Archaea Energy, UGI start RNG plant in Pennsylvania (U.S.)
Archaea Energy, a subsidiary of bp, and UGI Energy Services LLC (UGIES), a subsidiary of UGI Corp., celebrate the start-up of their joint venture's renewable natural gas (RNG) plant in Hegins, Pennsylvania.
The companies formed the Aurum Renewables joint venture (JV) to develop and own the RNG plant, which is adjacent to the Commonwealth Environmental Systems landfill in Schuylkill County. The plant came online in September.
“Pennsylvania is a critical state for Archaea and it is playing a pivotal role in the energy transition. The state's robust infrastructure and commitment to sustainable development make it an ideal location for advancing RNG technologies. This is the third RNG plant we've brought online in the Keystone State, and we look forward to opportunities for further development,” Archaea Energy CEO Starlee Sykes said.
Archaea built and operates the JV’s plant which uses the Archaea Modular Design (AMD). Traditionally, RNG plants have been custom-built, but the AMD allows plants to be built on skids with interchangeable components. Using a standardized modular design can lead to faster builds than previous industry standards. This AMD plant will convert landfill gas, a natural byproduct of the decomposition of waste, collected from the Commonwealth Environmental Systems landfill into RNG, the use of which can lead to local air quality benefits and diversity of domestic energy production, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“We are pleased to see Aurum Renewables come online as this facility will provide communities with valuable use for landfill gas,” said Joseph Hartz, President of UGI Energy Services. “UGI is investing in differentiated and innovative energy solutions, which includes RNG. With the help of our partners, we are creating low carbon energy for Pennsylvania while helping our customers achieve their own sustainability goals.”
The Aurum Renewables plant can process up to 9,600 standard cubic feet of landfill gas per minute (scfm) into RNG – enough gas to heat more than 39,000 homes annually, according to the EPA’s Landfill Gas Energy Benefits Calculator.
With the 2022 acquisition of Archaea, bp is 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 Aurum Renewables JV supports Archaea’s intended growth to greater than 50 million MMBtus per year by 2030.
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