North Sky Capital Invests in California Renewable Natural Gas Project Located in an Opportunity Zone
Carlsbad, CA and Minneapolis, MN – Veteran impact investing firm North Sky Capital, LLC (“North Sky”) and development, technology, and operations partner Anaergia Services, LLC (“Anaergia”), are pleased to announce the start of construction of a renewable natural gas facility at the Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority (VVWRA), located in San Bernardino County, California.
The Public Private Partnership (P3) involving VVWRA, Anaergia and North Sky demonstrates a replicable model to meet California organic waste recycling mandates and improve wastewater infrastructure resiliency: retrofitting anaerobic digestion infrastructure to convert organic waste and sludge into pipeline quality renewable natural gas.
The project will utilize Anaergia’s Omnivore high solids anaerobic digestion retrofit to triple capacity and increase redundancy of the existing digester infrastructure. Sludge and food waste will be digested to generate biogas that will be conditioned and upgraded into pipeline quality natural gas utilizing systems designed and supplied by Anaergia affiliates. Additionally, Anaergia will operate the gas upgrading facility.
“VVWRA is committed to protecting public health and the environment in the Victor Valley, and this partnership reflects our three core values: collaboration, dedication, and integrity,” said VVWRA General Manager Darron Poulsen. “This project provides operational and capacity resiliency for the future of VVWRA by improving our infrastructure with greater operational flexibility and increased digester redundancy and capacity needed for future growth, while benefiting the agency economically.”
“The VVWRA facility is a great model for use in California: leveraging the existing wastewater treatment plant to meet organic waste recycling requirements, increasing yields of renewable energy, and improving publicly owned infrastructure,” said Andrew Benedek, Anaergia’s Chairman and CEO. “This partnership with North Sky boosts our capability to deliver organics recycling and energy resiliency projects at California wastewater plants, while building a sustainable future for the surrounding communities.”
“The Victor Valley project is a result of the state of California’s steadfast commitment to clean fuels and the waste diversion requirements set forth in Senate Bill 1383. We look forward to our partnership with Anaergia, a market leader with deep experience in this sector, and with the VVWRA to build this sustainable infrastructure project,” added Adam Bernstein, Managing Director at North Sky Capital. “This investment is a good example of the type of impact investments North Sky has completed over the last two decades.”
The project is located in an Opportunity Zone created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. California Opportunity Zones support new investments in environmental justice, sustainability, climate change, and affordable housing.
The project will beneficially reduce more than 6,000 metric tons of methane (1.5 million CO2 tons equivalent) per year, which otherwise would have been flared or released into the atmosphere. The energy generated will be equivalent to displacing more than two million gallons of diesel fuel per year. Additionally, this project is expected to create approximately 30 prevailing wage jobs via construction and related work.
About Anaergia
Anaergia is part of Anaergia Inc., the global technology leader in recovering value from waste for the municipal, industrial, and agriculture sectors. Through its proven portfolio of proprietary technologies, Anaergia’s integrated solutions create value for its customers in the forms of renewable energy, quality fertilizers, and clean water, while dramatically reducing the cost of waste management. Anaergia operates out of eight regional offices as well as three manufacturing plants. Anaergia’s technologies are in use at over a thousand resource recovery facilities worldwide, reducing greenhouse gas emissions while creating new revenue sources for its clients. For more information on Anaergia, please visit www.anaergia.com or contact info@anaergia.com.
About North Sky
North Sky is a 20-year old private markets firm and a recognized thought leader in impact investing. Founded in 2000, North Sky has raised approximately $1.5 billion of commitments across its various strategies, including approximately $1 billion across nine impact funds. Three of North Sky’s impact funds focus on investing in the development, construction, and/or operations of sustainable infrastructure projects in North America. North Sky’s sustainable infrastructure funds have invested an aggregate $565 million across 30 clean energy, waste and water infrastructure investments since 2010. These investments total 2.7 GW of clean energy generating capacity in operation or development, and have produced approximately 2 million hours of high quality green construction jobs. To learn more about North Sky and download the firm’s 2020 Impact Report, please visit www.northskycapital.com.
About VVWRA
VVWRA is a regional resource recovery agency that provides wastewater treatment services for Apple Valley, Hesperia, Victorville, Spring Valley Lake and Oro Grande.
MEDIA CONTACT
Jeremy Milner
BackBay Communications
(401) 862-9422
jeremy.milner@backbaycommunications.com
Click below to download in PDF