Largest RNG Facility in the world completed approximately two years after gas rights execution
Archaea Energy announces successful startup of Project Assai renewable natural gas facility. (Credit: LEEROY Agency from Pixabay)
Archaea Energy Inc. (“Archaea” or “the Company”) (NYSE: LFG), an industry-leading renewable natural gas (“RNG”) company, announced today the successful start-up of Project Assai, an RNG facility located at the Keystone Sanitary Landfill in Dunmore, Pennsylvania (“Assai”). Pipeline-quality RNG has been produced and commercial operations were achieved on December 30, 2021. Assai is now the highest capacity operational RNG facility in the world.
Assai was successfully constructed, commissioned, and completed within budget and in under two years, a timeline materially shorter than industry averages for landfill gas to RNG development projects, including projects of much smaller size. Assai has an inlet capacity of 22,500 scfm and combines landfill gas flows from the Keystone Sanitary Landfill and the Waste Management Alliance Landfill. Assai is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by over 200,000 metric tons annually and significantly reduce air pollutants, many by over 90%.
“Completion of Assai is a monumental moment for Archaea,” said Nick Stork, Archaea’s Chief Executive Officer. “I would first like to thank our team. They worked day and night, overcame obstacles, and ignored many voices who said this couldn’t be done, let alone completed safely, under budget, and on an accelerated timeframe not seen before in our industry. I also want to thank the Keystone Sanitary Landfill, their incredible people and ownership. Keystone’s cooperation, vision and world-class operations were critical to the success of the project. I am also thankful for our partnerships with Waste Management, UGI, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and our commercial partners, FortisBC Energy Inc., Énergir, L.P., and The University of California System, who have all made meaningful long-term commitments to decarbonization and to the success of this project. Last but not least, I am grateful for the many learnings that came from this project. We self-performed many critical aspects of this project that most would have outsourced. The compounding effects of this knowledge will translate to lower costs and faster timelines for landfill owners and offtake partners across North America. LFG!”
Assai is expected to deliver over 4 million MMBtu of RNG annually at projected flows, methane recovery and uptime, resulting in over $40 million of annual projected EBITDA. The project stands to benefit from long-term gas rights agreements at landfills with decades of capacity and strategically located within growing waste markets. Approximately 80% of the total RNG volumes expected to be produced at Assai have been contracted on a long-term, fixed fee basis with FortisBC Energy Inc., Énergir, L.P., and The Regents of the University of California, for periods of up to 20 years.
Source: Company Press Release