North Sky-Backed Organic Waste Facility To Be The First Project To Supply RNG Under Senate Bill 1440
Minneapolis, MN – North Sky Capital (“North Sky”) is pleased to share that the California Public Utilities Commission has conditionally approved a long-term biomethane procurement contract held by SoCal Biomethane LLC (“SoCal Biomethane”), a North Sky funded project, with Anew Climate LLC and Southwest Gas. This project will be the first to supply renewable natural gas (“RNG”) under California’s Senate Bill (SB) 1440 Biomethane Procurement Program.
California SB 1383 targeted a dramatic reduction in organic waste, and SB 1440 builds upon it by establishing a requirement on California’s Investor-Owned Utilities to procure RNG derived from landfill-diverted organic waste. The goal of SB 1440 is to scale RNG procurement equivalent to approximately 55 facilities the size of SoCal Biomethane by 2035.
North Sky is a longtime supporter of California’s decarbonization strategy, including RNG produced from organic waste, initially with our 2010 investment in the methane capture and RNG project at the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant. In June of 2020, North Sky’s third sustainable infrastructure fund invested in the SoCal Biomethane facility, located at the Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority. The facility co-digests organic waste and municipal wastewater to produce biogas upgraded to RNG and injected into the natural gas pipeline for distribution. The facility can accept up to 104,000 tons of diverted organic waste annually. Converting this waste to RNG has the capacity to reduce emissions by up to 31,710 MTCO2e per year, equivalent to annual emissions from approximately 7,400 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles. The project also provides economic benefits to Victorville, Apple Valley and Hesperia by employing local staff.
“North Sky is proud to be part of this important achievement,” said Adam Bernstein, Managing Director and Head of Sustainable Infrastructure at North Sky Capital. “We had strong conviction this project would deliver both positive environmental impact and generate an investment return, and this milestone positions this project as a leader in RNG.”
About North Sky
North Sky Capital is a pioneer in impact investing. Now in its 26th year, North Sky has deployed more than $1.6 billion across approximately 200 impact investments on behalf of its various impact funds. The firm has two flagship investment strategies: impact secondaries (private equity) and sustainable infrastructure. Both strategies support positive environmental and social impact while targeting market rate investment returns. North Sky has been an active impact investor since the beginning of the modern era of private markets impact investing in 2005. For more information, visit www.northskycapital.com.
About Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority
VVWRA serves a 279 square mile area that includes Apple Valley, Hesperia, Victorville, Spring Valley Lake, and Oro Grande. VVWRA treats about 12 million gallons of wastewater per day. Wastewater that comes to the VVWRA plant goes through an extensive cleaning and disinfection process before being returned to the Mojave River as recycled water through direct discharge to the river or through percolation ponds located on VVWRA property. For further information, visit www.vvwraca.gov.
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