- Canada has a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 45% beneath 2005 levels and 30% below 2020 levels by 2030
- Up to 11 million tonnes of Canada’s food production is wasted, waste that could be used as feedstock to create RNG instead of going into a landfill where it emits methane gas
- EverGen Infrastructure has developed a portfolio of projects/facilities across Canada utilizing organic waste to create RNG
Canada is establishing itself as a global leader in combatting climate change through investment in renewable energy. Renewable natural gas, or RNG, is one such technology that is not only supplementing the existing natural gas pipeline, but helping the country find function for waste that otherwise would release methane into the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. Many RNG projects are cropping up across the country, with EverGen Infrastructure (TSX.V: EVGN) (OTCQB: EVGIF) pioneering efforts across three provinces.
RNG is a highly refined biogas processed to pipeline-quality that is interchangeable with conventional natural gas. It is produced when organic waste (e.g., food, agricultural, wood, wastewater from treatment facilities) decomposes in a micro-organism-rich, oxygen-free environment called an anaerobic digestor. The initial output is a combination of methane, carbon dioxide, water vapor, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen. Through another refining process, RNG is created by removing everything except methane and trace amount of nitrogen.
Waste is a never-ending feedstock supply. Canada’s National Zero Waste Council estimates that nearly 2.3 million tonnes of edible food is wasted by Canadians each year. That waste is equivalent to 6.9 million tonnes of CO2 and over 2 million cars on the road. Canada’s official government website sees even steeper waste, showing an estimate of 20% (or 11 million tonnes) of all the food produced in Canada to be lost or wasted every year.
RNG is abating large amounts of methane from animal manure, crop residue, landfills, wastewater and more that contribute significantly to Canada’s overall greenhouse gas emissions. According to Canadian Biogas Association, there are 279 biogas and RNG projects across Canada, stopping a combined 8+ million metric tons of carbon dioxide of greenhouse gas emissions from being released annually.
In only a few years since its founding, EverGen has stepped up to grow its footprint from its first two operating facilities in British Columbia to several new projects in Alberta and Ontario. In Alberta, EverGen last month acquired a 67% interest in Grow the Energy Circle Ltd. where the combined companies are working to convert an existing biogas facility into an RNG process. The project already has an offtake agreement in place with utility FortisBC to buy the RNG when it’s produced.
The new operations align with a concerted effort of the provincial government to support a transition from fossil fuels to clean renewable energies. Government grants have been instrumental in closing the price gap between RNG and conventional natural gas, which has aided adoption as part of Canada’s energy transition.
That acquisition followed EverGen’s acquisition of a 50% stake in a portfolio of RNG development projects (coined “Project Radius”) in Ontario. When all are operational, EverGen’s RNG output will be more than 1 million gigajoules each year.
For feedstock, EverGen has agreements with municipalities and other partners to supply organic waste for processing at its facilities.
Canada is only scratching the surface of its potential to use organic waste to slash emissions. The country has a stated goal to reduce emissions by as much as 45% beneath 2005 levels and 30% below 2020 levels by 2030. As noted by Canadian Biogas Association in its March 2022 report, a “carbon offsets system that allows credits to be generated for methane destruction and utilization in landfills and agriculture, when designed well, can achieve major methane reductions in the short term, resulting in reductions of 18.7 Mt CO2e by 2030.”
Using organic waste as feedstock to create RNG will not only be pivotal in meeting climate change targets, it will also serve as the catalyst for a cascade effect where renewable energies make a meaningful impact on other pollutive areas, such as industry and transportation.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.EvergenInfra.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to EVGIF are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/EVGIF
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