Specialist
Former executive at Air Liquide SA
Agenda
- Competitive environment for the North America RNG (renewable natural gas) industry
- Project dynamics, touching on key developments and market implications
- Regulatory developments – enabling factors and hurdles
Questions
1.
How has the RNG [renewable natural gas] market changed over the last few years? What key trends are you watching right now?
2.
What are the different types of biogas and what, if anything, differentiates them from a market perspective?
3.
As we start to talk about the growth in demand and in the market, how big of a market do you think RNG could eventually become in the US? What is the potential size of RNG, the market and RNG production?
4.
We’ve seen moves into the RNG space from dedicated players, utilities, midstream oil and gas, traditional oil and gas and waste management companies. Who stands out to you in this landscape as being best-positioned to get those economies of scale and grow?
5.
Does it make sense for utility companies such as a water or gas distribution utility to try to develop RNG projects themselves?
6.
Something that occurred to me about RNG projects is the balance between selling electricity and selling gas. How should we think about the balance between landfill facilities, medium-sized players preferring to use the gas to generate the electricity and selling the gas into a pipe? Which of these is more promising and why?
7.
What are the key pieces of equipment required to refine landfill gas into RNG? What are the technical challenges of this?
8.
In terms of different approaches to building the equipment and to the process itself, how important are the technical aspects of the process to having a competitive advantage? Are there big differences in equipment and approaches or is the outcome usually the same?
9.
Are there any landfill-specific challenges to the process in landfill gas projects? You mentioned that some of the landfills available today aren’t as well-managed and have air.
10.
Is there an element of geography that’s relevant to the process of landfill gas projects? Are landfills in hotter temperatures and climates better suited, or drier or wetter?
11.
What is the typical project timeline for RNG projects? How long does it take to find the landfill, site and develop?
12.
On the membrane lead times, is there other equipment that the RNG industry is competing for directly with the natural gas industry? Is that getting worse?
13.
How significant is competition for landfills? You mentioned the industry taking bigger bets. Is it difficult to secure landfill now?
14.
What are some of the challenges around takeaway capacity for biogas? Are you seeing this improving? We mentioned this before, but are pipelines being built, and how is this evolving?
15.
What are some of the dynamics in long-term contracts? How are they changing? How difficult is it to get them and how are they modelled?
16.
How do you see pricing evolving over the next one or two years? You mentioned demand outstripping supply. Do you think we could expect price increases?
17.
Is there anywhere you’re looking in terms of things on the regulatory horizon that people watching this space should pay attention to? Is there more focus on the state or federal level?
18.
How much do you think consolidation is going to happen in the RNG space? Do you see a lot of M&A opportunities? Do you think there’s a lot of interest in consolidation?
19.
Are there any new technology developments in or adjacent to the space that you think could change the game in the mid-to-long term for anyone involved? I’m thinking about carbon capture.
20.
What’s your long-term outlook for the RNG segment? What role do you see RNG playing in the energy sector?
