Ameresco: Commercial operations begin Texas RNG plant

Ameresco Inc., a leading cleantech integrator specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy, today announced that it achieved commercial operations at its landfill gas to renewable natural gas plant at Republic Services’ McCarty Road Landfill in Houston, Texas. This facility has a gross nameplate in excess of 1.1 million Dekatherms per year and is capable of processing 4,500 scfm of raw landfill gas.

After breaking ground on the project in the second quarter of 2020, the Ameresco team successfully navigated the construction challenges and equipment delays associated with a global pandemic and an active hurricane season to reach mechanical completion in early December 2020, and commercial operations in May 2021.

The landfill gas to renewable natural gas project creates clean energy resources for the regional economy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions within the environment, while contributing directly to Republic Services’ long-term sustainability goal to beneficially reuse 50 percent more landfill gas by 2030.

“We are proud of this innovative partnership because it allows us to utilize a natural byproduct of the landfill to create low-carbon transportation fuels and other forms of renewable energy,” said Pete Keller, vice president of recycling and sustainability at Republic Services.

“Ameresco is excited to bring online another renewable natural gas facility, adding this new asset to our operating portfolio. By leveraging advanced technologies to transform the raw feedstock into a readily available renewable fuel source, clean energy generated from Republic’s McCarty Road Landfill can now be made available to further reduce our country’s reliance on fossil fuel,” said Mike Bakas, executive vice president of Ameresco. “We are fortunate to have partnered with Republic Services and U.S. Gain on a project that exemplifies the green energy infrastructure of the future.”

This long-term, collaborative partnership will result in a reduction of more than 61,000 tons of CO₂, which is equivalent to 103,000 passenger cars removed from the roads, 58 million gallons of gasoline not combusted or 146,000 acres of pine forest conserved every year over the project life.

“We applaud Ameresco on their timely completion of the McCarty Road Landfill project, given the hurdles faced,” said Mike Koel, president of U.S. Gain. “We’re excited to take the newly created renewable natural gas to the transportation market, satisfying decarbonization goals for our fleet customers and much desired air quality improvements for communities throughout the United States.”