Aemetis Biogas closes $25 million USDA-guaranteed financing for AD facilities

Aemetis, a renewable natural gas (RNG) and renewable fuels company focused on negative carbon intensity products, has announced the closing of its second $25 million (€22.7 million) 20-year term loan.
It was guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for a total of $50 million (€45.5 million) of Aemetis Biogas project financing, arranged by Greater Commercial Lending (GCL) in the past nine months.
The Aemetis Biogas Central Dairy RNG Project is now fully funded to build biogas digesters and related assets for eight additional dairies using the $9.4 million (€8.5 million) of equity financing already provided by Aemetis and the $25 million (€22.7 million) of new debt financing guaranteed by the USDA.
Magnolia Bank of Elizabethtown, Kentucky provided the primary funding for the $25 million (€22.7 million) loan to Aemetis Biogas 2, LLC (AB-2), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aemetis.
Aemetis Biogas has built and is fully operating dairy biogas digesters for seven dairies, a 40-mile biogas pipeline, the central biogas-to-RNG production facility and the PG&E gas utility interconnection unit.
When completed, the biogas digesters for the combined 15 dairies are designed to produce more than 400,000 MMBtu’s per year of carbon negative renewable natural gas.
Aemetis Biogas is building passive solar anaerobic digesters at dairies to capture biomethane from animal waste.
After removal of key contaminants and gas pressurization at the dairy, a biogas pipeline connects the dairies to a central facility located at the Keyes ethanol plant where the biogas is converted into below zero carbon intensity RNG.
The RNG is tested and odourised in an interconnection unit, then injected into the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) gas pipeline for delivery to transportation fuel customers throughout California.
In addition to delivery of RNG through third parties, Aemetis is building an onsite RNG fueling station to fuel local trucks.
“The USDA Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) provides long term, 20-year financing that enables the construction of projects that improve air quality and reduce carbon pollution such as the Aemetis Biogas Central Dairy Digester Project,” stated Eric McAfee, chairman and CEO of Aemetis.
“We appreciate the good working relationship that has been developed with the team at Greater Commercial Lending and we are pleased to have Magnolia Bank as the new primary lender for the AB-2 phase of the project.”