In the United States (US), Aemetis, Inc., a renewable natural gas (RNG) and renewable fuels company focused on negative carbon intensity products, has announced the closing of its second US$25 million, 20-year term loan guaranteed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for a total of US$50 million of Aemetis Biogas project financing arranged by Greater Commercial Lending (GCL) in the past nine months.
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The Aemetis Biogas Central Dairy RNG Project is now fully funded to build biogas digesters and related assets for eight additional dairies using the US$9.4 million of equity financing already provided by Aemetis and the US$25 million of new debt financing guaranteed by the USDA.
Magnolia Bank of Elizabethtown, Kentucky (KY) provided the primary funding for the $25 million loan to Aemetis Biogas 2, LLC (AB-2), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aemetis, Inc.
The USDA Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) provides long-term, 20-year financing that enables the construction of projects that improve air quality and reduce carbon pollution such as the Aemetis Biogas Central Dairy Digester Project. We appreciate the good working relationship that has been developed with the team at Greater Commercial Lending and we are pleased to have Magnolia Bank as the new primary lender for the AB-2 phase of the project, said Eric McAfee, Chairman and CEO of Aemetis.
Aemetis Biogas has built and is fully operating dairy biogas digesters for seven dairies, a 40-mile biogas pipeline, the central biogas-to-RNG production facility, and the PG&E gas utility interconnection unit.
When completed, the biogas digesters for the combined 15 dairies are designed to produce more than 400 000 MMBtu per year of carbon-negative RNG.
The long-term, 20-year project financing for Aemetis Biogas 2 was guaranteed by the USDA through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and carries approximately an 8.75 percent fixed interest rate for the first five years.
Three REAP loans are in process
With two REAP loans closed and three more REAP loans in process, Aemetis Biogas is currently arranging US$125 million of 20-year debt funding for the development, construction, and operation of the Aemetis Central Dairy Digester project which has already signed 37 dairies and plans to build digesters for 65 dairies within the next 60 months.
Aemetis Biogas is building passive solar anaerobic digesters (AD) at dairies to capture methane from animal waste. After the removal of key contaminants and gas pressurization at the dairy, a biogas pipeline connects the dairies to a central facility located at the Keyes ethanol plant where the biogas is upgraded into below-zero carbon intensity RNG.
The RNG is tested and odorized in an interconnection unit, then injected into the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) gas pipeline for delivery to transportation fuel customers throughout California.
In addition to the delivery of RNG through third parties, Aemetis is building an onsite RNG fueling station to fuel local trucks.
