Archaea Energy and Republic Services celebrate first RNG plant in landmark partnership
- Lightning Renewables joint venture targets bringing approximately 40 landfill gas-to-renewable natural gas plants online in coming years.
- Fort Wayne plant is the largest Archaea Modular Design in Indiana, processing up to 6,400 standard cubic feet of landfill gas per minute (scfm), enough energy to heat more than 25,000 homes, according to the EPA Landfill Gas Energy Benefits calculator.
HOUSTON and PHOENIX – Today, Archaea Energy, a subsidiary of bp (NYSE: BP), and Republic Services (NYSE: RSG) celebrate the first renewable natural gas (RNG) plant in the companies’ Lightning Renewables joint venture (JV). The Archaea Modular Design (AMD) plant at Republic’s National Serv-All Landfill in Fort Wayne, Ind., is the first of approximately 40 landfill gas-to-RNG projects targeted by the JV and is scheduled to come online this summer.
"From the start, our focus has been opening plants safely and reliably, and demonstrating progress and growth," Archaea Energy CEO Starlee Sykes said. "Continuing to build momentum with the Lightning Renewables JV, the Fort Wayne plant is just the beginning of our incredible partnership with Republic Services to capture landfill emissions and provide customers with lower-emission, lower-carbon fuel."
“Republic Services is investing in sustainability innovation to provide decarbonization solutions for our customers, and our Lightning Renewables partnership with Archaea Energy is a prime example,” said Jon Vander Ark, Republic Services president and chief executive officer. “We’re proud to celebrate the first of the approximately 40 RNG projects in the Lightning Renewables portfolio. Together, we’re helping create a more sustainable world.”
Traditionally, RNG plants have been custom-built, but AMD allows plants to be built on skids with interchangeable components. Using a standardized modular design leads to faster builds than previous industry standards. The Fort Wayne AMD plant will convert landfill gas, a natural byproduct of the decomposition of waste, collected from Republic Services’ landfill into RNG, the use of which can lead to local air quality benefits and an increase and diversity of domestic energy production, according to the US EPA1.
The Fort Wayne plant, once in operation, is expected to process up to 6,400 scfm into RNG – enough gas to heat more than 25,000 homes annually, according to the EPA’s Landfill Gas Energy Benefits Calculator.
With the 2022 acquisition of Archaea, bp is now the largest RNG producer in the US, enhancing its ability to support customers’ decarbonization goals and progressing its aim to reduce the average lifecycle carbon intensity of the energy products it sells. The Lightning Renewables JV portfolio supports Archaea’s intended growth to greater than 50 million mmbtus per year by 2030.
The Lightning Renewables RNG projects directly support Republic Services’ long-term sustainability goal to beneficially reuse 50% more biogas by 2030. The JV’s portfolio of projects will bring Republic’s total landfill gas-to-energy portfolio to more than 100.
About Archaea Energy
Archaea Energy, a bp-owned company, is the largest RNG producer in the US, with an industry-leading platform and expertise in developing, constructing and operating RNG facilities to capture waste emissions and convert them into low carbon fuel. Additional information is available at bp.com/archaea.
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 and field services. Republic’s industry-leading commitments to advance circularity and support decarbonization are helping deliver on its vision to partner with customers to create a more sustainable world. For more information, please visit RepublicServices.com.
Cautionary statement
In order to utilize the ‘safe harbor’ provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the ‘PSLRA’), bp and Republic Services are providing the following cautionary statement. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements – that is, statements related to future, not past events and circumstances – which may relate to the startup of the first RNG plant, the joint venture between Republic Services and bp, expectations about future RNG plants, the processing capacities of these plants and the anticipated growth of Archaea. These statements are generally, but not always, identified by the use of words such as ‘will’, ‘expects’, ‘is expected to’, ‘aims’, ‘should’, ’may‘, ‘objective’, ‘is likely to’, ‘intends’, ‘believes’, ‘anticipates’, ‘plans’, ‘we see’ or similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of bp’s and Republic Services’ management and are subject to risk and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in such statements, depending on a variety of factors including (i) with respect to bp, the risk factors set forth in its most recent Annual Report and Form 20-F under “Risk factors” and in any of its more recent public reports and (ii) with respect to Republic Services, the factors set forth in the reports it files with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, particularly under Part I, Item 1A – Risk Factors. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that the expectations will prove to be correct. Neither bp nor Republic Services undertakes any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
bp’s most recent Annual Report and Form 20-F and other period filings are available on its website at www.bp.com, or can be obtained from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330 or on its website at www.sec.gov.