Advanced Capabilities
NLC Energy delivers comprehensive operational, technical and financial solutions in the renewable natural gas industry, helping partners to participate and succeed in this arena.
We have developed a best-in-class anaerobic digestion facility. We have successfully marketed products from our plant, both regionally and nationally. We have achieved verifiable carbon-negative processes and we have gained proficiency in capitalizing on government incentives. We share this experience with partners.
NLC Energy's core capabilities include:
NLC Energy draws from the 30-year finance expertise of its real-estate-investor owners. NLC Energy brings its own capital to accelerate new investment into dynamic markets.
Facility procedures incorporate rigorous continuous improvement practices and comply with industrial safety standards which exceed the agricultural safety standards more commonly upheld among anaerobic digestion operations.
NLC Energy uses advanced data analytics for monitoring and control of materials and energy production to optimize yield, equipment function, and qualification of environmental impact. The engineering team is engaged in continuous learning maintaining a library of the biochemical interactions seen in our facility.
NLC Energy has developed the expertise to take regulatory steps necessary to access the complex but lucrative environmental incentive markets including:
- Navigating the complex facility registration requirements for both the LCFS and RFS programs
- Securing approval for a variety of feedstocks including dairy manure
- Optimizing processes to maximize the credits created
- Creating commercial structures to form the required pathway from the RNG production facility to the delivery truck in California utilizing the fuel
- Managing the complex data collection and reporting requirements required to secure RINs and RFS credits
Monetization of credits through sales to obligated parties and other market participants. NLC Energy’s in-house government regulatory strategy includes legislative analysis and forecasting; market analysis identifying markets with greatest fuel valuations; product delivery through direct and brokered dispenser relationships; and maximization of renewable attribute values. Maximizing feedstock, fuel, and project values, we share benefits with our partners.
Additional areas of NLC Energy's unique expertise include:
Anaerobic digestion is the biochemical degradation of organic matter in the absence of oxygen, to produce methane and carbon dioxide. Our treatment plants use these gasses from anaerobic digestion to produce energy.
NLC Energy is active in the renewable natural gas market with depth of experience across the entire value chain. We provide market assessments using a data-driven process to identify opportunities for growth in specific markets or segments of your business.
This assessment includes a comprehensive review of the renewable natural gas market including:
- Underlying natural gas fundamentals
- Environmental attributes
- Regulatory and market fundamentals
- Regional, international, and pandemic considerations
Our firm aims to ensure successful, repeatable implementation of anaerobic digestion as a source for renewable natural gas. This includes the following:
- Site selection
- Facility modeling
- Raw material analysis
- Interconnection/distribution
- Regulatory guidance
Navigating the dramatic swings in the regulatory environment in Washington, we comprehend the implications of policy changes on the market and share insight with our clients and partners as they plan for long term.
NLC Energy provides financial modeling that incorporates a wide range of plant sizes, raw material inputs, output expectations, costs to acquire and costs to serve—focusing on low-carbon waste pathways along with unique financial structures.
We look at risk with particular attention to key federal and state regulatory programs. Major risk categories – revenue, technology, safety, operations, and feedstock – all associated with developing and running a profitable biogas project, are mapped using process analysis tools such as Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), quantifying risk level and prioritizing the risks and modes of failure.
NLC Energy provides alternative designs and feedback regarding project development related to gas and waste profiles of targeted facilities, supply chain and partners.
Advanced design and operations control strategies are a crucial part of developing successful anaerobic digestion projects and are the attributes most universally transferrable from site to site.
Nearly 25 percent of failed anaerobic digestion projects trace the root cause of project failure to inadequate system control and operation. Another 17 percent fail due to engineering deficiencies and an additional 16 percent due to biogas utilization problems. In total, over half of anaerobic digestion failures trace the ultimate cause of their failure to the areas where NLC Energy has applied relentless focus.
The NLC Energy team has studied and learned from the failure of others. Our team understands the underlying complexity surrounding anaerobic digestion technology and has developed countermeasures that directly address and mitigate these complexities as a key competitive advantage.
A multi-tiered operational control strategy to manage the complexity of anaerobic digestion operations, especially where high-strength waste substrates (HSW) are processed alongside dairy manure in parallel anaerobic digestion systems. This three-tiered system includes:
- Computational Modeling of the entire anaerobic digestion system (based on the ADM1da model)
- A monitoring & control platform that manages feeds and flows data in a quasi-real-time, web-based application
- Data acquisition and data analytics capability that enables rationalization of all incoming data and accurate prediction of operational outcomes
With increased understanding of the chemical processes in the anaerobic digestion process, we have enhanced the precision, safety and productivity of our process
NLC Energy will add necessary infrastructure, including pipe and pump apparatus, to streamline waste offtake from farms and food processing facilities.
We are actively investing in projects, technology, and people to advance the world’s commitment to reduce our impact on the planet.