TotalEnergies and Vanguard Renewables join forces to develop RNG in the US

TotalEnergies and Vanguard Renewables will advance 10 RNG projects into construction over the next 12 months, with a total annual RNG capacity of 0.8 TWh (2.5 billion ft³). The three initial projects in this agreement are currently under construction in Wisconsin and Virginia, each with a unit capacity of nearly 75 GWh (0.25 ft³) of RNG per year.

Beyond these first 10 projects, the partners will consider investing together in a potential pipeline of about 60 projects across the country for a total capacity of 5 TWh (15 billion ft³) per year.

"TotalEnergies is pleased to partner with BlackRock and its portfolio company Vanguard Renewables, to accelerate the development of food biowaste processing into RNG in the US. By expanding into this fast-growing market, our JV will create value for both companies while benefiting the food and farming sectors as well as providing a ready-to-use solution to industrial companies willing to decarbonise their energy supply. This JV is a new step for TotalEnergies in achieving its objective to produce 10 TWh of RNG by 2030,” said Olivier Guerrini, Vice President, Biogas at TotalEnergies.

Thanks to its experienced teams and development platform, Vanguard Renewables will contribute to the JV its ready-to-build projects at scale. It will also manage feedstock supply, the assets, operations, and RNG sales.

Leveraging its strong position in the European market, especially in France and Poland, TotalEnergies will bring to the JV its industrial expertise, providing technical support on the design and engineering of the facilities, and on the plant’s operational performance.

TotalEnergies and Vanguard Renewables will market the RNG through long-term purchase agreements with buyers actively engaged in decarbonisation of their industrial processes.

The first 10 projects are based on a model of waste materials recovery from the food and beverage industries, supplemented with dairy manure from dairy farms. The anaerobic digesters will be built on the dairy farms themselves, which will then recover and manage the digestate (a byproduct of the anaerobic digestion process) as a low-carbon and nutrient dense fertilizer.

To feed its digesters, Vanguard Renewables has established a major network of leading food industry brands across the US and the groundbreaking Farm Powered Strategic Alliance, which gives alliance members preferred access to recycle their organic waste generated from manufacturing or retail activities and the potential opportunity to purchase the renewable energy generated at a Vanguard Renewables’ facility. The alliance’s members include multi-national corporations across several verticals, including leading food, beverage, and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

In anticipation of the company’s growing portfolio of anaerobic digesters Vanguard Renewables has expanded its food and beverage diversion services and its organics solutions team to provide service throughout the contiguous US.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/25042024/totalenergies-and-vanguard-renewables-join-forces-to-develop-rng-in-the-us/