NPE focuses on helping sustainable chemical, fuel, and power producers manage the intricacies and ever-changing landscape of technology advancements, public policy mandates, and tax credit incentives to optimize operations and boost financial returns.
NPE helps landfills, wastewater treatment plants, agricultural and industrial organic waste producers convert their biogas into high-value electricity, co-heat and power or renewable natural gas (RNG). That RNG may then be used to fuel natural gas-powered vehicles rather than burning the source biogas in flares, boilers, or gensets for limited to no return.
Biogas is produced wherever anaerobic micro-organisms break down organic matter in the absence of oxygen. In an uncontrolled environment we know it as swamp gas. In a controlled environment such as a digester, we know it as biogas. Biogas contains roughly 50% methane with the remainder made up of contaminants like carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, oxygen, nitrogen, siloxanes and various other minor compounds.
Biogas is a proven source of energy used in the US and around the world. Many have recognized the untapped potential of this resource to provide clean renewable energy to power or fuel our society while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing environmental pollution through improved management of organic matter such as municipal solid waste, livestock manure, wastewater biosolids, and industrial food processing residuals. The Biogas Opportunities Roadmap (recently published in collaboration by USDA, US EPA, and US DOE) found more than 2,000 sites in the US that already produce and recover biogas, In addition, the Roadmap identified more than 11,000 additional biogas systems that could be deployed in the US. If fully realized, these biogas systems could produce enough energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 54 million metric tons (CO2 equivalent)/yr by 2030, the annual emissions of 11 million passenger vehicles.
Stop Burning, Start Earning
Everyday massive amounts of biogas and, consequentially, massive amounts of value are lost or poorly utilized. Biogas from landfills, waste water treatment facilities, agricultural and industrial anaerobic digesters is routinely burned for disposal purposes or for low value thermal and/or power generation applications. Burning biogas in a flare, boiler or genset can, however, be tantamount to setting piles of cash on fire day, after day, after day.
When the contaminants in the biogas are removed, pipeline quality natural gas remains, and because of its origins it is a renewable gas vs traditional gas extracted from fossil deposits. Renewable natural gas (RNG) produced from biogas is molecularly identical to natural gas but represents roughly a 10X increase in value attributable to the renewable and low carbon nature of the gas. The renewable value is based on how many renewable identification numbers (RINS) are attributable to the RNG under the US Renewable Fuel Standard and the low carbon value is based on how many low carbon fuel standard credits (LCFSC) are attributable to the RNG under State based low carbon fuel standards, when it is sold for transportation fuel. RNG can be dispensed into natural gas-powered vehicles on site or can be injected into the North American interstate, intrastate and local gas pipeline systems for down pipe dispensing. The number of natural gas-powered vehicles on the road continues to grow, particularly among heavy duty fleet vehicles.
NPE helps traditional and renewable refineries, power plants, and industrial facilities decarbonize their operations through permitting, building, and operating carbon capture utilization or sequestration capabilities. That CO2 may then be sold for value or sequestered, earning governmental or voluntary market incentives.
Traditional and renewable refineries, power plants, and industrial facilities emit greenhouse gases, primarily in the form of carbon dioxide, as they operate. This CO2 can be captured and decontaminated if needed, ensuring that industrial- or food-grade quality CO2 remains. Because of its origin, the CO2 will either be biogenic or anthropogenic. This CO2 may then be sold as an industrial or commercial input, displacing the use of extracted naturogenic CO2, or can be geologically sequestered removing that CO2 from the atmosphere, both benefitting the climactic cycle for which governmental or voluntary market incentives are earned.
The 45Z Tax Credit Program (currently valid through 2027- with the potential to extend to 2031) provides biofuel producers (ethanol, methanol, renewable natural gas, etc.) the opportunity to make millions of dollars in production tax credits (PTCs) if they correctly assess their operations and take advantage of supplemental greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction improvements (i.e. operational changes, sourcing adjustments, and non-capital upgrades).
NPE can help you navigate the complexity of the 45Z program so that you can take advantage of existing incentives and make your facilities even more profitable.
The 45Q Tax Credit Program (currently valid through 2032) provides industrial plants that capture and utilize or sequester their carbon dioxide emissions the opportunity to make millions of dollars in production tax credits (PTC’s) if they correctly design and implement their operations (i.e. site soundly, permit properly, monitor/account/close responsibly).
NPE can help you navigate the complexity of the 45Q program so that you can take advantage of existing incentives and make your facilities even more profitable.
The 48E Tax Credit Program (currently valid through 2032- with potential to expire as of 2028) provides renewable electricity project developers (wind, solar, biomass) the opportunity to receive millions of dollars in investment tax credits (PTC’s) if they correctly assess their design and operations and take advantage of supplemental greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction improvements (i.e. design modifications, operational changes, sourcing adjustments, and non-capital upgrades). The 45Z Tax Credit Program is extremely complicated, with 500-plus pages of explanatory legislative and regulatory text, intricate models, and undefined processes.
NPE can help you navigate the complexity of the 48E program so that you can take advantage of existing incentives and make your facilities even more profitable.
New Phase Energy
The unique intersection of technical, legal, and commercial expertise.
New Phase Energy is a boutique consulting firm made up of former energy industry executives. The thing that makes NPE unique is our combination of deep commercial, legal, and technical expertise. Traditionally, sustainable and renewable chemical, fuel, and power producers or project developers would have to engage multiple firms for the combined expertise of NPE. And even still would suffer from a lack of cross-disciplinary expertise that is a reality of engaging those domain experts separately.
The NPE team includes professional engineering, operations, and maintenance executive talent for identifying and evaluating technical solutions in line with optimization and/or decarbonization objectives, legal talent for understanding grant and tax credit funding and structuring complexities and avoiding pitfalls, an Accredited Individual Verifier under CARB for properly assessing, scoring and optimizing GREET Model results, and commercial trading acumen for monetizing products and environmental incentives.
Our client base includes multiple biofuel refiners, renewable energy generators, and sustainable chemical producers (e.g. corn, milo, and ag processing residue ethanol plants, dairy and municipal wastewater renewable natural gas plants, and municipal solid waste power plants and methanol plants) and their investors. We are actively helping them with optimization and decarbonization measures, ranging from simple changes like material input sourcing to the implementation of carbon capture and sequestration solutions.
Learn more about our team.
We proactively seek out small to mid-size sustainable chemical, fuel, and power producers to help them maximize the value their resources. Are you
A landfill, wastewater treatment facility operator, agricultural or industrial anaerobic digester operator or landfill operator, currently burning your biogas in a flare, boiler or genset and interested in potentially receiving greater revenue from that same biogas resource without expending additional capital and taking downside risk? FREE ASSESSMENT FOR BIOGAS PRODUCERS
An industrial plant interested in decarbonizing your operations to improve the profitability of your product and derive untapped greenhouse gas emission reduction financial incentives? FREE ASSESSMENT FOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
A corn or milo ethanol, biodiesel, renewable diesel or renewable natural gas producer interested in maximizing returns from your fuel and its low carbon intensity attributes? FREE ASSESSMENT FOR BIOREFINERIES
A renewable power or co-heat and power generators interested in deriving the total value of your green electrons. FREE ASSESSMENT FOR RENEWABLE POWER GENERATORS
If so, please let us help.
“In my former role, as the project manager that developed the wastewater treatment facility biogas to renewable natural gas project for South Platte Water Renewable Partners, we sought guidance from a number of consultants and sub consultants. “New Phase Energy” is one such proven sub consultant that worked with our lead design engineer, Carollo Engineers, Inc. and we were very grateful for their advisory assistance with the project’s RNG gas pipeline interconnection and solicitation of the project’s RNG brokerage services.”
“The City of Boulder, Colorado is actively pursuing converting biogas from its Water Resource Recovery Facility into renewable natural gas. We engaged New Phase Energy to provide overall project advisory services, which have been and continue to be invaluable to us as we implement our project.”
“The City of Jamestown, North Dakota was approached by New Phase Energy to consider converting the biogas that our City produces at its waste water treatment facility into renewable natural gas. We found the company’s initial analysis quite persuasive and have engaged them to confirm their preliminary technical and economic conclusions in order that we may make an informed decision on whether to pursue the brick and mortar project.”
