Fueling the Future: OPAL Fuels

by Caitlin Scheresky (Biomass Magazine) Five years ago, OPAL Fuels stepped out of the private sector and emerged as an ambitious leader in the production and distribution of renewable natural gas.

With major partners including NextEra Energy, UPS, CHS and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and more than 350 projects nationwide, OPAL has positioned itself at the forefront of the renewable energy transition.

In With the New
Formed in late 2020 by Comora and co-CEO Jonathan Maurer, OPAL entered the public sector backed by decades of experience. “We got started in the business of capturing biogas and trying to find a productive use for it 25 years ago,” Comora says. “A lot of folks were noticing that methane emissions from decaying organic waste could be used productively and that electricity generation was a good answer because it’s baseload power, 24/7.”

Prior to OPAL’s formation, TruStar Energy, Fortistar Methane Group and Fortistar RNG operated as portfolio companies of Fortistar LLC. The three companies merged together to form OPAL Fuels, bringing together upstream and downstream capabilities. Later that year, OPAL combined with ArcLight Clean Transition Corp. II, officially exiting the private sector as a vertically integrated producer and distributor of RNG.

“We saw a really interesting opportunity to transform what we were doing at the Fortistar Methane Group on the landfill gas-to-electric side,” Comora continues. “We really got excited that there could be something better to do with the biogas resource from an economic perspective, and create an opportunity to help fleets achieve their objectives.”

OPAL’s long-term partnership with American legacy utility NextEra Energy began in April 2021 with the development of a Minnesota RNG project designed to produce 2,140 dekatherms of RNG per day, eliminating 43,900 metric tons of carbon per year. In December 2022, OPAL signed a long-term agreement with UPS to provide operations and maintenance services to 51 UPS RNG dispensing stations in the U.S. In 2023, OPAL and South Jersey Industries signed a 50-50 joint venture agreement to develop RNG facilities. The following year, OPAL announced commercial operations at its RNG facility at the Polk County municipal landfill in Jones Corner, Florida.

Today, OPAL splits its operating segments into three categories: RNG fuel, renewable power and fuel station services, Comora explains.

RNG and CNG are the most attractive alternatives to replace diesel for the Class 8 trucking market.”

Further federal tax incentives like the Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit and the Renewable Fuel Standard program affect how OPAL moves.

Trucking Along
Despite OPAL’s roots in the U.S., Comora says opportunities beyond the domestic market are growing. “Japan is starting to import RNG. They have a mandate that by 2030, 1% of their net gas has to be low-CI. You can send it there as LNG or as renewable methanol,” he says. “In Europe, marine fuel is really interesting, as well as here in the U.S., whether it be in barges or around ports, and potentially for ocean-going vessels. There’s going to be a big market because they’re going to be taxed based on their carbon emissions when they pull into ports, and now you’ve got all these ships on the ocean that can run on renewable methanol. So, there are other offtake markets that want low-CI natural gas.”

New markets, of course, mean new regulations, even inside the continental U.S. “Any time we dispense RNG in California, CARB assigns us a CI score based off the Argonne GREET models. 45Z is going to have something similar. And we also have third-party engineers that do baselines,” Comora says.

“We’re collecting biogas that’s maybe 50% methane,” Comora continues. “We are physically passing it through membranes to separate all other impurities so that you can get it up to a pipeline-quality spec, use existing pipeline infrastructure to transport it where you need it, build a fueling station that pulls off the RNG, compresses it and puts it right into the vehicle where it can be used. You can’t get a more streamlined operational economic model for the sector.”

With major fleets increasingly reengaging with CNG and RNG, Comora and the OPAL Fuels team view fueling infrastructure as a compelling growth opportunity and are investing accordingly. READ MORE