HOUSTON, TX – Today, Archaea Energy, a subsidiary of bp (NYSE: BP), and UGI Energy Services, LLC (“UGIES”), a subsidiary of UGI Corporation (NYSE: UGI) celebrate the start-up of their joint venture's renewable natural gas (RNG) plant in Hegins, Pennsylvania. The companies formed the Aurum Renewables joint venture (JV) to develop and own the RNG plant, which is adjacent to the Commonwealth Environmental Systems landfill in Schuylkill County. The plant came online in September.
“Pennsylvania is a critical state for Archaea and it is playing a pivotal role in the energy transition. The state's robust infrastructure and commitment to sustainable development make it an ideal location for advancing RNG technologies. This is the third RNG plant we've brought online in the Keystone State, and we look forward to development,” Archaea Energy CEO Starlee Sykes said.
Archaea built and operates the JV’s plant which uses the Archaea Modular Design (AMD). Traditionally, RNG plants have been custom-built, but the AMD allows plants to be built on skids with interchangeable components. Using a standardized modular design can lead to faster builds than previous industry standards. This AMD plant will convert landfill gas, a natural byproduct of the decomposition of waste, collected from the Commonwealth Environmental Systems landfill into RNG, the use of which can lead to local air quality benefits and diversity of domestic energy production, according to the US EPA1.
“We are pleased to see Aurum Renewables come online as this facility will provide communities with valuable use for landfill gas,” said Joseph Hartz, President of UGI Energy Services. “UGI is investing in differentiated and innovative energy solutions, which includes RNG. With the help of our partners, we are creating low carbon energy for Pennsylvania while helping our customers achieve their own sustainability goals.”
The Aurum Renewables plant can process up to 9,600 standard cubic feet of landfill gas per minute (scfm) into RNG – enough gas to heat more than 39,000 homes annually, according to the EPA’s Landfill Gas Energy Benefits Calculator.
With the 2022 acquisition of Archaea, bp is the largest RNG producer in the US, enhancing its ability to support customers’ decarbonization goals and progressing its aim to reduce the average lifecycle carbon intensity of the energy products it sells. The Aurum Renewables JV supports Archaea’s intended growth to greater than 50 million MMBtus per year by 2030.
Further information:
US press office, uspress@bp.com
About Archaea Energy
Archaea Energy, a bp-owned company, is the largest RNG producer in the US, with an industry-leading platform and expertise in developing, constructing and operating RNG facilities to capture waste emissions and convert them into low carbon fuel. Additional information is available at bp.com/archaea.
About UGI
UGI Corporation (NYSE: UGI) is a distributor and marketer of energy products and services in the U.S. and Europe. UGI offers safe, reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy solutions to customers through its subsidiaries, which provide natural gas transmission and distribution, electric generation and distribution, midstream services, propane distribution, renewable natural gas generation, distribution and marketing, and energy marketing services.
Comprehensive information about UGI Corporation is available on the Internet at https://www.ugicorp.com.
Cautionary statement
In order to utilize the ‘safe harbor’ provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the ‘PSLRA’), bp is providing the following cautionary statement. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements – that is, statements related to future, not past events and circumstances – which may relate to the startup of an RNG plant F, expectations about future RNG plants, the processing capacities of these plants and the anticipated growth of Archaea. These statements are generally, but not always, identified by the use of words such as ‘will’, ‘expects’, ‘is expected to’, ‘aims’, ‘should’, ’may‘, ‘objective’, ‘is likely to’, ‘intends’, ‘believes’, ‘anticipates’, ‘plans’, ‘we see’ or similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of bp’s management and are subject to risk and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in such statements, depending on a variety of factors including (i) with respect to bp, the risk factors set forth in its most recent Annual Report and Form 20-F under “Risk factors” and in any of its more recent public reports. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that the expectations will prove to be correct. bp does not undertake any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
bp’s most recent Annual Report and Form 20-F and other period filings are available on its website at www.bp.com, or can be obtained from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330 or on its website at www.sec.gov.
1At https://www.epa.gov/lmop/renewable-natural-gas#benefits the EPA states that benefits to RNG include fuel diversity, economic, local air quality and greenhouse gas reduction benefits. Specifically, it states, “Use of RNG increases and diversifies domestic energy production.” and “Replacing traditional diesel or gasoline with RNG can significantly reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, resulting in local air quality benefits.”
