September 6, 2023. EVENSOL LLC, a renewable energy project developer focusing on biogas and methane mitigation, 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.
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.
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.