Ameresco | Energy Solutions | Renewable Natural Gas Infrastructure
An Industry Leader in Renewable Gas Infrastructure
What do manure, sewage, agricultural crops, waste, food, garbage, and wood all have in common? They all naturally produce raw biogas that can be processed to generate a usable form of renewable energy. Ameresco designs, develops, operates and maintains renewable gas infrastructure for municipal and industrial clients, including plants and pipelines.
Biogas is a mixture of gases (mostly methane and carbon dioxide), generated by the natural breakdown of this organic matter in landfills, wastewater treatment plants, farms, and food processing plants. Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) is raw biogas that has been treated to be natural gas pipeline quality. This green gas makes use of resources already in our environment rather than voluntarily extracting natural gas sequestered in the earth.
Renewable natural gas infrastructure can enhance reliability and reduce energy costs as part of a distributed generation approach to energy needs. Ameresco partners with public sector and private enterprises to convert raw biogas from an environmental liability into an economic and environmental benefit by replacing fossil fuels with a renewable energy resource.
At Ameresco, we design, build, own, operate and maintain renewable energy plants that convert otherwise-wasted byproduct gas into useful forms of energy. These facilities process raw biogas generated from sources such as landfills and wastewater treatment facilities into a RNG product that can be injected into the natural gas pipeline network and transported anywhere in the United States. This “Green Gas” has been promoted under the Renewable Fuel Standard program.
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Case Studies
Biogas Infrastructure Solutions
Methane from biogas, a natural byproduct of sewage treatment, landfill and animal-waste facilities, is a ready source of renewable energy. Rather than burning this gas, which consumes energy and increases local emissions, commercial and government facilities can use this biogas as a form of energy for on- and off-site use as a renewable energy source elsewhere.
Ameresco brings the proven experience and expertise needed to help governments and private industry convert biogas from a cost center into an energy source. We can design, build, own, operate and maintain methane digester facilities and pipelines. Power purchase agreements (PPAs) and energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) can provide financing, making these energy infrastructure improvements budget-neutral. Our independence gives our customers full access to the latest technology available for biogas plants, allowing us to provide solutions that capture this wasted resource, use it beneficially to have a positive impact on the bottom line, meet exact budget and power needs, create local jobs and improve the environment.
Turning Animal Waste to Energy
A biogas digester can also be used to turn methane from agricultural waste management systems into fuel for generators or farm equipment, or a source of renewable energy that can be piped to local utilities. Depending on the size of the farm operation, local utility rates and the methods of waste storage and treatment, farms may be able to lower their energy costs or create an additional source of revenue.
AgSTAR, a joint venture of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is an outreach program designed to help agriculture facility operators understand the technology and determine if biogas is a viable source of energy. Ameresco can help agriculture customers understand what AgSTAR offers and navigate the financial assistance options, including federal grants, local utility incentives and power purchase agreements.
Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) is a carbon-neutral alternative to conventional natural gas that can be used as a source of electricity, heat, or vehicle fuel.
This green gas makes use of resources already in our environment rather than voluntarily extracting natural gas sequestered in the earth. Advanced gas clean-up technologies allow RNG to be created from existing resources, creating a green gas that may be injected into existing natural gas infrastructure. Replace your fossil fueled energy with renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the use of RNG.
Benefits of Renewable Natural Gas
- Carbon Neutrality: RNG is critical component to a clean energy future as the most effective way to decarbonize existing natural gas pipelines.
- Environmental Impact: Capturing methane and processing it to make RNG significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and decreases reliance on fossil fuels.
- Revenue Stream: Selling RNG into the natural gas grid delivers profits for owners of landfills, wastewater treatment plants, farmers, and food processors.
- Energy Security: Switching to RNG provides the gas grid with enhanced diversity of supply and market adoption.
RNG plants also have the ability to create revenue for municipalities, farmers, and industrial companies that can sell RNG into the natural gas grid. For example, a water utility in Texas currently processes over 1.5 million standard cubic feet of renewable natural gas per day, capturing biogas and then selling it through a commercial gas pipeline, generating a tremendous revenue stream while also removing 19,739 tons of carbon from the atmosphere. Phoenix, in partnership with its surrounding communities, recently opened the largest wastewater-to-RNG plant in the U.S., a facility capable of reducing CO2 emissions by 44,671 tons a year, equating to the removal of more than 9,400 cars from the road.
Landfill Gas to Energy (LFGTE) Infrastructure
Traditionally, landfill gas has escaped into the atmosphere through the slow decomposition of waste, or the flaring of waste to expedite the process, contributing greatly to greenhouse gas emissions and local smog. Ameresco works as an intermediary between landfills, nearby facilities, local utilities and local governments to develop landfill gas-to energy (LFGTE) infrastructure solutions that capture this gas for electricity and heat, turning a harmful source of waste into a beneficial source of renewable energy.
We design, build, maintain and operate renewable energy plants for facilities near landfills. These renewable energy projects safely divert landfill gas through extraction wells and pipe it to a landfill-gas-to-energy plant, where it is cleaned before specialized engines convert it to energy for use by the facility and, in many cases, the nearby community.
With landfill gas-to-energy projects, Ameresco creates a mutually beneficial relationship between all parties involved.
- Facility Managers: Generate a steady supply of low-cost renewable energy that can power and heat much of their facility
- Landfill Operators: Safely and efficiently remove waste in a clean manner and gain additional revenue streams from landfill operations
- Local Government and Community: Dramatically reduce smog and landfill odor while diversifying electric procurement options
- Local Utilities: Purchase wholesale energy from the plant