-natural-gas-projects-in-north-carolina-301479627.html