Viridi Energy announces food waste-to-RNG project serving NYC

Viridi Energy, a Northridge, California-based renewable natural gas (RNG) platform, has partnered with American Organic Energy (AOE) to develop one of the largest food waste-to-renewable natural gas projects in the United States.

 The project is expected to convert 210,000 tons of waste per year—equivalent to the entire annual food waste of Dallas—into clean energy and agriculture products.

Located in Yaphank, New York, the planned AOE facility represents a historic step toward circularity in waste disposal, housing what AOE says is the first anaerobic digestion (AD) facility to process food waste in the New York City (NYC) metropolitan area. The project will divert food waste from landfills located up to 300 miles away and transform it into RNG via AD and into other renewable products, such as fertilizer. The project will generate emissions reductions equivalent to nearly 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) per year and is projected to produce renewable fuels equivalent to 10 million gallons of gasoline annually.

“This landmark project demonstrates to the renewable energy industry that large-scale food waste-to-RNG projects are viable as robust financial investments and as environmentally impactful solutions to our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and food waste crises,” Viridi CEO Dan Crouse says.

This deal is significant for Viridi and for the renewable energy industry because it will deliver RNG at an attractive price-per-ton of CO₂ emissions avoided without being dependent upon credit markets. The firm, which launched last year with the NYC-based firms Warburg Pincus and Green Rock Energy Partners, has signed an offtake agreement with FortisBC, a British Columbia-based energy solutions provider.

Per the 20-year agreement, FortisBC will purchase the RNG produced at the AOE facility to deliver to its customers. Financing partners supporting the construction of the project include NYC-based JP Morgan, NY Green Bank and Pathward, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Virentis Advisors Managing Partner Mike Land served as financial advisor to AOE.

The project will drive substantial positive environmental impact largely by reducing GHG emissions associated with current food waste disposal practices. The carbon intensity of the AOE facility, which is located at the company’s Long Island compost site, will be approximately 100 grams of CO₂ equivalents per mega joule. Food waste is commonly landfilled and incinerated across the United States. As such, the AOE project aligns with food waste reduction goals set by the US Department of Agriculture Environmental Protection Agency, which aim to reduce food waste 50 percent by 2030.

The project’s announcement comes as NYC prepares to establish citywide curbside collection of organic, compostable material.

“When I started at DSNY nine months ago, Mayor Adams asked me for the best kind of curbside composting program—one people would actually use,” Tisch said during the announcement of the citywide program. “The program we rolled out in Queens last year worked ... I'll never forget the first time we looked at the numbers and said, ‘Yahtzee! This is the model that can actually serve the entire city.’”

The NYC City Council also has passed a package of laws aimed at establishing a zero-waste future for the city.

“The AOE project provides a cost-effective, sustainable solution for a meaningful portion of food waste generated annually in the New York City metropolitan area,” AOE CEO and President Charles Vigliotti says. “I’m proud to embark on the next phase of this project with Viridi, an experienced RNG partner, as we envision the possibility of scaling production at the site in the future.”

Viridi also has partnered this year with Marathon County, Wisconsin, and Baldwin County, Alabama, on landfill RNG projects.