In the United States (US), renewable natural gas and renewable fuels company Aemetis Inc. has announced that its Aemetis Biogas subsidiary commissioned three new dairy digesters in December 2024, increasing from nine to a total of twelve operating digesters in California's Central Valley.
The additional digesters are expected to generate 250,000 MMBtu per year of renewable natural gas (RNG), contributing to a planned 550,000 MMBtu of RNG production in 2025.
Our biogas business is creating significant revenue and income growth for Aemetis. The December expansion will increase RNG production capacity in the near term by 80 percent and will contribute significantly to our business in 2025 and beyond. Revenue and income growth will also be enhanced when the Internal Revenue Service finalizes guidance for the Section 45Z Production Tax Credit that started on January 1, 2025, intended to incentivize domestic renewable fuel production, said Eric McAfee, Chairman and CEO of Aemetis.
In addition to the sale of Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Investment Tax Credits related to construction, expanded RNG production increases revenues and income in four ways:
- Sale of California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credits;
- Sale of federal Renewable Fuel Standard D3 RINs;
- Planned sale of federal IRA Section 45Z Production Tax Credits (45Z PTC);
- Sale of RNG.
Upon receiving LCFS pathway approval for the seven digesters currently in final review by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the number of LCFS credits Aemetis Biogas will receive for the RNG production from those digesters will increase by about 80 percent.
Pathway approval for these digesters is expected to occur in the first half of 2025.
When fully operational, the Aemetis Biogas Central Dairy Project dairies in California’s Central Valley are expected to produce more than 1.6 million MMBtu per year of RNG and generate annual revenues of US$250 million.
Looking ahead, in addition to the 50 dairies that have signed agreements with Aemetis Biogas, our geographic footprint in Central California allows us to expand our pool of feedstock for additional digesters and further expand RNG production capacity, ended Eric McAfee.
