Anaergia announces operational, commercial milestones

Anaergia Inc. on Dec. 7 announced the achievement of several milestones. First, over the last month, two more of the company’s European facilities have started injecting renewable natural gas (RNG) into the grid. Second, there have been positive developments relating to increasing the feedstock at the company’s Rialto Bioenergy Facility in California (the RBF), and also in registering the produced RNG for sale. The company has also reaffirmed its 2022 guidance and is providing guidance for 2023.

Operational milestones in Europe

In addition to the company’s Easy Energia facility, the second of the six Italian plants, Calimera, also started injecting RNG into the grid last month. The company’s build-own-operate (BOO) project in Tønder, Denmark has also started injecting gas. The two Italian plants combined have the capacity to supply up to 232,000 MMBtu of RNG per year when fully operational. Injection of first gas in Denmark qualifies the Tønder facility for a 20-year biogas subsidy program promoted by the Danish Energy Agency. When fully operational, the Tønder facility will produce up to 1.4 million MMBtu annually.

An additional four BOO plants are still under construction in Italy, and these are expected to be commissioned later this year and in early 2023. At full capacity, three of these plants will combine to produce over 430,000 MMBtu of RNG per year, while another will produce six million kilowatts of electricity annually utilizing biogas created from animal waste.

Rialto Bioenergy Facility developments

The company’s confidence in continued revenue growth at the RBF is reinforced by the passing of an expected ordinance. On Nov. 29, 2022, the City Council of Los Angeles adopted an ordinance requiring commercial and multifamily generators under the RecycLA franchise to subscribe for organic waste collection and diversion services, as required by state law SB 1383. The ordinance, which is to be signed by the Mayor of Los Angeles on or before Dec. 9, 2022, is expected to substantially increase the amount of organic waste diverted to the RBF for conversion to renewable natural gas. The RBF is North America’s largest landfill diverted organic waste RNG facility.

In addition, the U.S. EPA has approved the quality assurance plan (QAP) for the RBF enabling the sale of RINs. The company expects to receive a deemed complete Low Carbon Fuel Standard pathway from the California Air Resources Board in 2022. As a result, the company expects to be able to sell its RNG for transportation use in the first quarter of 2023.

CEO Commentary

“We continue to successfully execute on our revenue backlog of BOO and Capital Sales projects which now stands at $4.8 billion (up from $2.8 billion at our IPO). Three of our seven facilities in Europe are now injecting RNG into national grids in Italy and in Denmark. Getting first gas into the grid at Tønder, Denmark in 2022 was critical for ensuring the availability of Danish incentives for the next twenty years for the project. Our team did an exceptional job achieving this important milestone on schedule and in record time,” said Andrew Benedek, chairman and CEO of Anaergia. “Year after year these facilities, along with the new ones we build, will continue to reduce and prevent methane emissions, and create renewable fuel to replace fossil natural gas. Our opportunities to build such plants are continuing to grow due to increasing incentives favouring RNG production in Europe and in North America.”

Reaffirming 2022 guidance

Anaergia is reaffirming its previously disclosed Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA¹ guidance for full year 2022. All guidance is current as of the published date and is subject to change. For more information, please refer to the Company’s management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 available on the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com (the “Q3 MD&A”).

2023 revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance

Anaergia is providing new Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA guidance for full year 2023. All guidance is current as of the published date and is subject to change.

The 2023 guidance is based on several key assumptions:

•The estimated revenue is subject to the receipt of an LCFS pathway and associated carbon intensity (CI) score for the RBF, over which the Company has no influence or control.

•The RBF is expected to ramp up feedstock during 2023, operating near capacity in the fourth quarter of 2023 with more rapid ramp up in the second half of the year as adoption of the ordinance referred to above advances. Guidance assumes that commercial and multifamily generators under the RecycLA franchise subscribe to organic waste collection and diversion services, as required by state law SB 1383, and that the ordinance is enforced.

•The Italian BOOs are expected to be fully operational by the end of the second quarter of 2023.

•Government incentives in Italy to support the diversion of organic waste from landfills and to produce RNG are available on schedule as expected following injection of first gas.

•There is significant external investment in the Company’s Tønder project to finance the construction of the second phase of this project prior to the end of the second quarter 2023.