By: Andrew Baker
December 12, 2022
Private equity firm Green Rock Energy Partners LLC has acquired PSA South Hills Landfill Gas Venture LLC, a renewable natural gas (RNG) production facility in South Park Township, PA.
The facility upgrades landfill biogas to produce RNG for sale in the vehicular transportation market as renewable compressed natural gas, Green Rock said.
The facility is expected to produce one million gallons/year of renewable fuel. Green Rock said it is partnering with United Green Energy, a division of United Energy Trading, and others to manage the RNG offtake.
“The South Hills deal adds to Green Rock’s growing portfolio in the renewable energy space and is consistent with the firm’s primary investment focus on energy-producing waste-to-value assets,” Green Rock said.
Green Rock’s clean energy forays to date include investments in RNG platform Viridi Energy and in Bio Town Biogas LLC, a renewable power producer that has recently expanded into RNG.
Green Rock “deploys equity capital within the circular economy to develop, purchase, and operate environmentally responsible and financially attractive businesses and infrastructure,” the company said.
Co-founder Cody Myers said, “We continue to invest in renewable natural gas assets due to their ability to facilitate the transition to a lower-emission future while providing attractive returns.”
Venture Engineering & Construction Inc. (VEC) supplied technical advisory services to Green Rock ahead of the acquisition, and is slated to provide engineering consulting and operations and maintenance services post-close.
The U.S. RNG industry hailed passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 in August. The legislation expanded and extended an existing investment tax credit for biogas facilities starting construction before 2024, and created a new clean fuel production tax credit starting in 2025.
In related news, BP plc in October announced the acquisition of RNG producer Archaea Energy Inc. in a $4 billion-plus transaction.
Chevron Corp. announced last month it is expanding its large-scale U.S. RNG business through its latest plan to receive supply from Mercuria Energy Trading. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Shell plc last month acquired Europe’s largest biogas producer, Nature Energy Biogas AS, in a deal valued at nearly $2 billion.