SISTERS,
Ore., Nov. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- EVENSOL LLC,
a renewable energy project developer focusing on biogas and methane
mitigation, announces that it has developed two renewable natural
gas ("RNG") facilities in North
Carolina that are now operational. The Foothills Renewables
Project in Caldwell County, NC,
and the Upper Piedmont Renewables Project in Person County, NC, convert landfill gas from
Republic Services' landfills into RNG. They make a meaningful
positive environmental impact, taking a natural byproduct of waste
and converting it into renewable fuel.
EVENSOL, based in Sisters, OR,
and its partners invested in excess of $110
million in the combined projects. Charlotte, NC-based Duke Energy is an equity
investor in the two projects. Funding also included nearly
$73 million in loans guaranteed by
the U.S. Department of Agriculture and arranged by Greater
Commercial Lending ("GCL").
"EVENSOL is thrilled to bring these projects online, providing a
beneficial use for large volumes of landfill gas, while creating a
valuable renewable energy source for the residents of North Carolina. We are grateful to all our
project stakeholders, investors and lenders for their patience and
support in bringing these historic facilities on-line, the first
landfill gas to RNG facilities in North
Carolina," said David
Wentworth, President and CEO of EVENSOL.
Both projects include the development, design, permitting,
construction, commissioning and operations of a state-of-the-art
RNG facility. Energyneering Solutions, LLC ("ESI") designed,
constructed and will operate the facilities. Primary project
components include equipment from Air Liquide, Guild Associates,
Perennial Energy, and Vilter Manufacturing.
"ESI enjoyed leveraging its many years of experience dedicated
exclusively to the biogas industry to design and build these
facilities. The real win for ESI and all the stakeholders involved
is that ESI will also operate the facilities, relying on the
intimate knowledge we have developed through their design and
construction," said Benny Benson,
President of ESI.
The RNG from the facilities will provide clean transportation
fuel to commercial fleet vehicles. Each project will initially
produce up to 500,000 dekatherms of RNG each year. The combined 1
million Dth is equivalent to the average annual natural gas use of
nearly 17,000 residential customers in North Carolina.
"We're excited for the Foothills and Upper Piedmont projects to
join our growing portfolio of renewable natural gas investments,"
said Sasha Weintraub, Duke Energy
senior vice president and president of Duke Energy's natural gas
business unit. "Duke Energy is committed to supporting sustainable
energy solutions, and we're proud to be an industry leader in the
RNG space as we continue our journey toward a cleaner energy
future."
As a leader in the environmental services industry, Republic
Services is committed to decarbonizing operations and providing
low-carbon solutions to customers. These landfill RNG projects
directly support Republic's long-term sustainability goal to
beneficially reuse 50% more biogas by 2030.
"At Republic Services, our vision is to partner with customers
to create a more sustainable world now and for future generations,"
said Republic Services Area President Shane
Walker. "Through our partnership, these projects will allow
us to convert landfill gas into a low-carbon fuel source that
reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Projects like these are not only
helping Republic Services meet our sustainability goals, but our
customers' as well."
About EVENSOL LLC
EVENSOL LLC was established in 2013
to create value for its partners, investors, and project
counterparties through the selective acquisition and development of
renewable fuels-based energy assets, with particular focus on the
biomass, biogas and biofuels sectors throughout the US and
abroad.
EVENSOL pursues the development and acquisition of renewable
energy assets requiring special attention to technical detail,
flexibility in commercial and financial contract structure, process
challenges, environmental limitations, and other factors
constraining investors or developers not fully integrated in the
design and operations of such facilities. The EVENSOL value
proposition is to selectively identify biogas assets, acquire
and/or develop such projects, and aggregate them into regional
operating portfolios with fully integrated internal management
controls.
About Energyneering Solutions LLC
Energyneering
Solutions, LLC ("ESI") Inc, based in Sisters, OR, has been in the business since
2007 and specializes in the design, construction, and operations of
biogas utilization projects that collectively produce over 1
million MWh of renewable electricity and over 50 million gallons of
renewable vehicle fuel every year.
ESI's engineering team has been integral in the engineering
design of over 75 diverse biogas projects including renewable
natural gas facilities, biogas-to-energy facilities, landfill gas
collection and control projects, anaerobic digester projects, heat
recovery and CHP projects, flare stations, and numerous other
biogas and renewable fuels projects in the US, and abroad.
About Duke Energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune
150 company headquartered in Charlotte,
N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies.
Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio
and Kentucky, and collectively own
50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves
1.6 million customers in North
Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,600
people.
Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition
to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural
gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity
generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets
of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for
Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by
2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. In addition, the
company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy
storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies
such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.
Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2023 "World's Most Admired
Companies" list and Forbes' "World's Best Employers" list. More
information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke
Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos
and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories
about people, innovations, community topics and environmental
issues. Follow Duke Energy
on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
About Greater Commercial Lending
Greater Commercial
Lending (GCL) is a credit organization that brings together
banks, credit unions and other lenders to provide U.S.
government-guaranteed loans to businesses and initiatives in rural
and under-served markets throughout the U.S. and its territories.
It helps finance key infrastructure services, like power, renewable
energy, transportation and fiber optics, as well as schools,
hospitals, restaurants, agriculture, hotels and manufacturers. GCL
partners with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which guarantee loans, to
arrange credit at favorable terms. GCL's network of lenders
includes nearly 200 banks, credit unions and other financial
institutions.
About Republic Services
Republic Services, Inc. is a leader in the environmental services
industry. Through its subsidiaries, the Company provides customers
with the most complete set of products and services, including
recycling, solid waste, special waste, hazardous waste, container
rental and field services. Republic's industry-leading commitments
to advance circularity, reduce emissions and decarbonize
operations are helping deliver on its vision to partner with
customers to create a more sustainable world. For more
information, please visit RepublicServices.com.
Media
EVENSOL
541-527-5892
mgillette@evensol.com
ESI
mskov@esisolutions.com
DUKE ENERGY
800-559-3853
Jason.Wheatley@duke-energy.com
REPUBLIC SERVICES
480-757-9770
media@republicservices.com
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SOURCE Republic Services, Inc.